The Complicity of UPMC
And the silent end of their gender-affirming services
A recent policy decision made by Pittsburgh’s health behemoth, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), threatens the safety and care of children and adolescents seeking gender-affirming care across Western Pennsylvania. This reactionary action illustrates an acceptance of bigoted and scientifically invalid rhetoric promoted by the Trump administration and a culture of complicity.
UPMC dominates the region’s healthcare industry. Founded in Pittsburgh, it is famously the largest non-governmental employer in the Commonwealth, now with a global reach. It is also a registered non-profit, meaning it operates under a tax-exempt status and is often the focus of controversy, both for this and for its treatment of workers and subsequent union-busting efforts. Additionally, the institution has had its hand in the city’s development and has integrated itself into all facets of Pittsburgh life. The system is known for its extensive and quality service, and it is often referred to as a regional pillar of pride, since many people from the surrounding states, especially those rural communities, travel to Pittsburgh to receive all types of medical care.
On January 28, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” which essentially intends to "restrict access to gender-affirming medical care — including puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery — for minors, which it defines as those younger than 19”1. The language used throughout the document is fueled by hatred and a desire to fully erase LGBTQ+ (specifically trans people) from society. This move is part of a broader campaign aimed at enforcing the gender binary and inciting hate against trans people, making transitioning more difficult, empowering, and forcing dysphoria. As outlined on its website, UPMC offers comprehensive healthcare specifically for LGBTQ+ individuals, including gender-affirming care. More specifically, they offer a Gender and Sexual Development Program and provide care like gender-affirming hormone therapy, surgery, and voice therapy.
As reported by multiple local media outlets2, UPMC halted its provision of gender-affirming services to people under 19, without notice. While the information remains on UPMC’s website, any information or resources relating to gender-inclusive care were removed from the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s (CHP) page on January 30, 2025. Now, this is only accessible through the Internet Archive.
This concession has already had adverse impacts on the children and families who were previously receiving this care and had been for some time. Gender-affirming care saves lives, and having such a lifeline no longer accessible will impact the safety and security of many youths across the regions that CHP serves. As Pitt News reports, “research by The Trevor Project from 2022 found 54% of transgender and nonbinary youth in Pennsylvania had considered suicide in 2021, while 19% attempted suicide in the same year. Multiple studies have shown a link between greater access to gender-affirming care and decreased rates of depression and suicidality.”
Similar to accessing abortion services in certain states, former CHP patients are hoping to find services in other states like New York, Michigan, and Vermont. This serves as a key social determinant of health - the inability to access medical care (especially halting treatments you have already started) is damaging to individuals of all ages, and this falls into the healthcare access and quality, and social and community context. The conditions in which this access has been compromised are directly connected to the social context of anti-trans legislation, hateful and unscientific rhetoric, and the effort on the right to create and uphold a ‘problem’ that does not even exist. This move is guaranteed to hurt (and even kill people), overtly and covertly.
An unsurprising development for those of us who have previously witnessed what evil lurks behind the institution’s boardroom, many are left asking, what is the future of gender-affirming care for adolescents in this region? Western Pennsylvania’s neighbors, West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky have all completely barred adolescents from receiving gender-affirming care.
Within Pennsylvania, Penn State and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), appear to still advertise care and services for people under 18. Planned Parenthood has provided this resource for non-adults seeking care.
It’s obvious that the future of gender-affirming care for children and adolescents is in jeopardy, likely starting from the western end of the state and perhaps diffusing to the east. However, gender-affirming care for youth has not been banned in Pennsylvania - yet.
We should ask ourselves why UPMC moved forward with silently revoking services from these children and families, without notice, while institutions like CHOP continue to serve their patients.
It is despicable. UPMC’s complicity with anti-trans policies illustrates their lack of commitment to care for the city, region, and patients they serve.
