Statement: Los Angeles LGBT Center Thanks CHLA for Resuming Gender-Affirming Care, Urges More Hospitals to Do the Same

LOS ANGELES, CA, February 21, 2025– In response to Children’s Hospital LA’s recent decision to resume gender-affirming care for ages under 19, Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Joe Hollendoner issued the following statement:

“I want to express my gratitude to Children’s Hospital LA for reversing their dangerous decision to stop initiating gender affirming care for trans young people. We also thank Attorney General Rob Bonta for his leadership by holding CHLA accountable to providing these essential services, as well as the brave families, activists, and CHLA staff who demanded that Children’s fulfill its role as LA’s safety net pediatric hospital.

Gender–affirming care is not up for debate; it is an essential, evidence-based medical necessity, affirmed by every major medical association and regarded as a fundamental aspect of primary care. Healthcare providers have a duty to prioritize the well-being of their patients over the reckless political agendas that seek to strip away their rights. 

We hope that CHLA’s decision to reinitiate gender affirming care serves as a call to action for all other Children’s hospital and health systems across the county that paused or stopped providing these essential services out of fear of retaliation by the Trump administration to resume care immediately. CHLA’s decision is a step in the just direction but our fight against every federal assault on the TGNBI+ community is far from over. We must stand united in protecting and caring for trans children, youth, and families.”

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About the Los Angeles LGBT Center
Since 1969 the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed, and celebrated LGBT individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond. Today the Center’s nearly 800 employees provide services for more LGBT people than any other organization in the world, offering programs, services, and global advocacy that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, Leadership and Advocacy. We are an unstoppable force in the fight against bigotry and the struggle to build a better world; a world in which LGBT people thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society. Learn more at lalgbtcenter.org