In December, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to bar hospitals from providing “sex-rejecting” services for youth under 18.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that children may experience “irreversible damage” when exposed to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgical operations at a young age — for example, infertility, impaired sexual function, diminished bone density and other irreversible physiological effects.
As a result, UW Health and Children’s Wisconsin halted what the health organization calls gender-affirming care in January. If hospitals didn’t abide by federal rules, they would lose funding for Medicare and Medicaid.