Health
Supporters of Gender-Affirming Care Rally at University of Illinois Hospital Following Trump’s Executive Order
Protesters in support of gender-affirming health care gather at the University of Illinois Hospital on the Near West Side on Feb. 6, 2025. (Eunice Alpasan / WTTW News)
With a transgender flag worn on her back, University of Illinois Chicago student Jane Webb stood with a mic in her hand in front of a crowd of more than 70 people at the University of Illinois Hospital on Thursday.
“I’m here with all of you today to demand that UI Health not submit to the fascist ideology of a billionaire who would have every trans child grow up in a world where they can never be authentic to who they are,” said Webb, who had introduced herself publicly as a trans woman for the first time.
Supporters of gender-affirming care gathered at the Near West Side hospital to call on the University of Illinois health care system, also known as UI Health, to be clearer and more transparent about its commitment to providing gender-affirming care in light of President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end such care for minors.
A court case declaration filed Wednesday described how an Illinois teenager’s gender-affirming chest surgery at UI Health was canceled a day after Trump’s executive order was signed.
The declaration, filed by the teenager’s mother, was among several written testimonies provided by families as a part of a Baltimore federal court lawsuit filed against Trump’s executive order.
“The surgeon called to tell me that, because the hospital was worried about losing millions of dollars in funding, the hospital would not allow them to proceed with my son’s surgery later that month,” according to the Illinois mother’s declaration.
UI Health did not respond to specific inquiries about the gender-affirming surgery cancelation cited in the declaration. In regard to the rally, a spokesperson with UI Health, Francesca Sacco, said in a statement that UI Health is committed to providing inclusive care to the community.
“We continue to provide gender-affirming care to our patients in accordance with the law,” the statement read.
Protesters in support of gender-affirming health care gather at the University of Illinois Hospital on the Near West Side on Feb. 6, 2025. (WTTW News)
Trump’s executive order, signed last week, aims to halt federal funding for the purpose of medical institutions and hospitals providing gender-affirming care to individuals under 19. The order targets the use of hormone therapy, surgical procedures and medications that delay puberty.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul was among a coalition of attorneys general that reaffirmed their commitment Wednesday to protect access and federal funding for gender-affirming care in the face of Trump’s executive order.
“Federal funding to institutions that provide gender-affirming care continues to be available, irrespective of President Trump’s recent executive order,” according to a coalition statement. “If the federal administration takes additional action to impede this critical funding, we will not hesitate to take further legal action.”
In the statement, Raoul referenced the Human Rights Act in Illinois, which requires health care providers to provide health care to all residents and prohibits unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex and gender identity.
Several health care providers in the U.S. paused gender-affirming care for minors in order to comply with the executive order and continue receiving federal funding, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Elena Gormley, rally organizer and co-chair of Chicago Democratic Socialists of America, said that a clear commitment from UI Health means providing more clarification to the community about providing gender-affirming care.
“(UI Health is) now saying that they will commit to providing health care in accordance with the law, but we need some clarity,” Gormley said. “Are you going to follow state law? … Are they going to communicate this position to their patients, their workers, to undergraduate and graduate students at UIC for whom UI Health is their primary health care provider?”
Organizers originally planned the protest to put pressure on UI Health to come out publicly about its position on providing gender-affirming care for patients after organizers said they received reports from UIC workers that the health care system was moving to comply with Trump’s executive order.
Protesters in support of gender-affirming health care gather at the University of Illinois Hospital on the Near West Side on Feb. 6, 2025. (WTTW News)
The rally was organized by the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America and was co-sponsored by University of Illinois Chicago’s Students for a Democratic Society chapter and Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. The Illinois Nurses Association endorsed the rally.
“We cannot allow our institutions to be bullied into throwing communities they have committed to serve under the bus,” according to a statement from the nurses’ union.
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward) was in attendance and spoke during the rally.
“Our rights are non-negotiable,” Sigcho-Lopez said. “Our trans community is going to lead the way as they have before.”
Trump’s executive order seeking to end gender-affirming care for minors is one of several attacks his administration has made against transgender communities. Trump signed an executive order Wednesday banning trans women from competing in women’s sports. He also signed an executive order last week banning trans people from enlisting in the military.
Xzavier Jones, a student at UIC, was among the speakers at the rally at UI Hospital. Jones said he started transitioning as a teenager and started to take testosterone at the age of 16.
“Trans health care is something that is very important to people’s lives,” Jones said. “It’s the reason people are here today. It’s the reason I am here today.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Eunice Alpasan: @eunicealpasan | 773-509-5362 | [email protected]
