Chicago's Rush University Medical Center pausing gender-affirming care for minors
Rush University Medical Center in Chicago is pausing providing gender-affirming care to new patients who are minors, a spokesperson said Tuesday.
The spokesperson said Rush's decision was made in collaboration with clinical leaders. The spokesperson also noted the hospital does not provide surgical treatment for gender-affirming care for minors and has not performed such surgeries since 2023.
The hospital will continue to provide mental health, behavioral health and social services for gender care patients of every age, and said gender-affirming care – both hormonal and surgical – for patients over the age of 18 is not affected by the change.
Rush said it will provide referrals for all patients who require services they don't offer, and said the hospital "continues to be a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community."
Multiple states have moved to restrict access to gender-affirming care for minors, though Illinois is not one of them. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Tennessee law restricting access to gender-affirming care to minors, ruling along party and ideological lines that the law does not violate the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.
President Trump has issued two executive orders addressing what he calls "gender ideology," one of which declares the federal government's policy to recognize "two sexes, male and the female," and a second that threatens federal funding for medical institutions that offer gender-affirming care to patients under the age of 18.
The Rush spokesperson did not mention Mr. Trump's executive order when discussing the hospital's policy change.
