If Michigan's largest healthcare provider can defy Trump on gender affirming care, why can't NYU Langone and Mount Sinai?
Last Saturday thousands gathered to Union Square for a “Rise Up for Trans Youth” rally to stand up for transgender and non-binary young people.
The Trump/Musk White House has continued to target the community and the areas’ largest hospitals, NYU Langone and Mount Sinai, have been shamefully subservient.
Responding to NYU Langone and Mount Sinai’s decision to stop gender affirming care, New York Attorney General Letitia James notified them in a letter Monday that they could run afoul of state anti-discrimination laws for refusing care to patients.
Withholding services such as hormone therapy to trans people, while offering those services to other patients, is considered illegal discrimination under state law, the letter said.
The threat of losing federal funding is no legal justification for refusing to provide such services, the letter stated. Gender identity and expression are among the protected characteristics under New York’s Human Rights Law.
The letter comes after NYU Langone Health began canceling appointments for gender-affirming care for patients under 19 last week.
The same thing happened in Michigan where Corewell Health, one of the state’s largest healthcare providers reversed their earlier decision to stop gender affirming care and will now defy the Trump/Musk order.
Corewell Health will restore gender-affirming care for transgender minors after a week of mounting criticism from civil rights organizations, elected officials, and the LGBTQ+ community.
President Trump/Musk threatened to strip federal funding from hospitals offering such care. Fearing the loss of federal funds, Corewell bowed down, drawing criticism from advocacy groups and public officials, including Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
On Wednesday, Corewell insisted in a statement that its “pause” on gender-affirming care for minors was just temporary.
Public protest and threats of legal action won the day.
The question is, if Corewell in Michigan can do the right thing, why not NY’s NYU Langone and Mount Sinai?