The University of Utah says it has had to shutter its popular health clinic for LGBTQ youth — pointing to a drop in patients after the Legislature’s 2023 ban on doctors providing gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
The U.’s Gender Management & Support Clinic, which had been operating out of Primary Children’s Hospital, informed all patients of the closure this month, and canceled any appointments that had been scheduled for May.
U. Health spokesperson Kathy Wilets confirmed that people who are eligible to continue receiving care have already been transferred to the more general Adolescent Health Program at the university.
“Our commitment is to follow Utah law and provide quality care for our patients,” Wilets said in a statement.
The Utah Legislature passed its ban during the 2023 session, under SB16, and Gov. Spencer Cox quickly signed it into law. The measure prohibits transgender people younger than 18 years old from receiving gender-affirming care in the state, such as a full mastectomy — often called “top surgery” — or accessing hormone therapy, such as puberty blockers or testosterone.
Those treatments are typically prescribed for people experiencing gender dysphoria, a medical diagnosis of the distress caused when there is a conflict between a person’s gender identity and their sex at birth.
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This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.