Kaiser Permanente says it plans to cease transgender surgeries for patients under 19 years of age, citing a high-risk legal and regulatory environment under the Trump administration.

“As the legal and regulatory environment for gender-affirming care continues to evolve, we must carefully consider the significant risks being created for health systems, clinicians, and patients under the age of 19 seeking this care,” the health care giant told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.

“After significant deliberation and consultation with internal and external experts including our physicians, we’ve made the difficult decision to pause surgical treatment for patients under the age of 19 in our hospitals and surgical centers.”

Kaiser Permanente says the new policy will take effect on Aug. 29. It will still provide other types of “gender-affirming care.”

Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health plans. It employs 25,000 physicians, operates 40 hospitals, and serves 12.6 million members.

Federal policy changes under President Donald Trump include an executive order issued in January to restrict transgender procedures for young people.

“Countless children soon regret that they have been mutilated and begin to grasp the horrifying tragedy that they will never be able to conceive children of their own or nurture their children through breastfeeding,” the order stated. “Moreover, these vulnerable youths’ medical bills may rise throughout their lifetimes, as they are often trapped with lifelong medical complications, a losing war with their own bodies, and, tragically, sterilization.”

The Trump administration has also alleged that some doctors and hospitals have engaged in fraud by providing fraudulent codes for transgender operations in order to conceal the procedures and to obtain payment through insurance for the surgeries.

The Department of Justice announced on July 9 that it had sent more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and hospitals that performed gender-altering treatments on minors.

Kaiser Permanente has faced lawsuits from former patients who transitioned as minors and who have since detransitioned. The lawsuits allege that Kaiser Permanente and other hospitals did not factor the minors’ mental health issues when they opted for the transgender surgeries. The lawsuits also allege that the hospitals did not disclose to the patients or their parents the potential risks of gender-altering surgeries and treatments.

Chloe Cole, who has detransitioned, sued Kaiser Permanente in February 2023. The lawsuit details that doctors started her on gender transition treatments when she was 13 years old. They performed a double mastectomy on her when she was 15.

“Kaiser Permanente, the gender clinic that destroyed my childhood, has confirmed they will be HALTING transgender surgeries for patients under the age of 19 nationwide, effective next month!” she posted on X. “This is only a pause, according to internal emails, but these incremental wins must be celebrated! We are winning! Thank you to the Trump administration for protecting kids!!!”

Kaiser is not the only health care provider to stop offering certain “gender-affirming” services. The Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) announced on Feb. 5 that it had stopped performing transgender hormonal procedures for new patients under 19 years old.

On July 22, CHLA’s Center for Transyouth Health and Development, the largest clinic in the nation providing transgender treatments to young people, closed, citing the federal government’s statement that it would not provide funds to health care organizations that offer such services to minors.