UVA Board of Visitors votes to allow some gender-affirming care for patients under 19

On Feb. 21, the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors passed a resolution that UVA Health could provide gender-affirming care to existing patients under the age of 19, but new patients would be referred elsewhere.

The resolution stated that UVA Health would continue providing care to existing patients but may also refer them to private providers that are not subject to the “significant legal and funding uncertainties” facing UVA and other public providers.

New patients seeking gender-affirming care, as defined in President Donald Trump’s Jan. 29 executive order restricting treatment for individuals under 19, would be referred elsewhere until further notice, the resolution said. 

However, the university can still provide screening, counseling, and general healthcare services to those patients.

The resolution was adopted with one “no” vote from former U.S. Rep. L.F. Payne and two abstentions, according to a report from Virginia Business.

Doctors, students, trans people, and allies gathered at UVA on Feb. 21 as the Board of Visitors made its decision, according to reports from 29 News.

The meeting, much of which was held behind closed doors, focused on consulting with legal counsel on the Board’s authority over university policies, UVA’s compliance with executive orders and their impact on the Medical Center, according to the agenda.

UVA Health abruptly stopped providing gender-affirming services on Jan. 31 after it received a memo from Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares recommending compliance with the executive order.

The Jan. 31 announcement led to a protest in front of UVA Medical Center and sparked a wave of condemnations in the following weeks, according to reports from The Daily Progress and The Cavalier Daily.

After the ACLU and others filed a lawsuit challenging the executive order, a federal judge temporarily blocked it, allowing UVA Health to resume the previously paused services.

According to Equality Virginia, an organization that advocates for LGBTQIA+ people, there are about 300-400 patients who rely on UVA Health for gender-affirming care.

“Gender-affirming health care is best practice, life-saving health care. The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other leading medical organizations recognize gender-affirming care as the standard of care, or best practice, for transgender and nonbinary individuals,” Equality Virginia stated in a news release prior to the vote.

During the Jan. 31 protest in front of UVA Medical Center, Rachel, a 24-year-old trans woman, shared that she began gender-affirming therapy at 18,but wishes she could have started sooner.

“It has forced me to go through the puberty I didn’t want to go through,” she said.

Criticizing arguments that gender transition is irreversible, Rachel added, “The inability to transition is also irreversible. In my case, I didn’t have a choice.”

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