Phoenix Children’s Hospital is ‘indefinitely’ ending gender-affirming care for Arizona kids

Phoenix Children’s Hospital has secretly ended part of its gender-affirming care program for minors under 19 years old, complying with President Trump’s executive order that was signed last week.

Two parents confirmed that they were alerted that the hospital was going to announce the changes, but were unaware of how sweeping or minimal the changes would be.

A screenshot from one of the parent’s patient portal and provided to LOOKOUT, later said that “Due to the recent executive order issued on January 28, 2025 Phoenix Children’s is indefinitely pausing gender-affirming medical care for children under the age of 19.”

The portal said it would also work with pharmacists at the hospital to wean children off of puberty blockers or hormones if they are currently taking them.

On Monday, Feb. 10, parents received a letter from two of the doctors leading the hospital’s care, Drs. Vinny Chulani and Ashish Patel, saying that the hospital was going to put a “pause” on care, specifically puberty blockers and hormonal therapy treatment.

The letter said that psychiatric and outpatient rehabilitation services would continue.

The decision has not been confirmed publicly by Phoenix Children’s Hospital, which did not respond to an email to LOOKOUT asking when the hospital is planning to announce if it will comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order barring gender affirming care for transgender minors under 19 years old.

Local advocates and health groups, such as members of Arizona Trans Parent Youth Organization, Education Action Alliance, formerly known as GLSEN, as well as the National Association of Social Workers, released a statement Monday afternoon saying they were “devastated” by the decision and that, “This trend of harmful policies not only threatens the well-being of transgender youth, but also infringes upon their right to receive medically necessary care.”

Gender-affirming care using hormones has been widely used for decades as a proven treatment for gender dysphoria, and the drugs associated with puberty blockers have been used on cisgender children for a wide variety of different medical reasons—those do not appear to be restricted.

Phoenix Children’s Hospital is the largest provider of gender affirming care in the state, and has been the target of bomb threats and far-right attacks due to disinformation campaigns.

PCH is the most recent hospital to fall in line to President Trump’s executive order, which is currently being challenged in court and unenforceable. 

Earlier this month, both Los Angeles and New York City’s major children’s hospitals stopped providing care to youth, though NY Attorney General Letitia James ordered state hospitals to continue providing care due to the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

Arizona does not have anti-discrimination laws in place for LGBTQ+ people, despite wide support and Democrats for years trying to pass a bill through the legislature.