N.Y. Attorney General Warns Hospitals Against Canceling Transgender Care

The New York attorney general, Letitia James, has warned New York hospitals that complying with the White House’s executive order that seeks to end gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth could well violate state law.

The warning, in a letter the attorney general’s office sent Monday morning to health care providers and other organizations, puts hospitals at the center of a conflict between the federal government and state authorities.

Last week, the White House issued an executive order that threatened to withhold federal funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming treatments — including puberty blockers and hormone treatments — to transgender youth under the age of 19. Within days, NYU Langone, a leading New York City hospital, began canceling appointments for some children, according to two families who spoke to The New York Times.

But the attorney general’s letter warns hospitals that they may risk violating anti-discrimination laws in New York by denying care to pediatric transgender patients.

“Regardless of the availability of federal funding, we write to further remind you of your obligations to comply with New York State laws,” the letter states. It went on, “Electing to refuse services to a class of individuals based on their protected status, such as withholding the availability of services from transgender individuals based on their gender identity or their diagnosis of gender dysphoria, while offering such services to cisgender individuals, is discrimination under New York law.”

NYU Langone has made no announcement about the canceled appointments. A hospital spokesman said he had no immediate comment on the letter.

The executive order last week left many families uncertain about whether their transgender children would be able to receive the medical care and procedures they had anticipated. In interviews, two different families said their 12 -year-olds had been scheduled for a procedure in which a small device that would release Supprelin LA, a puberty-blocking medication, would be implanted in the upper arm. But those appointments were abruptly canceled following the executive order.