Trans teens and their parents herald NYC for gender-affirming care, but worry about the future

Lorelei Crean, 17, has already taken some steps to affirm their trans identity, such as getting a new passport with their gender listed as the nonbinary “X.”

“ When I received it in the mail, it was one of the happiest days of my life,” Crean told a crowd rallying to support trans youth in Manhattan.

Since President Donald Trump took office, Crean said, they feel a greater sense of urgency to talk to a doctor about also starting gender-affirming care, which can include things like puberty blockers, hormones or surgery — although the latter is extremely rare for those under 18.

“It’s scary, knowing your rights are being taken away,” Crean told Gothamist after addressing the rally Monday evening in St. Vartan Park, near NYU Langone Health in Murray Hill. “The reason I'm here is because I want to do something to fight for it.”

The rally, which attracted hundreds of participants along with fewer than a dozen counter-protesters, was a response to NYU Langone’s reported cancellation of gender-affirming services for some adolescents last week. Actress and activist Cynthia Nixon, who has a trans son, was among the speakers calling out NYU Langone.

The reported cancellations came after Trump issued an executive order threatening to revoke federal funding from health care providers that continued to offer gender-affirming care to patients under 19. Trump referred to such treatment as “chemical and surgical mutilation.” In a separate executive order, Trump declared the federal government will only recognize two sexes.

A federal judge last week put a temporary hold on attempts to freeze funding based on Trump’s executive orders, but trans teens and their parents said they’re still grappling with uncertainty about the future of access to gender-affirming care. New York has remained a destination for gender-affirming care as other states have restricted it in recent years.

Trump’s order on gender-affirming care is now being challenged in another lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The New York Times reported that, following Trump’s executive order, NYU Langone canceled treatments for at least two 12-year-olds scheduled to receive puberty blockers. NYU Langone has yet to issue an official statement on its policy around gender-affirming care, which some rally participants said only added to the uncertainty.

Rachel, a parent, said her 16-year-old son has a testosterone prescription from NYU Langone. She said she confirmed with his provider that appointments were only being canceled for patients under 19, and existing patients would not be affected. Other parents told Hell Gate they received similar messages, but NYU Langone has not confirmed any details of its policy. Rachel asked not to share her last name because she doesn’t want to out her son to people who don’t know he’s trans.

Without the care her son receives at NYU Langone, she said he would be at risk for suicide. “He wouldn’t be here,” Rachel said. “I know that for a fact.”

Some local health care providers have confirmed that they will continue offering gender-affirming care, including NYC Health and Hospitals, the city’s public system. But others are being more cryptic, including Mount Sinai Health System, which has not responded to a request for comment. Multiple clinics have also declined to go on the record about the status of their care.

Following Trump’s order, NewYork-Presbyterian removed some language from the web page for its COMPASS program offering gender-affirming care to adolescents, including “transgender” and “gender-diverse children,” according to the news outlet The City. But a spokesperson for the health system said the program is still operating.

“We are working through this developing situation to comply with applicable state and federal laws and regulations,” Angela Karafazi, a spokesperson for NewYork-Presbyterian told The City.

New directives place health care providers in shifting legal territory.

On Friday, a judge in Rhode Island blocked the federal government from freezing funding under Trump’s executive orders. New York Attorney General Letitia James advised health care providers on Monday that denying services to trans patients could be considered discrimination under state law.

On Tuesday, several transgender patients, along with the advocacy group PFLAG and the American Association of Physicians for Human Rights, sued Trump and members of his administration over denials of care that have resulted from his executive order.

In his order, Trump said he intended to end health care providers’ “reliance on junk science,” which he said was “spurred by guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.”

But other major medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, also support clinicians’ ability to provide gender-affirming care for adolescents when it’s deemed medically appropriate.

The American Academy of Pediatrics provides medical guidance on interventions such as puberty blockers, citing evidence on potential benefits and risks, and opposes laws and regulations that interfere with the doctor-patient relationship.

Some NYU Langone clinicians were among those protesting the health system’s actions on Monday.

Dr. Michael Zingman, a national advisory board member with the union CIR/SEIU and a child and adolescent psychiatry fellow at NYU Langone, , said he has patients at various stages of gender transition. He said he has yet to receive any official communications from the health system about what their care will look like moving forward.

“ I'm trying to work with my department on how we, at the child psychiatry clinics, can support kids who are undergoing this care or are looking to undergo this care,” Zingman said.

After the rally, some protesters marched down First Avenue and stopped outside the entrance of an NYU Langone building to chant, “Shame on you!”

Alex Denholtz, 23, who was standing in front of the building, removed his shirt to show off his chest after the top surgery he received at NYU Langone last month to remove breast tissue.

Denholtz is still recovering and will continue to go to NYU Langone for after-care. But when he heard the news that the health system was canceling appointments for young people, he immediately resigned from his job as an accreditation project assistant at the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service in protest. He shared the resignation letter with Gothamist.

Denholtz said he would get his next surgery at Mount Sinai.

This article was updated with additional information.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, you can contact the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, or by connecting online.