Attorney General Bonta sues California hospital for curtailing gender-affirming care

Rady Children’s Hospital said Saturday that it is reviewing a new lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta that alleges violation of the conditions his office placed on the organization’s merger with Children’s Hospital of Orange County in 2024.

Among those conditions is an alphabetized list of 36 medical services that the combined health care systems are required to continue providing “for ten years from the closing date of the affiliation agreement.” Gender-affirming care is No. 10 on the list, between diabetes, endocrinology services and gastroenterology surgery.

The attorney general’s conditional affiliation approval is quite specific that those listed services be maintained “at no less than their current capacities, types, acuity levels, licenses and certifications, and in compliance with state and federal regulations.”

When those conditions were made, and the Rady-CHOC merger was completed in early 2025, the federal government had not yet proposed ending all Medicaid and Medicare funding for facilities that provide gender-affirming care to minors.

Rady confirmed last week that it had stopped all gender-affirming “medical interventions, procedures and prescriptions,” while continuing to offer supportive services such as counseling and offering mental health care resources.

The decision was immediately decried by the estimated 1,000 families in San Diego County that were using Rady’s gender clinic and by the larger advocacy community, which includes many of the program’s previous patients who attended a protest outside the hospital one week ago.

Taking Orange County into account, Bonta says the actual number of kids affected is larger than 1,000.

“Rady flagrantly disregarded its legal obligations by unilaterally deciding to preemptively comply with the Administration’s demands and cease medically necessary care for roughly 1,450 patients,” Bonta said in a statement. “We will not allow Rady to violate its obligations to patients and the state.

“We will fight to uphold the law and ensure Californians can access gender-affirming care without facing unfair roadblocks.”

Rady cited federal action impacting all Medi-Cal funding, not just funding for gender-affirming care, in its explanation of its actions.

The organization reiterated that explanation in a statement Saturday.

“The recent changes to our gender-affirming care services reflect a very difficult decision,” Rady’s statement said. “That decision was guided by our responsibilities as a nonprofit pediatric healthcare system to continue serving all children and families across our communities, including through participation in essential federal programs.

“We will address the Attorney General’s claims through the legal process.”

Some, such as TransFamily Support Services in San Diego, have pointed out that, while the removal of federal funding for organizations providing gender services is imperiled, the action has not yet been taken by the administration. The public comment period for the proposals on funding cancellation remains open until Feb. 17, and lawsuits, including action from Bonta, promise that the fight over this particular issue is far from over.

It was a point that Kathie Moehlig, TransFamily’s executive director, made clear when Rady confirmed its decision and began canceling appointments last week.

“This lawsuit confirms what families have known all along: Rady Children’s Hospital did not just abandon transgender youth — it broke the law,” Moehlig said in a statement.

“Rady made a deliberate choice to end medically necessary care for patients under 19 despite clear legal protections in California and despite binding merger conditions that explicitly required this care to continue.”