An Illinois teen’s chest surgery was allegedly canceled by University of Illinois Health in the wake of President Donald Trump’s recent executive order seeking to end gender-affirming care for people under age 19, according to court documents filed Wednesday.
The lawsuit, filed by advocacy groups including PFLAG and the ACLU, includes an exhibit that details how a 17–year-old Illinois boy had been receiving gender-affirming care for three years and had a surgery date scheduled for the end of January. According to court documents, the boy’s mother said the surgeon called the day after the order was issued to inform them the surgery was canceled, allegedly due to concerns about the hospital losing funding.
“My son was devastated, and I had to watch my son carefully to make sure he wouldn’t hurt himself in despair,” wrote the boy’s mother, identified as Jane Doe 2, in the suit. “The medical care that my son has received so far has allowed him to live his life and become who he knows himself to be, who he is supposed to be.”
The suit comes after Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul signed onto a letter with 14 other attorneys general in support of gender-affirming care. The group said injunctions on Trump’s federal funding freeze also apply to the threat to withhold money over gender affirming care. Raoul’s office didn’t respond to questions about if, following New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lead, it would compel Illinois hospitals to continue care.
Illinois law prohibits the unlawful discrimination on the basis of gender identity by health care providers and requires state-regulated insurance plans to cover hormone therapy, while shielding Illinois providers and patients from legal actions from other states.
A spokesperson for UI Health wouldn’t comment on the lawsuit or say if its policies had changed.
“UI Health is committed to providing inclusive care to our community,” the hospital said in a statement. “We will continue to provide gender-affirming care to transgender patients in accordance with the laws.”
Trump’s executive order, signed on Jan. 28, instructed federal agencies to end research and education grants for institutions that provide gender-affirming care, remove such care from state-funded coverage and called on the Department of Justice to pursue litigation and legislation to oppose the practice.
Ed Yohnka, ACLU of Illinois’ director of communications and public policy, said the Trump administration is trying to create confusion, leading to hospitals making differing decisions and leaving patients in the dark.
However, he said he’s confident the suit will take down the order.
“Congress, which has the Constitutional power of the purse, has approved funding, so it is not within the scope of powers for Donald Trump to suddenly condition it,” Yohnka said. “We think the courts will step in and block this from ever being enforced. … There are ample protections in Illinois.”
At a protest held outside the hospital Thursday, providers and union leaders said they have heard from patients who are also seeing their appointments get canceled despite no public announcements on care from UI Health.
Emily Gia, a PhD candidate in sociology at UIC who researches trans health care, said it had been difficult to find people willing to speak up about having issues with their trans kids’ care because of how fearful they are. As the head of the Graduate Employees Organization bargaining committee at UIC, they said protecting gender-affirming care would be part of their next contract negotiation.
“We know gender-affirming health care is life-saving,” Gia, who formerly received gender-affirming care from UI Health, said. “If UIH gives in to this executive order before there’s even an enforcement mechanism or state officials guiding them to, they will be complicit in the attempt to eradicate queer, trans, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people.”