Chicago Lurie Children's Hospital pauses gender surgeries for patients under 19 after Trump order

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said it is pausing all gender care surgeries for patients under the age of 19 in the wake of President Donald Trump's executive order on gender care.

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The hospital issued a statement Monday saying, "We are reviewing the recent Executive Orders addressing gender care and assessing any potential impact to the clinical services we offer to our patient-families. Our team will continue to advocate for access to medically necessary care, grounded in science and compassion for the patient-families we are so privileged to serve."

In the wake of that review, the hospital said it made the "difficult decision" to pause surgeries within the gender care program "as we work to understand the rapidly evolving environment."

Officials said they are still providing "other care and treatment plans" for the programs patients, and monitoring further developments.

Trump, a Republican, last week signed an executive order that directed agencies to take steps to make sure that hospitals receiving federal research and education grants "end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children." The language in the order - using words such as "maiming," "sterilizing" and "mutilation" - contradicts what is typical for gender-affirming care in the United States.

Gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth is not common but such treatments have been the subject of fierce political debate. Fewer than 1 in 1,000 adolescents in the U.S. with commercial insurance received puberty blockers or hormones during a recent five-year period, according to a new study.