TAKE ACTION FOR TRANS YOUTH LIVES

Dear Interim CEO Deborah Addo and General Counsel Judy Hlafcsak,

As a Pennsylvanian I am outraged that Penn State Health has decided to begin denying full gender affirming medical healthcare for new and some existing patients under 19 years old given the current circumstances following Trump’s Executive Order dated January 28, 2025. This care at Penn State Health has been absolutely vital to the many young people who have depended on it. You have saved the lives of countless transgender children and youth. Now you are putting those very lives in imminent danger and undoing years of community goodwill and trust you have tried so hard to rebuild.

By cutting off this care now, Penn State Health is voluntarily choosing anticipatory compliance without any promulgated regulation or court order. An Executive Order or memo mentioning potential future policies or regulations which then may threaten funding is not a mandate you are forced to adhere to right now. Even though federal courts have granted injunctions against this executive order, by Penn State Health agreeing to comply with a policy statement intimating illegal actions by our federal government, you are choosing to send a devastating message to the entire trans community that their health and futures are negotiable under political pressure. Continuing to provide comparable medical care to cisgender young people but not transgender youth is discrimination.

I join in calling on Penn State Health to immediately restore access to protect gender affirming healthcare for trans youth and young adults currently being turned away. Gender affirming care for youth is medically necessary, life-saving healthcare, supported by every major medical organization in the United States based on decades of scientific, evidence-based, peer-reviewed research. Evidence shows that without access to these interventions, youth — especially to those just starting puberty — will be harmed. This includes suffering physical changes that are not easily reversible, lifelong trauma in some cases, and when they have no hope of access to care — death. Evidence demonstrates the positive impact of gender affirming medical care, and also that behavioral health alone is not enough to save the lives of trans children and youth.

Let us be clear: the President is trying to bully you into refusing care for some of our most vulnerable youth. This is not just about gender affirming care. If Penn State Health concedes now, we know what’s coming next: attacks on emergency care for immigrants, reproductive care, Medicaid access, and services for disabled people, cancer patients, and others who rely on healthcare institutions for life-saving treatment.

I join in the demands that Penn State Health:

1. Reinstate gender affirming care for new and existing patients given the current circumstances

2. Should a law or regulation specifically mandate UPMC or Penn State Health cease direct gender affirming medical care for young trans people, or a final court ruling be issued that would cut off substantial funding should gender affirming healthcare be provided, UPMC and Penn State Health must enthusiastically support in all ways possible alternative providers to ensure trans youth receive the medically-necessary healthcare they need to survive

3. Establish an advisory committee for their administration on gender affirming care, comprised of transgender youth and community leaders, and healthcare professionals

4. Not retaliate against our communities and continue funding for local programs and LGBTQ+ healthcare

Penn State Health must reject political pressure and fulfill its responsibility to provide healthcare without discrimination. It is a moral atrocity to deny young patients medical treatment that saves lives. This policy position expressed by our federal government is designed as the first step to eliminate trans people from our society. Anticipatory compliance makes you complicit in their efforts. Trans youth and young adults deserve care not cruelty.

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