ACLU sues children's hospital for halting adult transgender surgeries

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Colorado filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Children’s Hospital Colorado (CHCO), alleging discrimination against transgender patients for halting gender-transition surgeries for adults. 

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of an 18-year-old Denver transgender patient who was on track to receive "chest masculinization surgery" before the Aurora hospital discontinued certain gender surgeries for adults in July 2023, the lawsuit states. 

This change only included chest reconstruction surgery for transgender patients, the Denver Post reported. Trans patients can still receive other transition treatment, including counseling, puberty blockers and hormone therapy at the hospital. 

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The lawsuit argues the hospital is refusing to perform surgeries on transgender patients that it offers to cisgender patients with other conditions, citing instances where men seek chest reconstruction surgery when they develop feminine-appearing breasts because of hormonal imbalances or medication side effects. The hospital also sometimes performs breast reduction surgery on young women who have excessive chest tissue that causes pain. 

This photograph shows the logo of the American Civil Liberties Union. (KAREN BLEIER/AFP via Getty Images)



Adri Perez, ACLU of Texas Policy and Advocacy Strategist, center, and other LGBTQ leaders speak outside the Travis County courthouse where a hearing was held to stop the newly mandated cruel and unconstitutional child welfare investigations targeting supportive families of transgender children. (Erich Schlegel/AP Images for Human Rights Campaign)



Tree Crane, 17, poses for a photograph following a rally where hundreds gathered in support of transgender youth at the Utah State Capitol Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (Rick Bowmer)

The patient identified in the lawsuit by the pseudonym Caden Kent started receiving care at the hospital at the age of 16 to address mental health concerns and was diagnosed with gender dysphoria a few months later in early 2022. The trans man underwent eight months of assessment before doctors determined he was a candidate for surgery at the age of 18. 

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By 2023, the doctors "determined that chest masculinization surgery was medically necessary for Caden and that he was a good candidate for the procedure," according to the lawsuit. "Caden had secured the last authorization he needed to be scheduled for surgery at CHCO when it abruptly reversed its existing policy and, as a result, terminated his care plan."

"CHCO’s abrupt cancellation of all gender-affirming surgeries for its trans patients was devastating to Caden, other impacted patients, and Colorado’s transgender community," Tim Macdonald, ACLU of Colorado Legal Director, said in a press release announcing the lawsuit. "Refusal to provide medically necessary care based on the identity of the person seeking it, and the condition for which they are seeking it, is discriminatory and illegal under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act."

The ACLU of Colorado did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Children’s Hospital Colorado said it had not been served with any such litigation. 

Kendall Tietz is a Production Assistant with Fox News Digital.