Rady Children’s Hospital Continues Gender-Affirming Care Amid Legal Battle

Rady Children’s Hospital, the largest children’s health system in California, will keep offering its “gender-affirming care” to minors while it navigates ongoing legal challenges.

On Wednesday, representatives from Rady Children’s and the California Attorney General’s Office came to an agreement to extend a court order that mandates the hospital to continue its services as the lawsuit unfolds.

This lawsuit was initiated by the state attorney general in January, aiming to terminate the hospital’s gender reassignment program for patients under 19. This move followed a warning from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who indicated that funding for health care providers treating minors could be at risk.

California’s Attorney General Bonta claims that Rady’s decision to halt treatment goes against the legally binding terms set during the merger between Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego and Children’s Hospital of Orange County as well as its affiliates. He stated, “Rady Children’s Health has chosen to violate the merger agreement and California law in response to the Trump administration’s illegal campaign against gender-affirming care providers.”

According to Bonta, Rady made a unilateral decision to cease necessary care for around 1,450 patients, disregarding its legal commitments. “We will not tolerate Rady violating its obligations. We will abide by the law and ensure that Californians receive gender-affirming care without facing unreasonable hurdles,” he added.

In February, Judge Matthew Branagh from San Diego Superior Court issued a preliminary order that mandated the hospital to continue offering gender reassignment services.

The recent extension order specifies that treatments provided must include puberty blockers when deemed medically necessary. However, this does not extend to surgical procedures like mastectomy, breast augmentation, or vaginoplasty, among others.

Interestingly, during the Trump administration, such transitional treatments were categorized as “gender-denying care.”

Judge Branagh suggested a delay in the case due to the ongoing state litigation. There have also been reports of a separate class-action case involving four patients from Rady Children’s Hospital, who are alleging civil rights violations following the discontinuation of transgender treatments in March.