Minnesota passed legislation in 2023 to establish itself as a “trans refuge” state, but now a transgender teenager and his mother are left suing Essentia Health, a regional healthcare system in the state, after they terminated his gender-affirming care with no notice or explanation.
“What happened to John Doe was not just wrong, it was illegal,” said Gender Justice’s Senior Staff Attorney Greta Wiessner. “Under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, no provider can deny care to someone because of who they are. When Essentia Health ended gender-affirming care for all of its adolescent patients without explanation, it cut off John Doe and every young person like him from care they depend on. That is discrimination, and the law does not allow it.”
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In the lawsuit, filed by Gender Justice and law firm Robins Kaplan LLP, the boy and his mother are referred to as John and Jane Doe. John had started receiving care five years previously at the onset of puberty and there had been no issues with his care. Through that care, Gender Justice say that he was able to “grow into a confident, thriving teenager.”
Like many who have reported that Essentia Health has cut off their children’s gender-affirming care, Jane Doe explained that she heard about the move not from her son’s doctor or the healthcare system themselves, but purely through word of mouth in the community.
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Outside of the impact of being denied care that is medically approved and supported by all major medical associations, suddenly stopping gender-affirming care has documented medical concerns attached to it, particularly when it comes to negatively impacting mental health and increasing the risk of suicidal ideation.
“[Gender-affirming care] works best when it is consistent and supervised over time, and stopping it abruptly is not recommended,” say Gender Justice. “This discrimination can also lead young people to distrust and disengage from health care systems altogether.”
“Parents should never have to fear for their child’s life, safety, and happiness because of discrimination,” Jane Doe said in a statement through Gender Justice. “This has caused much suffering for our family.”
Essentia Health has not released a public statement about the decision to suspended their gender-affirming care for trans minors with no notice. When CBS News reached out to them, a spokesperson told them that “Out of respect for patient privacy, we cannot comment on pending or active litigation.”
However, the move follows a larger trend across the country as hospitals have suspended or completely terminated their gender-affirming care programs for minors in the face of threats from the Trump administration of federal prosecution and/or the loss of federal funding.
Last year the Department of Justice (DOJ) began using civil subpoenas to demand records for trans patients from hospitals in a campaign that one judge called an attempt to end gender-affirming care through “fear.” While those subpoenas are available for review, the DOJ has since moved to using criminal subpoenas from grand juries which, by their nature, are shrouded in secrecy. Essentia Health may have been targeted by the Trump administration behind the scenes and caved to that pressure without issuing a public statement.
As well as having protections in place for trans people who live in Minnesota, the state also serves as a sanctuary for trans people from neighboring states that have state laws banning or restricting gender-affirming care.
Gender Justice highlighted this while making it clear that (while not yet a class-action suit) this case is not just about John Doe, but about all trans people.
“As one of the largest gender-affirming care providers in Northern Minnesota, Essentia Health also served families who travel in from neighboring states, including North Dakota, which bans gender-affirming care for minors, and Michigan, where access continues to decline. For these families, the closure leaves them in limbo and fearful for their children’s health,” Gender Justice wrote.
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