As my colleague Katie Jerkovich mentioned in early July, the Department of Justice has issued subpoenas to doctors and clinics that are involved in conducting transgender medical procedures and prescribing drugs to minors for altering gender.
In the DOJ announcement on Wednesday, the department said its investigation is looking into things like healthcare fraud, false statements, and more.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated, “Medical professionals and organizations that harm children under the pretext of a distorted ideology will be held accountable by the Department of Justice,” according to the release.
Additionally, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued a letter in May directed at healthcare providers, urging them to modify their approach to diagnosing and treating gender dysphoria. This is supported by the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Skrmetti, which backed a Tennessee law that prohibits “gender affirming” treatments for minors while also ruling that transgender individuals do not constitute a protected class and that such bans do not qualify as sex discrimination. The implications are clear: transitioning minors is no longer a financially or legally sustainable pursuit.
Whether certain doctors or clinics were under this subpoena or not, what has followed is a rash of closures of the leading gender-affirming care hospitals and clinics in the U.S.
Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles was one of the first, officially shuttering its trans-youth center on July 17.
🚨 HUGE WIN! 🚨
The largest trans-youth center in the US at Children’s Hospital LA is CLOSED, thanks to the Trump admin cutting funds for “gender-affirming care” on kids. Gays Against Groomers celebrates this victory for protecting children from irreversible procedures.
Keep… pic.twitter.com/uldSjSEjar
— Gays Against Groomers (@againstgrmrs) July 17, 2025
“Keep fighting!” the above post urged.
On July 18, UChicago Medicine announced they were also closing out their center. Days after, Rush University Medical Hospital also ceased offering these services.
The health system said it was a “difficult decision,” but that it suspended the care to ensure it could continue to care for “all Medicare and Medicaid patients,” which make up “the majority of those [UChicago Medicine] serves.”
The health system said it was working with patients on a plan going forward, but didn’t elaborate. It did not answer questions about what specific services were being cut or if patients under 18 or 19 were impacted.
And heading into the next week, on Monday, the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. cried uncle.
It is apparent that without federal tax dollars pouring into these clinics, they could no longer afford to operate. Why is that? Was the gender-affirming focus really about helping children or just about collecting more money? Inquiring minds want to know, and the DOJ is on the case to find out.
In the case of Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), it clearly appears to be the latter. With the SCOTUS decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health overturning Roe v. Wade, and pro-life states instituting restrictive abortion laws, PPFA recognized that abortion was no longer a main source of revenue generation. But so-called gender-affirming care? Here was their opportunity for a new cash cow. In 2023, PPFA went full-court press in promoting these services as part of their offerings.
