Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital will not begin any new gender-affirming medical treatments for pediatric patients.
The policy applies to new and existing patients, according to MultiCare, the nonprofit health system that runs the hospital. Any patients who are currently on medical treatment will continue to receive maintenance medical care on their existing prescriptions, but MultiCare said the care will not be changed or expanded for any new treatments.
“We know that this is a significant change, and we are committed to working with affected patients to discuss their care options moving forward and help patients receive the support they need,” MultiCare’s media team said via email.
MultiCare attributed the decision to changes in federal policy that places the hospital in “significant financial and legal peril for providing pediatric gender affirming medical care.”
The hospital is referring to an executive order from the Trump administration, which aims to withhold funds from hospitals that offer gender affirming care. Washington state is suing the Trump administration over this order. There is a preliminary injunction in this lawsuit that the state attorney general’s office confirmed protects all providers in Washington
MultiCare also expressed concern for how the actions by the Trump administration could pose a risk to the hospital’s ability to serve Medicaid patients.
“As a safety-net hospital with more than 60 percent of Mary Bridge Children’s patients relying on Medicaid, we made the difficult decision to stop new pediatric gender affirming care treatments,” MultiCare’s media team said via email. “This step is necessary to ensure Mary Bridge Children’s and MultiCare can continue delivering critical care for the broader communities we serve.”
In response to Mary Bridge’s policy shift, some community members rallied at Tacoma’s Wright Park on Friday to protest the decision.
“They’re scared,” Cassandra Majors said at the rally. “They want to capitulate. We can speculate, but either way, they’re acting too soon.”
Majors said if she had had access to this type of care when she was younger, it would have changed her life.
“This is an attack on the trans community and our human right to healthcare and its compliance in advance with a fascist policy from our federal administration,” said Zev Cook, a community organizer running for the Tacoma City Council.
Cook said evidence shows that gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth helps reduce rates of suicide and self-harm.
“This is incredibly important to make sure that we can raise children who can live full lives as themselves and participate fully in our community,” Cook said.
Members of the Washington State Nurses Association were also in attendance at the rally. Jared Richardson, a nurse representative for the union at Mary Bridge, said the nurses want to offer the best care for their patients and that this decision isn’t based on science.
“ It’s about appeasing the federal administration right now, it has nothing to do with care. The evidence is clear that care for gender affirming care for trans kids improves mental health,” Richardson said. “Shame on MultiCare for the decisions that they’re making.”
The Tacoma and Pierce County chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America started an online petition calling on the hospital to resume medical gender affirming care for trans youths. As of Monday, over 1,000 people had signed the petition.
The petition called for Nick Brown, Washington’s attorney general, and the state Legislature, in the absence of action, to use “every legal and rhetorical tool at their disposal to force a reversal.”
In response to whether Brown would seek action, Mike Faulk, the attorney general’s deputy communications director, sent an email stating that the office has a longstanding policy of not discussing potential investigatory matters publicly.
“It is disappointing to see providers discontinue care that Washington officials — both in this office and across state government — have worked successfully to defend and protect,” Faulk wrote.
