Children's Wisconsin will no longer provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ+ patients, citing escalating legal and regulatory risks facing healthcare systems nationwide, according to a spokesperson.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Parents share concerns as Children's Wisconsin pauses some gender-affirming care after Trump's executive order
TMJ4’s Ryan Jenkins called the hospital Tuesday morning to learn more, and a spokesperson sent a statement saying in part, "We are communicating to patients that due to escalating legal and federal regulatory risk facing systems and providers across the nation, we are currently unable to provide gender affirming pharmacologic care."
Watch: Children's Wisconsin halts gender-affirming care over 'escalating legal and federal regulatory risk'
The statement goes on to say mental and behavioral health services will continue for patients and families there.
This is an issue Jenkins began started covering last February when local parents he met with sounded the alarm after an executive order from President Trump threatened to block funding to hospitals that provide this type of care.
Back at that time, Attorney General Josh Kaul accused President Trump of "using his power to restrict the freedom of patients and their families."
Children's Wisconsin’s statement comes as the Supreme Court is hearing cases on the issue of transgender women competing on women's school sports teams. Idaho and West Virginia will defend their bans as civil rights attorneys argue they violate the Constitution.
The position that the bans are illegal hinges on the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment. Although a decision isn't expected for months, Joe St. George, deputy political director for Scripps News, says there isn't a definitive way this case could go.
"The Supreme Court is a bit of a mixed bag on the issue of transgender rights in recent years, they've protected transgender Americans from firings and in some cases while upholding state bans on gender affirming surgeries for minors in other cases," St. George said.
Right now, Wisconsin is not a state that bans transgender athletes from choosing which team they are a part of.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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