As hospitals make deals with Trump ending trans care, protesters warn NewYork-Presbyterian: Don’t follow them

Dozens of people picketed outside NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Thursday afternoon as part of a campaign challenging restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors at New York City hospitals.

Protesters allege that the Manhattan-based hospital has stopped accepting new minor patients for gender-affirming care, mirroring restrictions at other health centers nationwide that cut youth off from gender-affirming care amid pressure from the Trump administration.

“We’re at NewYork-Presbyterian because they have ended care for trans kids, capitulating to the Trump administration’s attacks,” said Eliel Cruz, deputy director of the Gender Liberation Movement, which organized the protest alongside ACT UP New York. “They can’t abandon trans kids without us pulling up.”

Related: Protestors shame Mount Sinai for bowing to Trump by dropping trans youth care

Actress and reality television personality Peppermint delivers remarks. Jack Walker/The Advocate

NewYork-Presbyterian has been less public about the status of its gender-affirming care program than other hospitals in the city. The hospital has repeatedly declined to clarify whether minors can access the program and removed references to care for minors from its website last year.

“We continue to comply with applicable state and federal laws and regulations,” the hospital said in a statement provided to The Advocate in September. It issued the same statement to the local news outlet Gothamist in June. “Our priority is to serve all our patients in a compassionate and responsible way.”

A hospital representative declined to provide additional comment for this story. They did not address specific questions from The Advocate about whether minors can access gender-affirming care, whether the hospital would make a deal with the Trump administration to end its program, or how it responds to concerns from patients and their families.

Hospitals across the country have been closing their gender-affirming care programs to minors under pressure from the Trump administration, cutting trans youth off from services that medical associations widely regard as safe and beneficial for mental health.

Related: Renowned NYC medical center caves to Trump on trans youth care just as DOJ loses in court

Protesters marched outside of the hospital building, carrying signs and repeating chants. Jack Walker/The Advocate

A growing number of hospitals have also struck deals with the Trump administration to keep their programs closed, paying lofty penalties and funding detransition services. At least six hospitals, including two in New York City, have made such deals, totaling more than $24 million in financial penalties.

Protesters told The Advocate they were picketing not just for the restoration of gender-affirming care at NewYork-Presbyterian, but to pressure it against making a deal with an anti-trans federal administration.

“They have already taken one cowardly way out, stopping care for trans youth,” August E., an organizer involved in both the Gender Liberation Movement and ACT UP, told The Advocate. August declined to provide their last name to The Advocate out of concern for their personal safety. “We don’t want them to fall to the same cowardice that NYU Langone and Mount Sinai did.”

Organizers with the Gender Liberation Movement and ACT UP have staged several high-profile protests against New York City hospitals over access to gender-affirming care, including demonstrations at Mount Sinai Health System and NYU Langone Health.

Related: ‘Honor your oath’: Hundreds confront NYU Langone hospital over caving to Trump on trans healthcare

Protesters allege that New York-Presbyterian has cut off new patients under age 18 from gender-affirming care. The hospital has not responded directly to questions about its gender-affirming care program. Jack Walker/The Advocate

Both Mount Sinai and NYU Langone recently made deals with the Trump administration, after their gender-affirming care programs had been closed to minors for months.

The protests have found support from politicians and celebrities, amplifying their message. At a protest outside of NYU Langone, politicians like Claire Valdez, an ally of Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Democratic candidate for Congress, attended in support. So did out trans actor Elliot Page.

“One day, many will look back on this and say, ‘We should have known better,’” Page said in a video filmed at the rally and released this week. “But we do know better, right now, that denying this care hurts children.”

At NewYork-Presbyterian, actress, singer and reality television personality Peppermint urged attendees to stay active in organizing and find allies in other political movements, like the labor movement and the racial justice movement.

The Gender Liberation Movement and ACT UP New York have also staged recent protests at hospitals of NYU Langone Health and Mount Sinai Health System. Jack Walker/The Advocate

Protesters need to build “coalitions, even though we feel like we might not have that much in common,” Peppermint told The Advocate.

As of late, Peppermint has become more visibly involved in political organizing, serving as grand marshal of this year’s NYC Pride March — joining other marshals in calling for a ban on participation from hospitals that had restricted gender-affirming care — and as a featured speaker of AIDS Walk New York this year.

Peppermint said that, for LGBTQ+ people, the political moment has become so urgent that direct action has become a necessity.

Protesters said they would continue demonstrating until gender-affirming care is restored for minors. Jack Walker/The Advocate

“It's always been simmering underneath, … [but] didn’t necessarily require stopping the show to do whatever we have to do. Honey, at this point there is no show,” she told The Advocate. “We have to stop it.”

Organizers said they would continue staging rallies at NewYork-Presbyterian and other hospitals until demands around restoring gender-affirming care are met.

“We are fighting for the autonomy of trans kids,” August said. “We are fighting for our lives.”