Protestors rally outside Kaiser after pause on gender-affirming care for minors

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Kaiser Permanente’s decision to pause gender-affirming care for patients under 19 has sparked protests from nurses outside its San Francisco hospital.

The policy change has led to disappointment among many nurses who feel their employer is prioritizing compliance with federal orders over patient care. They argue that the decision leaves young transgender patients with limited options for receiving necessary medical support.

“Talking about people who have potentially been on these lists for years, people who are waiting on their surgeries so they can feel like their authentic self for the first time in their lives before they go to college,” said Sydney Simpson, a registered nurse in interventional radiology at Kaiser.

“It’s not a decision that we walked into lightly, it’s not something that we chose, or my child choose, no one would choose this, we’re being terrorized,” said one mother who chose to protect her identity.

“I believe that children need safeguarding and that they can’t actually make that decision,” said Julie Lane, who opposes gender-affirming care.

Kaiser Permanente stated, “This is an extremely challenging and stressful time for our patients, our clinicians. We will remain a voice and advocate for safe, high-quality, and evidence-based care for transgender patients.”

Nurses and parents expressed their concerns about the impact of the policy on transgender teens, citing increased risks of mental health issues without access to gender-affirming care.

The protest outside Kaiser Permanente was met with counterarguments from individuals supporting the hospital’s decision, emphasizing the need for careful consideration in medical decisions involving minors.

Kaiser Permanente has indicated that its decision is influenced by executive orders that affect funding for gender-affirming care, although specific details of these orders were not disclosed.

Nurses are urging California Attorney General Rob Bonta to take legal action against the policy, suggesting it sets a dangerous precedent for healthcare practices.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.