Colorado Supreme Court Orders Children’s Hospital to Resume Care for Trans Minors

The Colorado Supreme Court has ordered Children’s Hospital Colorado to resume providing gender-affirming medical care, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy, to transgender minors. The court’s 5-2 ruling on Monday found the hospital’s suspension of that care earlier this year likely violated the state’s anti-discrimination law.

The hospital halted new prescriptions for patients under 18 in January, citing a federal investigation and a declaration from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy’s December 2025 declaration stated that such treatments were neither safe nor effective for minors and that the department could exclude providers from federal healthcare programs, including Medicaid. Children’s Hospital Colorado, which serves a large number of Medicaid patients, said the potential loss of funding threatened its entire operation.

Four transgender minors and their parents sued the hospital, arguing the suspension constituted discrimination based on gender identity. They noted the hospital continued to provide identical treatments, like puberty blockers, to cisgender children for other medical conditions, such as precocious puberty. The...