A hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, has paused some of its gender-changing services for patients who say they are transgender after some doctors expressed concerns.
A spokesperson for the Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare hospital explained the situation in a statement to Becker’s Hospital Review.
“In recent weeks, some care providers voiced questions about patients receiving gender affirming procedures at a facility affiliated with our health system,” the statement said. “This resulted in a temporary pause to review current practices.”
“Our commitment remains to deliver high-quality and compassionate care to any patient regardless of their race, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,” the statement added.
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare said it has not changed its care policies for transgender patients, and that physicians with their patients to reschedule procedures by the end of the year.
The statement comes after the Tennessee branch of the ACLU threatened to file a complaint to the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights over the hospital’s decision.
In a letter sent on behalf of 19-year-old Chris Evans, who was scheduled for a gender-changing surgery at the hospital but was informed days before the surgery that it had been cancelled.
“All people should be able to access necessary medical care without fear of discrimination because of who they are,” said ACLU-TN Staff Attorney Lucas Cameron-Vaughn. “Denial of healthcare results in life-threatening situations for all patients. Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare is risking the lives of its patients by jumping into culture wars. Discrimination does not belong in healthcare.”
