Advocacy groups outraged after UW Health pauses gender-affirmative care for minors

Transgender advocates, parents and patients are calling out UW Health and Children’s Wisconsin’s Jan. 13 decision to pause prescribing puberty blockers and hormone therapy for patients under the age of 18. 

The pause follows recent federal actions and prompted advocacy group Indivisible Madison East to rally Jan. 16, arguing the move will cause both immediate and long-term harm to transgender patients already receiving care.

“This kind of health care is extremely personal to us,” Aria X. Trucios, an Indivisible Madison East organizer, told The Daily Cardinal. “Many of our members are parents of trans kids, and many of our members are also trans adults — people who were once trans kids.”

Trucios said the abrupt nature of the decision left families scrambling, particularly those whose children were already in the middle of treatment and suddenly had to navigate disrupted care without a clear path forward.

“It just happened,” they said. “What UW did was shut it down in their face without giving families time to find care elsewhere.”

In an email statement to the Cardinal, UW Health said despite recent federal actions they will continue to be committed to LGBTQ+ patients. 

“We recognize the uncertainty faced by our impacted patients and families seeking this gender affirming care and will continue to support their health and well-being,” the statement said. 

For minors, gender-affirming care is not a single decision or a quick medical intervention. It is a multi-year, step-by-step process that involves medical professionals, mental health providers, parents or guardians and often schools and insurers, according to the National Library of Medicine. Most care for minors is non-medical at first, and any medical steps come much later — if at all.

“These aren’t people coming in off the street and getting prescriptions the same day,” Trucios said. “These are patients who have been in the process for years.”

Access to care requires a child to identify as transgender well before puberty, have parental support, undergo extensive documentation and therapy and consistently affirm the decision themselves.

“You have to positively assert, as the patient yourself, that this is what you want,” Trucios said. “The patient is the one driving the decision the entire time.”

Trucios said the immediate impact of pausing care is that some patients will be forced to undergo puberty that does not align with their gender identity — a process they described as both distressing and irreversible.

“These kids know the puberty they’re going through isn’t right for them,” they said. “Now they’re being forced to watch their bodies change in permanent ways.”

Puberty blockers, one form of gender-affirming care, are supported by major medical organizations and can prevent the need for future surgeries.

Beyond immediate patient impact, Trucios expressed concern that pausing care for minors could set a precedent for restricting access for adults.

“We’ve seen in states across the country that once care is paused or banned for kids, the next step is going after adults,” Trucios said. “This feels like one easy step from targeting children to targeting everyone.”

Indivisible Madison East is hopeful the proposed federal rule will stall during the public comment period or face legal challenges. In the meantime, they are calling on UW Health to allow patients already receiving care to continue treatment.

“I’m hopeful UW will see the humanity of the people they’re harming with this decision and do the right thing by patients,” Trucios said.

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