Thursday, February 13, 2025

 

Executive Leadership and Board of Directors at VCU Health, UVA Health and Children’s Hospital of King’s Daughter,

 

We, the undersigned, write to express our unequivocal opposition to VCU Health, UVA Health and Children’s Hospital of King’s Daughter’s recent decision to suspend and restrict access to lifesaving, evidence-based gender-affirming care for young people and their families across the Commonwealth.

 

This decision follows executive orders issued by the White House that seek to restrict the rights of transgender and gender-nonconforming youth and young adults. It is imperative that Virginia’s institutions—including VCU Health, UVA Health and Children’s Hospital of King’s Daughter—do not prematurely comply with policies that lack the force of law, particularly when doing so causes demonstrable harm to vulnerable young people. Health care decisions must be based on medical evidence, ethical obligations, and existing legal protections—not political pressure.

 

Virginia law explicitly prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and expression in health care settings. The Virginia Human Rights Act (Va. Code § 2.2-3900 et seq.) protects individuals from discrimination in public accommodations, including health care. Federal court decisions binding Virginia have held that Title IX prohibits educational institutions receiving federal funding from discriminating on the basis of gender identity, and that Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act prohibits the same by healthcare institutions receiving federal funding. Executive Orders cannot redefine the meaning of federal law, nor does it relieve VCU Health, UVA Health and Children’s Hospital of King’s Daughter of its obligations under state and federal non-discrimination laws.

 

Furthermore, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other leading medical organizations recognize gender-affirming care as the standard of care for transgender and nonbinary individuals. The ethical principle of do no harm requires that medical providers continue to offer necessary and evidence-based treatments rather than restricting access based on political considerations. Denying such care directly contradicts these medical standards and places the health and safety of transgender youth at serious risk.

 

If VCU Health, UVA Health and Children’s Hospital of King’s Daughter allow essential medical care to be revoked without legislative action, judicial review, or due process, it sets a dangerous precedent for all Virginians. Today, it is gender-affirming care. Tomorrow, it could be reproductive health services, HIV treatment, or other vital health care that some deem politically controversial. Such a path undermines public trust in medical institutions and endangers the very communities VCU Health, UVA Health and Children’s Hospital of King’s Daughter are meant to serve.

 

We call on VCU Health, UVA Health and Children’s Hospital of King’s Daughter to immediately reverse this harmful decision and reinstate full access to gender-affirming care for all eligible patients—both existing and new. Virginians deserve health care that is rooted in medical integrity, legal protections, and ethical responsibility, not political expediency.

 

The health, safety, and lives of transgender young people who count on VCU Health, UVA Health and Children’s Hospital of King’s Daughter are at risk. We urge you to stand with them.

Sincerely,

 

The Undersigned

 

Equality Virginia

ACLU of Virginia

Charlottesville Pride

Equality Arlington

Equality Loudoun

FCPS Pride

Fredericksburg Area Health and Support Services

Freedom Virginia

Grassroots Community Care

Hamkae Center

Health Brigade

He She Ze and We

The Latina Institute Virginia

Lean In Project

Legal Aid Justice Center

National Association of Social Workers of Virginia 

National Council of Jewish Women- Virginia

National Women’s Political Caucus-Virginia

Nickel Bridge Family Medicine

PFLAG Hampton Roads

Pink Pony Alliance

Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia

Progress Virginia

The Properties of Light

REPRO Rising Virginia

Richmond LGBTQ Chamber

Seven Hills Family Medicine

Shenandoah LGBTQ Center

Side By Side, Inc.

Thriving Trans Men of Color

Transgender Assistance Program Virginia

Us Giving Richmond Connections

Virginia Anti-Violence Project

Virginia LGBTQ+ Bar Association

Virginia Reproductive Equity Alliance

Virginia Rural Health Association

Virginia Women’s Foundation