Oregon Health & Science University, one of the nation’s leading providers of transgender health services, stopped performing gender-affirming surgeries on patients 19 and under last year.
Sara Hottman, a spokesperson for OHSU, said the academic medical center last performed a gender-affirming surgery on a patient under 19 in February 2025 and has not performed any such surgeries since March.
“At this time, OHSU does not have the surgical care team available to provide gender-affirming surgeries to patients younger than 19,” Hottman said in an email statement. “Consequently, we have paused scheduling surgeries for this patient population.”
The change occurred quietly and was first reported Wednesday by Willamette Week. OHSU officials told the publication that federal pressure contributed to the decision.
The pause follows a series of actions by the federal government aimed at limiting access to gender-affirming care for minors since President Donald Trump took office last year.
In January 2025, Trump signed an executive order restricting federal funding for gender-affirming medical treatments for patients under 19. The directive specifically targets puberty blockers, hormone therapies — including androgen blockers, estrogen, progesterone and testosterone — as well as surgical interventions.
At the time, OHSU officials said the order would not have an immediate impact on patient care.
According to Hottman, gender-affirming surgeries were already uncommon for younger patients at OHSU. Fewer than 30 patients under age 17 received gender-affirming surgeries in the previous two years, she said. It’s unclear, however, how many procedures involved patients ages 18 and 19.
Hottman said OHSU’s Transgender Health Program continues to provide gender-affirming medical services to patients 19 and under.
Those can include puberty-blocking drugs to halt the permanent changes that can happen in early adolescence and hormone therapy.
Proponents say these treatments can be lifesaving for transgender teens. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, transgender teens face a higher risk of suicide attempts than their peers. A 2020 study also suggests that adolescents who receive drug treatments to affirm their gender identity improved their mental health outcomes.
Opponents, however, argue that minors are not mature enough to consent to such care and have pushed for restrictions nationwide.
The Trump administration has threatened to withhold federal grants from hospitals and medical schools that continue to provide gender transition care for minors, limited insurance coverage for gender-affirming treatments under Affordable Care Act marketplace plans, and issued subpoenas to clinics and physicians who provide the specialized care. The U.S. Department of Justice has also suggested it could pursue criminal charges against providers.
Those federal actions have prompted other hospitals across the country to roll back or end gender-affirming care services for youths.
Last summer, Kaiser Permanente announced it would stop providing gender-affirming surgeries for minors beginning in August 2025 at its hospitals and clinics. The health system operates hospitals in Clackamas and Hillsboro, as well as clinics across the region.
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