Overview

• Kaiser announced it will halt surgical treatments for patients under 19 beginning August 29, citing evolving federal executive orders and Department of Justice subpoenas as creating significant legal and regulatory threats.
• The health system emphasized that all other gender-affirming services, including hormone therapies and puberty blockers, will remain available to young patients.
• Registered nurses from the California Nurses Association, parents and transgender youth rallied outside Kaiser facilities in San Francisco to denounce the pause as a breach of medical and ethical duties.
• California Attorney General Rob Bonta and State Senator Scott Wiener warned that denying care under political pressure may violate state law and are preparing enforcement actions against noncompliant providers.
• Leading medical groups such as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics maintain that gender-affirming interventions are clinically necessary, supported by a 2022 Stanford study linking earlier hormone therapy to better mental health outcomes for transgender youth.