California AG warns L.A. hospital: Withholding transgender care could violate state law

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said Wednesday he was putting a Los Angeles hospital on notice that withholding hormonal therapy and other gender-affirming care from transgender youth could run afoul of state law.

The action came after Children’s Hospital Los Angeles said it was pausing the initiation of hormonal therapy for “gender-affirming care patients” under the age of 19 and had suspended gender-affirming surgeries for minors.

The L.A. hospital didn’t immediately provide comment on Bonta’s warning.

The hospital, a major provider of gender-affirming care, took action days after President Trump issued an executive order aiming to stop the use of puberty blockers, hormones and other gender-affirming care for youth. The L.A. hospital said that it was not halting hormonal therapy or puberty blockers for cisgender children who might get them for other medical purposes.

Bonta’s office sent a letter to the hospital Wednesday stating that if services are being offered to other people who are not transgender, withholding them from transgender people based on their gender identity is a prohibited form of discrimination.

The letter also stated that Trump’s executive order “does not provide federal agencies with any basis to threaten or revoke your federal funding.” The attorney general’s office asked for information on whether CHLA was canceling appointments for gender-affirming care and “the justification for doing so.”

Trump’s order had stirred up confusion, Bonta said in a statement. “Let me be clear: California law has not changed, and hospitals and clinics have a legal obligation to provide equal access to healthcare services.”

In the aftermath of the executive order, health systems in Colorado, Virginia and other states have paused gender-affirming care for youth or canceled appointments. Several parents told The Times that appointments for their children had been canceled at CHLA this week, although some were later reinstated.

Bonta also joined a coalition of more than a dozen attorneys general Wednesday in issuing a statement saying that there is no federal law that makes gender-affirming care illegal and that “President Trump cannot change that by Executive Order.” Experts and LGBTQ+ advocates have also stressed that many the actions demanded under the executive order hinge on federal rule-making that has yet to be carried out.

The executive order called for federal officials to “take all appropriate actions to end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children,” which could include changing the rules for healthcare providers to remain eligible for funding through Medicare and Medicaid. Losing funding from those federal programs could be financially disastrous for healthcare providers.

Trump’s order was cheered by the Center for American Liberty and other groups that contend medical treatment involved in gender transition is harmful for youth.

Families of transgender youth and others sued Tuesday over the order, saying Trump’s directives violate the rights of transgender youth “by depriving them of necessary medical care solely on the basis of their sex and transgender status.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics has previously stated its support for “giving transgender adolescents access to the health care they need” and raised concerns about bans on such care, saying that they interfere with the relationship between doctors and patients.