Following an executive order from President Donald Trump and a memo from Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, UVA Health “has suspended all gender-affirming care for patients under 19 years of age … [but] remains committed to being a community of healing, compassion, and respect for all,” according to a statement on its children’s transgender youth health page.
Patients, including 18-year-olds, can no longer be prescribed puberty blockers, hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgical procedures, or therapy referrals at UVA Health—and Virginia Commonwealth University.
Both Trump and Miyares described gender-affirming care for youth as “chemical and surgical mutilation.”
According to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics, less than 0.1 percent of American adolescents take gender-affirming medications, with approximately 1.4 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds identifying as transgender and gender diverse. A 2024 study from the Harvard School of Public Health further found that surgical procedures are incredibly rare among trans youth: 15- to 17-year-olds with a TGD-related diagnosis underwent gender-affirming surgery at a rate of 2.1 per 100,000 (0.000021 percent).
Age-appropriate gender-affirming care for youth is supported by every major medical association in the United States.
UVA Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
