Nessel Blasts UM Medicine Decision as 'Shameful and Potentially Illegal'

Attorney general says decision to halt gender-affirming care under federal pressure may violate Michigan law

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Photo: State of Michigan

Published: August 27, 2025 | Last Updated: August 27, 2025

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has sharply criticized the University of Michigan health system for suspending gender-affirming care for transgender patients under 19, calling the decision "shameful, dangerous and potentially illegal" in response to federal pressure.

In a strongly worded statement released Monday, Nessel described Michigan Medicine's decision as "cowardly acquiescence to political pressure from this president and his administration" and warned that her office "will be considering all of our options if they violate Michigan law."

Michigan Medicine announced Monday it would no longer provide "puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones for patients under age 19" following what the hospital described as "unprecedented legal and regulatory threats to our clinicians and our institution."

The decision came after the University of Michigan health system received a federal subpoena in July as part of the Trump administration's criminal and civil investigation into gender-affirming care for minors (and in many cases, adults who are 18). Trump's Department of Justice announced on July 9 that it had sent more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics "involved in performing transgender medical procedures on children."

As Pride Source reported on Aug. 1, Nessel joined a coalition of 16 states and the District of Columbia in filing a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's executive orders targeting transgender healthcare. The lawsuit seeks to block two executive orders that restrict federal grants and funding to institutions providing transgender health care to young people.

In her response to Michigan Medicine's decision, Nessel emphasized that gender-affirming treatment remains legal in Michigan and suggested the hospital system's actions could constitute discrimination under state law.

"Refusing healthcare services to a class of individuals based on their protected status, such as withholding the availability of services from transgender individuals based on their gender identity or their diagnosis of gender dysphoria, while offering such services to cisgender individuals, may constitute discrimination under Michigan law," Nessel wrote in an open letter to healthcare providers and patients.

The attorney general noted that "the availability of federal funding has no bearing on Michiganders' right to seek and receive healthcare services without discrimination" and that healthcare facilities cannot be relieved of their obligation to comply with Michigan's anti-discrimination laws.

Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, making the refusal to provide trans healthcare a potential civil rights violation.

The pressure campaign from the Trump administration has already shown results nationwide, with providers in multiple states reducing or eliminating services. The disruption has reached progressive areas including Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., though Michigan healthcare system Corewell Health reversed a similar decision earlier this year after facing public backlash.

Medical experts and national medical associations widely agree that gender-affirming care can be lifesaving for transgender youth. Research has found that interruptions in gender-affirming care are associated with elevated risks of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and self-harm among transgender youth.

Equality Michigan condemned Michigan Medicine's decision. "Health care decisions for kids should be made by parents and doctors, not by politicians," said Executive Director Erin Knott in a statement. "The federal government is using funding as a weapon to force providers to abandon their patients and override parents' rights to make health care decisions for their own children."

Michigan Medicine stated it would continue providing "all appropriate care other than puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones" for transgender youth and has "increased access to mental health services for patients impacted by this change."

The federal investigation that prompted Michigan Medicine's decision stems partly from the case of Valerie Kloosterman, a physician's assistant who claimed she was fired for refusing to perform gender-affirming care or use patients' preferred pronouns under a religious exemption. The Department of Health and Human Services launched an investigation into her case in June.