Seattle Children’s Hospital has once again blindsided staff and community members by halting the provision of gender-affirming surgeries for patients under 19 years of age. This news comes only a couple of months after the turmoil that erupted in February when news first broke that Seattle Children’s had decided to cancel gender-affirming surgeries, folding almost immediately under the Trump administration‘s threat to withhold federal funding from hospitals providing the surgeries and other gender-affirming care. An estimated 1,000 hospital staff and community members rallied to protest this decision.
This massive overreach by the Trump administration was one of many to be challenged in Washington state courts. On February 14, Western Washington District Court Judge Lauren King blocked Trump’s executive order. The court ruling was a momentous win for staff and community members. As reported in The Stranger, Seattle Children’s responded to this win by stating that it had the “clarity it needed at this time to deliver on our mission while ensuring we operate within all applicable laws.” With these pretty words and reassurances that Seattle Children’s would indeed continue its mission, staff returned to work breathing a sigh of relief.
However, on April 16th news broke that Seattle Children’s had decided once again to stop providing gender-affirming surgeries to patients under 19. Sources inside the hospital say that rather than cancel existing surgeries, the hospital has quietly decided not to schedule them. This refusal to schedule surgeries is a clever roundabout way to avoid negative press and public outrage by misleading communities and by outwardly suggesting that care would be continued. This is a strategy of silence and complicity: rather than risk their funding, Seattle Children’s decided to quietly bend to governmental overreach despite a State judge’s block of the executive order.
These decisions to comply without due process are directly contributing to the demise of our democracy. When the checks and balances that we once relied on are being eroded, larger organizations like hospitals, universities, and retail chains have the power to resist the federal government’s attempt to strip liberties from entire communities. Unfortunately, organizations like Seattle Children’s Hospital are choosing self-preservation and complicity.
In the days since the start of this administration, Congress has only weakly challenged this administration over its actions that are destroying the economy and removing the rights and freedom of many. The administration has begun targeting a number of communities and programs, spreading our focus and attention among numerous societal concerns: immigration, tariffs, trans rights, national forests, the Department of Education, research, Medicaid, and many more. This strategy causes institutions to become self-interested, focusing only on their own budgets and longevity and turning their backs on the communities that are most vulnerable.
However, this strategy can also be the administration’s undoing. If only one or two organizations decide to stand on the side of justice and human rights, the federal government will be able to focus all of its energy on stamping out one or two fires. But if many larger organizations choose to resist, the federal government will need to allocate much of its own resources to fighting the many fires it has ignited.
The choice comes down to this: will the people comply in advance, or will they resist? Seattle Children’s has made the choice to comply, and we cannot accept that choice. We cannot stand by and watch as organizations comply in advance; we must put pressure on organizations like Seattle Children’s to protect marginalized communities. Allowing institutions to quietly bend to this administration will be our downfall.
This is where we as individuals have the power to enact change. It is up to us to change the minds of workers and community members that refuse to resist. They act out of fear and self-preservation; we must act out of bravery and hope for our communities. When we write history, we will write it in the streets, with our voices and with our actions. This is where we, the people, have power. We can and we must demand that institutions like Seattle Children’s choose to prioritize the health and well-being of the communities they serve. Healthcare organizations should provide care based on evidence, not on the commands of a political party.
This is a call to action — it is time to organize, it is time to rise up! Go to protests, sign petitions, call your representatives, and put pressure on your place of work if they are not representing you. When you are at protests and rallies get connected with groups that you identify with. Make your actions impactful, not performative. Use your anger as fuel and then hone that anger into carefully crafted weapons for change. If you are feeling burned out, rest and recoup, but then return to action. Challenge yourself to be defiant and persistent. Remind yourself of what keeps you in this fight and of who you fight for. Remind yourself of your own strengths and of the community that you are working to build.