Colorado Supreme Court suggests hospital should sue Trump over trans care threat
US president and Republican leader Donald Trump. (Getty)
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled yesterday (18 May) that Children’s Hospital Colorado must resume gender-affirming care for transgender youth, delivering a major legal blow to efforts tied to the Trump administration’s campaign against trans healthcare.
In a landmark 5–2 decision, as reported by Transitics via Substack, the court said the rights of transgender children “cannot be sacrificed” over speculative fears about losing federal funding. Justice William Hood wrote that allowing hospitals to abandon protected groups under political pressure would mean “minority groups would always lose.” The ruling came after the hospital paused care for trans minors earlier this year following threats from the federal government.
The court also directly challenged claims that restrictions on gender-affirming care are backed by federal law, stating that a declaration from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not itself law.
“The Kennedy Declaration isn’t federal law. A declaration from the HHS secretary can be a basis for exclusion from federal health care payment programs, but the Declaration itself isn’t a federal law banning gender-affirming care… the federal district court in Oregon has issued its opinion, concluding that the Kennedy Declaration is unlawful and enjoining HHS from initiating enforcement actions based, in whole or in part, on the Kennedy Declaration,” Justice Hood wrote.
The decision further suggested providers should sue the Trump administration instead of cutting off medically necessary care for trans patients. Hood wrote that the threat to CHC’s federal funding “remains speculative” and that “CHC has other avenues” if needed to address withdrawal of funds as a reaction to the inclusion of trans minors in their care system.
This ruling is poised to be one of the most significant legal victories yet for trans youth healthcare in the US. By the court finding that denying care likely causes “irreversible physical changes” inconsistent with patients’ gender identities, it reaffirms that singling out transgender youth for different treatment constitutes discrimination under Colorado law.
Paula Greisen, an attorney for families who have been receiving care at the hospital, welcomed the ruling, telling CPR that LGBTQ+ people in Colorado would be protected by the laws, which “are going to be enforced in Colorado at a time when they’re under attack”.
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