NY attorney general demands hospital resume gender-affirming treatment for trans youth

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Attorney General Letitia James is ordering one of Manhattan’s largest hospitals to resume providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth, weeks after the hospital ended such treatments amid funding threats from the federal government.

In a letter sent to NYU Langone, the attorney general’s office said the hospital’s decision to shutter its Transgender Youth Health Program violated the state’s anti-discrimination laws by “jeopardizing access to medically necessary healthcare for some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers.”

James’ office promised “further action” if the hospital does not immediately resume offering hormone therapies, puberty blockers and other care to transgender youth.

A spokesperson for NYU Langone declined to comment on the letter.

One of the city’s largest hospital systems, NYU Langone announced last month that it would phase out certain gender-affirming treatments for patients under the age of 19 because of the “current regulatory environment” and recent departure of a medical director.

“We are committed to helping patients in our care manage this change,” the hospital said at the time.

The move came weeks after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a proposal to cut federal Medicaid and Medicare funding to hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to minors, part of a suite of regulatory actions targeting transgender Americans.

The proposals, however, did not officially change federal law, and did not impact a “medical institutions’ existing duties and obligations under New York law,” according to the Feb. 25 letter signed by the attorney general’s health care bureau chief, Darsana Srinivasan.

“The sudden discontinuation of medically necessary transgender healthcare can have severe, negative health outcomes,” Srinivasan added. “Accordingly, the Attorney General is extremely concerned by your institution’s decision to cease the provision of care to this vulnerable, minority population.”

The letter gives NYU Langone until March 11 to demonstrate its compliance.

A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office declined to say what steps it would take if the hospital does not change its policy.

Several hospitals across the country have already paused transgender youth treatments following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump last year that promised to withhold research and education grants to hospitals that allow the “chemical and surgical mutilation of children.”

The move — along with language used in the letter — was roundly condemned by trans groups and major medical associations.

“This sets a very dangerous precedent for all areas of health care, if the government can cherry-pick one area of medicine to use to withhold necessary funding from entire groups of people,” Dr. Scott Leibowitz, a psychiatrist and board member for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, said at the time.