We, the residents of California, are deeply committed to protecting transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive youth and to ensuring their access to medically necessary, life-saving gender-affirming care. For this reason, we strongly and unequivocally oppose Rady Children’s Hospital’s decision to end gender-affirming care for youth as of February 6, 2026.

Every major medical association in the United States—including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the Endocrine Society, and the American Medical Association—recognizes gender-affirming care as evidence-based and medically necessary for the health and well-being of transgender and gender-diverse patients. Extensive research demonstrates that access to such care improves body satisfaction, self-esteem, mental health outcomes, and family and peer relationships. Moreover, access to gender-affirming interventions, such as puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy, is shown to significantly reduce rates of depression and suicidal ideation among transgender and nonbinary youth.

The decision to shutter gender-affirming care for youth represents a premature capitulation to anticipated federal policies that have not yet taken effect. The children and adolescents who rely on Rady Children’s Hospital—many of whom travel from across California and out of state—deserve dignity, continuity of care, and adults who are willing to advocate fiercely on their behalf. An estimated 1,000 patients will be forced to seek new providers for medically necessary treatment, with many likely facing long waitlists due to already limited provider capacity.

According to research conducted by The Trevor Project, 45% of transgender and nonbinary young people reported that they or their families have considered moving to another state due to anti-LGBTQ+ laws and political hostility. California has long served as a refuge for transgender youth. Senate Bill 107 explicitly establishes California as a sanctuary state, protecting trans youth and their families from bans on gender-affirming care. Yet Rady Children’s Hospital’s decision to discontinue services undermines these protections by reducing access to care for both in-state patients and those fleeing extreme, and often violent, anti-trans legislation elsewhere.

This decision is particularly alarming given the closure of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles’s Center for Transyouth Health and Development and Gender-Affirming Care surgical program in July 2025. In this landscape, Rady Children’s Hospital remains an indispensable provider for transgender and nonbinary youth across the state and beyond. The Trevor Project further reports that over 60% of transgender and nonbinary young people currently receiving gender-affirming hormones are somewhat or very concerned about losing access to that care—underscoring the critical importance not only of access, but of uninterrupted, continuous treatment.

If Rady Children’s Hospital is truly committed to serving the youth of San Diego and beyond, it must make the courageous, ethical, and humanitarian decision to resist political pressure and continue providing gender-affirming care. History will remember those who stood against injustice, cruelty, and discrimination. 

If you live in California, you can add your name in support of this letter here. And please, share this widely. We need your help.