Parents of transgender children in CT concerned about Trump ban on gender-affirming care

CT Insider – Saturday, March 29, 2025
By Cris Villalonga-Vivoni

Daniel Heumann doubts he would be here today if he didn’t have access to the gender-affirming care he had growing up as a transgender boy in Connecticut.

Although he doesn’t remember much of his childhood before transitioning at 7 years old, Heumann said his parents told him stories about how miserable and depressed he was. There were many nights when Heumann cried himself to sleep and had a stomach ache just from the stress, knowing that the identity he felt inside didn’t align with how the world saw him. Coming out, being received with support by his community and accessing care helped build his confidence to become a 19-year-old trans youth advocate.

“Gender-affirming care saved me…Every aspect of my care has made me the person I am, has made me feel confident and comfortable enough to go out of my room every single day and show up as my most authentic self,” he said. “Without that care, I truthfully do not think that I would be a present person today.”

In late January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order restricting gender-affirming care for thousands of trans and non-binary youths under the age of 19 across the nation. The order sparked fear, confusion and concern, members of the community say, for the future and the restriction’s potential adverse impact on youths’ mental health caused by untreated gender dysphoria.

At the same time, laws on gender-affirming care already differ from state to state and there has long been debate over the process and at what age it should be allowed. Some argue that there is not sufficient scientific evidence and that the care at such a young age could negatively affect a child in the long run. Advocates, however, say it can lead to better mental health outcomes to embrace an identity earlier.

A federal judge last month temporarily blocked Trump’s order and it is expected that the ultimate decision on the matter will be left to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The executive order, signed on Jan. 28, rewrites the definition of gender-affirming care – which often includes puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgical procedures – as “chemical and surgical mutilation.” The order aims to withhold federal funds from any medical institution, school and hospital offering gender-affirming care, effectively limiting access for some people. Federally-run insurance programs, like Medicaid, were instructed to exclude this care from their coverage, while the order also calls on the U.S. attorney general to investigate so-called “sanctuary states,” including stripping custody from gender-affirming parents and prosecuting providers.

At the time of the order, hospitals in some states including Colorado, Virginia and Washington D.C. paused gender-affirming care, according to the Associated Press.

In Connecticut, Yale New Haven Hospital and Connecticut Children’s, which have offered gender-affirming care, did not respond to a request for comment in response to the president’s order. Reports of gender-affirming care suspensions in Connecticut have been scattered in the weeks following the executive order, but patients and their families anecdotally reported privately hearing from providers who declared their commitment to care.

“We remain committed to our mission: To improve the health and healing of all. We will continue providing compassionate, high-quality care,” said a spokesperson for Hartford HealthCare adding that they are obligated to comply with the law.

Community Health Center Inc., which provides health care services in several communities across the state and had provided gender-affirming care, has not responded to multiple request for comments. At the same time, Middletown’s LGBTQIA+ Commission barred the Community Health Center from participating in this year’s Pride Fest because it says the center no longer provides gender-affirming care to those under 19.

“Any federal directive that would result in the withholding of funding from medical providers raises significant concerns and assessment is ongoing about potential impacts across health care,” said Paul Kidwell, senior vice president of policy at Connecticut Hospital Association.

Advocates said the executive order ignores years of research that says gender-affirming care leads to better mental health outcomes and that it is necessary to treat gender dysphoria. Gender-affirming care, especially for minors, starts by simply using the patient’s preferred name and pronouns and meeting each person where they are with dignity and respect, said Kathryn Tierney, medical director at the Center for Gender Medicine and Wellness at Middlesex Health. She said it is an example of collaborative work between mental health, medical care and social services that follows a patient’s lead, which can include medicines and possibly surgery once necessary.

However, just in the days after the inauguration, Tierney said the number of patients at the center reporting fear and suicidality increased and could persist. The executive order also doesn’t take into account the thousands of adolescents who already started gender-affirming medications who would be cut off from their treatment, Tierney said. In most cases, suddenly stopping care will ultimately lead to the adolescent continuing the puberty doctors were trying to block, heightening their gender dysphoria and potential for adverse mental health issues, she added.

“The reason we treat adolescents with medication is because it improves their overall health, it improves their mental health, and it reduces suicidality,” Tierney said. “So, if you remove all of those therapies, on top of the political rhetoric that’s happening that makes them feel not part of the community, that spells risk for pretty significant bad health outcomes in terms of mental health,” Tierney said.

One Connecticut father to a 10-year-old trans girl said the executive orders and the rhetoric they spark online are frustrating. Speaking to reporters anonymously to protect their child’s identity, the father said they may consider seeking care out of the country if it becomes no longer accessible in Connecticut.

Another Connecticut father raising a nine-year-old trans child said the executive orders could mean losing access to life-changing care for their nine-year-old and a return to a constant anxious state. His child started experiencing feelings of gender dysphoria from an early age, resulting in them “suffering from a lot of anxiety,” and gender-affirming care has helped alleviate some of it and bring a sense of “euphoria.”

However, with the executive orders, the father, speaking to reporters anonymously to protect their child’s identity, said the immediate fear is that their child will end up experiencing those high levels of anxiety again.

“My kid just wants to be a kid, and this is their only chance at a childhood,” he said.

Executive orders

Following Trump’s order, a lawsuit was filed by seven families around the country with transgender and nonbinary children, seeking to overturn the order. A federal judge has since temporarily blocked the order, the Associated Press reported.

More locally, state Attorney General William Tong and 14 other state attorney generals said they will continue to enforce state laws that provide access to gender-affirming care and promise to challenge “any unlawful effort” by the Trump administration to restrict it.

“Gender-affirming care is essential, life-saving medical treatment that supports individuals in living as their authentic selves,” Tong said. “The Trump Administration’s recent Executive Order is wrong on the science and the law. Despite what the Trump Administration has suggested, there is no connection between “female genital mutilation” and gender-affirming care, and no federal law makes gender-affirming care unlawful. President Trump cannot change that by Executive Order.”

While there was initially an attempt by the Trump administration to pause federal funding that would go to health care systems for the benefit of gender-affirming care, that order was overturned.

The federal action has prompted a coming together of the community and advocates, according to, Melissa Combs, founder of the CT-based Out Accountability Project, pointing to efforts to also strengthen LGTBQ protections in Connecticut through proposed legislation.

Most notably, a joint resolution was filed to expand anti-discrimination protections in Connecticut’s constitution for people seeking gender-affirming care or abortions in Connecticut. More than 2,300 pieces of testimony were submitted for and against the bill during a recent public hearing.

Combs said the Senate resolution was a “bold statement from the legislature at a time when bold statements are needed” to show and follow up on their commitments to protect residents from federal attacks.

Feeling comfortable

As advocates work to enshrine protections, families still worry about the order’s ripple impact. Heumann’s mother, Sara, said her son has always known who he is and how he identifies from a young age. By 2 years old, she said he was telling them he was a boy, wanting to play with other boys and their toys and dressing up in his older male cousin’s clothes.

She said they never pushed Daniel Heumann to wear anything he was uncomfortable with, but they would often remind people that he was their “daughter” despite the way he dressed and presented before eventually affirming him.
It was an emotional and lengthy process of connecting with resources, learning about gender-affirming care and finding support.

Daniel Heumann’s father, Micah, said their family has had many conversations, sometimes in tears, about the best ways to support him behind the scenes. He said his son’s transition started socially before doctors prescribed puberty blockers and hormones and performed top surgery over more than a decade of receiving care. He added that every step they took in his son’s transition was thoughtful and based on research.

“He was able to feel comfortable in his body and his mind, and he really feels that he wouldn’t be here on this earth if he hadn’t received that life-saving care,” Sara Heumann said, describing the significant changes in her son’s confidence. “It’s absolutely terrifying to think of the people who won’t have the opportunity to thrive in the same way that Daniel has.”

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