Colorado Hospital Is Resuming Care Despite Federal Pressure
In a landmark 5-2 ruling this week, the Colorado Supreme Court ordered Children's Hospital Colorado to resume gender-affirming care for transgender youth, a major victory for four families whose children lost access to medically necessary treatment. The court found the hospital likely violated Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act by suspending care for transgender patients under 18 in January, while continuing to provide the same medications to non-transgender patients for other conditions. "The children and these families have had an enormous weight lifted off of their shoulders," said the families' attorney, "because the Supreme Court has said they're going to be protected." Justice William Hood wrote in the majority opinion that while the hospital acted reluctantly and without animus toward its transgender patients, the decision to suspend care specifically targeted them, and that isn't a distinction the law allows. The ruling reversed a lower court judge who had refused to issue an injunction in February, sending the case back with instructions to require the hospital to resume care while litigation continues.
Children's Hospital Colorado's TRUE Center is one of the largest gender-affirming care programs in the country and the only comprehensive center in the Rocky Mountain region. The disruption in care had real consequences — attorneys documented worsened mental health outcomes for some children during the months treatment was suspended. A Kansas judge issued a similar ruling for transgender minors last week, and courts across multiple states have now pushed back against federal threats to hospital funding. The families' message coming out of this ruling was clear: they are not angry at the hospital or its staff. They simply needed someone to say their children would be protected. This week, Colorado's highest court did exactly that.
