Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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Children's Minnesota announced Monday that it has resumed all services in its Gender Health program, some of which had been 

The decision follows a federal court ruling in March that overturned a previous attempt to restrict gender-affirming care. 

, resulting from a lawsuit filed by Minnesota and a coalition of states, blocks the Trump administration from limiting access to such care. 

“Offering science- and research-based health care to transgender and gender diverse youth is part of Children’s Minnesota’s vision of being every family’s essential partner in raising healthier children,” a spokesperson for the hospital said in a statement. 

In February, Children’s Minnesota announced the temporary pause on prescribing puberty-suppressing medications and pubertal hormones to patients under the age of 18 in its Gender Health Program for Children. This pause was a reaction to federal actions targeting pediatric health systems that provide such care. 

A spokesperson for the hospital previously said that this was not the decision Children’s Minnesota wanted to make, but it felt necessary to protect both its providers and the hospital itself. 

About a year ago, President Donald Trump signed an 

 on his first day in office, declaring that the U.S. government would recognize only two sexes, female and male. One week into his presidency, Trump signed another 

 aimed at restricting access to gender-affirming health care for transgender people under the age of 19. A federal judge subsequently granted a temporary restraining order against the presidential order. 

Earlier this year, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed rules that would prohibit hospitals from providing puberty blockers, hormone treatments or surgeries to transgender youth if those services are covered by Medicare or Medicaid. The administration has also threatened to withdraw federal funding from any hospital that offers these treatments, even in states where they are legal. 

30 major medical associations and health organizations

 worldwide support health care for transgender people and youth. 

27 states have enacted laws restricting access to gender-affirming care for youth

, while the Minnesota Legislature passed a 

 in 2023 protecting the rights of transgender individuals to seek and receive gender-affirming health. This law remains in effect, and gender-affirming care for transgender youth continues to be legal in Minnesota. 

Children’s Minnesota said in a statement that it is contacting families of patients affected by the temporary pause of services within its Gender Health program.

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Erica Zurek

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Children’s Minnesota paused its gender health services in February, but a ruling in March overturned an attempt to restrict gender-affirming care. 

Children's Minnesota Hospital - Minneapolis

Children’s Minnesota to resume all gender health program services

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