California Sues San Diego Hospital Over Ending Gender-Affirming Care for Minors

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The California Attorney General is suing Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego for stopping 'gender-affirming care' for minors. The hospital says it made the decision to protect its broader pediatric services after the Trump administration threatened to pull funding and shut them down for offering such care to patients under 18.

Why it matters

This lawsuit highlights the ongoing legal battles over access to gender-affirming healthcare for transgender and non-binary youth, with the California government challenging a hospital's decision to comply with the previous federal administration's guidance on the issue.

The details

According to the report, Rady Children's Hospital says it made the 'very difficult decision' to halt gender-affirming care for minors in order to protect its overall pediatric services, after the Trump administration threatened to pull funding and shut down the hospital for providing such care to patients under 18. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is now suing the hospital, claiming it broke the terms of a merger agreement with another children's hospital by ending these services.

• In 2025, the Trump administration issued guidance calling puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries for minors 'unsafe and ineffective'.
• In 2026, a group of 19 states and Washington D.C. sued the Department of Health and Human Services over this guidance.
• On February 1, 2026, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego.

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide whether Rady Children's Hospital's decision to halt gender-affirming care for minors was lawful or if it violated the terms of its merger agreement with another hospital.