Denver — The Colorado Supreme Court ordered Colorado’s largest provider Gender-affirming care For young people to resume medical treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy despite threats that providing care could result in the loss of federal funding.
Children’s Hospital Colorado halted medical treatment for transgender patients under the age of 18 in January after it said US Department of Health and Human Services He opened an investigation into his treatments after a A series of clashes Between President Donald Trump’s administration and advocates for health care for transgender children.
The hospital said in a statement that it is reviewing the court ruling and considering its next steps. It previously said it would continue to provide mental health treatment to minors as well as medical treatment to patients aged 18 to 21.
Four transgender girls, ages 10 to 17, filed a lawsuit against the hospital, through their parents, alleging that the hospital was violating the state’s anti-discrimination law by refusing to provide treatment to them because of their gender identity, disability, and gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria is the distress that occurs when someone’s gender expression does not match their sex assigned at birth.
The girls said they feared not being able to access medication and monitoring to prevent them from puberty and developing masculine traits. They cited mental health ramifications, including depression and suicidal ideation.
The court sided with the girls in a 5-2 ruling, finding that the decision to close services to minors violated the state’s anti-discrimination law. In the majority opinion, Justice William Wood III said: “We conclude that the immediate and irreparable actual harm to the petitioners outweighs the foreseeable harm CHC would face if the federal government took further action against it.”
In a dissent, Judge Brian Boatwright said the hospital did not decide to stop the case because of the patients’ gender identity. Rather, he wrote: “The decision was motivated by the immediate threat to the viability of the entire hospital.”
Kansas judge too I stood with transgender minors In last week’s ruling.
Colorado Hospital’s TRUE Center, which focuses on gender-affirming care, is one of the largest programs in the country and the only comprehensive care center in the Rocky Mountain region, according to the lawsuit.
Children’s Hospital Colorado said the Department of Health and Human Services opened the investigation into the hospital after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued an order a permit So-called treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries are unsafe and ineffective for children and teens with gender dysphoria, or distress when someone’s gender expression does not match the sex they were assigned at birth.
Based in Oregon Federal judge ruled Last March for Colorado and 20 other states, Kennedy’s announcement went even further.
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Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, New Jersey.