California AG reminds hospitals, clinics that withholding transgender care could break state law

(KTLA) –  California Attorney General Rob Bonta has issued a reminder to California hospitals and federally funded healthcare providers of their obligations under state law to provide gender-affirming care despite President Donald Trump’s executive order pulling federal funding from clinics providing those services to minors.

“It is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures,” the order reads.

“California supports the rights of transgender youth to live their lives as their authentic selves,” Bonta said in a statement. “We will not let the President turn back the clock or deter us from upholding California values. I understand that the President’s executive order on gender-affirming care has created some confusion. Let me be clear: California law has not changed, and hospitals and clinics have a legal obligation to provide equal access to healthcare services.”

The state attorney general’s reminder comes after Children’s Hospital Los Angeles announced that it is pausing transgender hormonal therapy for patients under the age of 19.

In a statement issued Tuesday, hospital officials said they are suspending the care to assess an executive order signed last week by President Trump.

The move was praised by California Family Council’s president, Jonathan Keller.

“This victory didn’t come easily. It required unwavering dedication to truth and the courageous leadership of the Trump administration in challenging medical institutions to prioritize children’s well-being over radical ideology and political agendas,” the statement said in part.

The group is recognized by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist movements across the country, as an anti-LGBTQ hate group.