By: Leif Weigel and Dan Weigel
Recently, three local hospital systems, UPMC, Penn Medicine, and Penn State Health voluntarily decided to limit gender-affirming care for their patients. Here is our response:
Donald Trump and his obedient followers are trying to overthrow American democracy and install Trump as a king with unlimited power. They may or may not succeed, but one of the most effective ways to resist is by not complying in advance with the wishes of a wannabe king.
Let us be clear that these hospitals do not have to limit or remove gender-affirming healthcare. No law is making them. Instead, they are choosing to fall in line with Trump’s cruel agenda without being forced. Their decisions are cowardly and a complete rejection of their Hippocratic Oath to do no harm. Gender-affirming care is healthcare, and providers cannot discriminate on the basis of protected identities. It is their job and moral obligation to provide it.
Gender Affirming healthcare is not an ideological debate. It is rooted in fact, not opinion. These hospitals had initiated gender-affirming care because of medical science, longitudinal studies, and evidence-based practices. Numerous studies across various countries show the medical necessity of this care, and their board knows that it is required for some of their patients. So what has changed? It comes down to fear of the authoritarian.
There is no scientific or medical rationale to stop gender-affirming care. The only change is the attempted cruelty of the Trump administration, and the voluntary desire of these hospitals to bend the knee to Trump’s will to attempt to stay in his good graces. However, we live in a nation of laws, not a mafia-esque favor economy. Fear of the authoritarian is the root of this retraction. It is undeniably the definition of coercion.
The ability to receive gender-affirming care is the difference between life and death for many trans and gender non-conforming individuals. Risks for suicide, mental health issues, and social discrimination are four times higher for transgender and gender non-conforming youth than their cisgender peers according to the National Institute of Health. Preemptively removing access to life saving healthcare demonstrates that actually providing necessary care for patients is less important than scoring political points with our fascist president.
Furthermore, complying in advance sends a message to trans minors and adults alike that their wellbeing and rights to healthcare are negotiable. It doubles down on the all-too-frequent messaging to the queer community that our wellbeing is subject to political ploys, and that it is okay for us to be collateral damage by the whims of an administration that seeks to erase us. We have already seen numerous Democratic Senators vote in favor of discriminatory laws such as PA Senate Bill 9, which redefines gender to erase trans identity, and bars trans girls from participating in sports aligned with their gender identity.
UPMC, Penn State Health, and Penn Medicine are among the largest healthcare providers in PA, meaning those seeking gender-affirming care not covered by these institutions will have extremely limited options for their necessary healthcare. These unnecessary limits on healthcare are cruel, unnecessary, and wrong. We reject the hospital’s claims that they are acting on guidance from the federal government, when the lone executive order on gender-affirming care has been blocked in court. If we are to defeat fascism in the US, it’s going to require far more courage and human decency than what the leaders of these hospitals have displayed.
Barring access to healthcare for transgender individuals also raises questions to what other marginalized groups will be next. Will there be continued attacks on female reproductive care? Will we refuse care for immigrants or undocumented neighbors? Will disabled individuals or those on medicaid lose their care too? Healthcare is for everyone, not just the wealthy, and not just able-bodied cisgendered men.
UPMC, Penn State Health, and Penn Medicine: stop complying in advance and reinstate gender-affirming healthcare now!