Historic Gender-Affirming Clinic to Shut Down

Nation Largest Trans Youth Center, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is closing its Center for Transyouth Health and Development—the nation’s largest public provider of gender-affirming care for minors. The decision, announced despite months of protests, has triggered outrage across the LGBTQ+ community and beyond.

The center’s closure, scheduled for July 22, comes after mounting federal pressure under the Trump administration. A recent executive order threatens to strip federal funds from institutions that offer gender-affirming care to minors.

Hospital officials stated they had no “viable path forward,” citing financial and legal risks. Critics, however, say the move is cowardly and cruel.

A Lifeline for Thousands of Youth

For many young people, the center wasn’t just a clinic—it was a sanctuary. For 16-year-old Sage Sol Pitchenik, the nonbinary teen who spent six years there, the experience was transformational.

“I hated my body,” said Pitchenik. “I hated looking at it.” Therapy alone wasn’t enough. But the center offered real care. “I learned how to not only survive but how to thrive.”

Pitchenik began hormone blockers after thorough evaluation, gaining a renewed sense of self. Their voice joins dozens more in protests outside the hospital demanding the center remain open.

More Than Medicine: It Was a Community

The clinic provided comprehensive care: counseling, puberty blockers, and hormone therapy. Surgeries for minors were rare and heavily restricted. Yet the closure leaves thousands scrambling to find new support in an already overburdened system.

“It meant the world,” Pitchenik told reporters, speaking about having trained professionals who understood them. “There’s so much bigotry and hate. Finding someone who knows what you’re going through—it matters.”

Protests Grow Across Los Angeles

Protesters now gather regularly outside the hospital. Teens carry signs. Parents shout through megaphones. Trans pride flags fly beside rainbow banners.

“Trans kids are done being quiet,” Pitchenik declared during one protest. “We’re done begging for the bare minimum. We deserve the chance to grow up.”

The crowd erupted in cheers. Their message is clear: gender-affirming care isn’t optional—it’s lifesaving.

Healthcare Workers Speak Out

Among the supporters is Jack Brenner, an emergency room nurse at the same hospital. After long shifts, Brenner joins protests still in scrubs, carrying a megaphone.

“Our visibility is so important,” they told the crowd. “To show our youth there is a future. That you can be yourself.”

Brenner, who is transgender and uses they/them pronouns, didn’t discover their gender identity until adulthood. As a child, they didn’t have the words or role models to understand what they felt.

Now, they wear a lanyard adorned with colorful “they/them” pins—visible signals for the trans youth they treat in crisis. “I’ve seen kids light up when they recognize something of themselves in me,” Brenner said. “That’s everything.”

California Officials Sound the Alarm

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has warned the hospital that closing the center may violate state anti-discrimination laws. His office has yet to take legal action, but the criticism is strong.

In a statement, Bonta called the Trump administration’s efforts “an all-out war to strip away LGBTQ+ rights.” He reaffirmed that gender-affirming care remains legal in California and urged providers not to retreat.

Still, the threat of losing federal funds has paralyzed many institutions, even in progressive states like California.

The Fallout of the Supreme Court Decision

The closure comes on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. That decision opened the floodgates for similar restrictions across the country—and created a chilling effect nationwide.

Many families fear they’ll have nowhere to turn. While private clinics exist, most don’t accept public insurance. Waitlists stretch for months. Mental health services are scarce.

A Mental Health Crisis on the Rise

Trans and gender-diverse youth face significantly higher risks of depression, anxiety, and suicide. A 2024 CDC study confirmed that access to gender-affirming care dramatically lowers suicide risk in trans teens.

Healthcare providers at Children’s Hospital have long emphasized this reality. The center offered not just hormones, but hope—hope that there was a future where they could live authentically.

Now, with its closure, families are left in limbo. Many worry about abrupt care disruptions, medication gaps, and worsening mental health outcomes.

“This Is Abandonment”

Beth Hossfeld, a licensed therapist and grandmother to two trans children who received care at the center, called the move “patient abandonment.”

“This is a political decision, not a medical one,” Hossfeld said. “It’s disturbing to me as both a therapist and a grandmother.”

She and other caregivers are demanding a transition plan—referrals, support networks, and guidance for affected families. But so far, few answers have been offered.

The Community Fights On

Maria Do, a leading organizer from the Los Angeles LGBT Center, didn’t mince words: “It’s a stain on their legacy.”

Do believes the decision shows how vulnerable trans youth remain—even in liberal states with legal protections. “We’re watching hospitals abandon the most at-risk population because of political fear,” she said.

But she also sees strength in the resistance. “The youth are showing us the way. Their courage is inspiring.”

Conclusion: What Happens Next?

The closure of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development is more than just a healthcare story—it’s a cultural flashpoint. It reflects the growing clash between politics and medicine, between fear and care.

While the hospital insists its hands are tied, protesters aren’t backing down. For them, the fight isn’t over. It’s only just begun.

And as trans youth continue to demand visibility, love, and a chance to grow up in peace, their voices grow louder—echoing through the streets of Los Angeles, and across the nation.

They are not going away. They are only getting stronger.

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