A New York City hospital has closed its health program for trans teenagers, citing federal funding threats to hospitals that provide transgender minors with gender-affirming care. Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ + news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter. This week, NYU Langone Health announced the end of its Transgender Youth Health Program. The decision comes after President Donald Trump threatened in December to revoke federal funding for hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to youth, including puberty blockers and, in rare cases, surgery. Trump’s proposal included revoking Medicare and Medicaid funds, STAT News reported . Federal funding threats, along with the recent departure of a medical director, prompted the decision to close the program, a spokesperson for NYU Langone Health told The Guardian. The decision leaves transgender teens who relied on the program suddenly without access to what many medical associations have described as life-saving care. Ending gender-affirming care for minors has been a priority for the Trump administration, which last year subpoenaed at least 20 hospitals for medical records from their health programs for trans youth. A federal judge denied the administration access to these records in January , but the administration’s broader efforts to clamp down on gender-affirming services for teens have had a chilling effect on providers offering care to transgender patients nationwide. Local leaders in New York City have pushed back against the hospital’s decision, Gothamist previously reported . Last year, New York Attorney General Letitia James said hospitals that deny gender-affirming care to youth could violate the state’s antidiscrimination laws. Media representatives for NYU Langone Health did not return The Advocate’s request for comment. The New York City Commission on Human Rights said it was “deeply troubled” by NYU Langone’s decision, warning that transgender youth should not face discrimination in accessing health care . “Decisions about health care should be guided by health needs, not political pressure,” Commissioner Christine Clarke said in a statement to The Advocate , adding that the loss of the program “puts transgender young people and their families in a vulnerable position.” The commission said it would continue to investigate complaints of "discriminatory denial" of care and would enforce the city’s human rights law. Amida Care, a private, nonprofit health plan that provides coverage and coordinated care to New York City Medicaid recipients with chronic conditions, warned that policies creating uncertainty around gender-affirming care risk cutting off medically necessary treatment for young patients. “Gender-affirming care is evidence-based, medically necessary health care,” Doug Wirth, the organization’s president and CEO, said in a statement to The Advocate . “Decisions about care belong in exam rooms—not in the political arena.” Wirth said regulatory ambiguity can deter providers from offering care and undermine patient access, adding that research shows access to affirming care is linked to better mental health outcomes for transgender youth. The NEW Pride Agenda, a New York State LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, accused NYU Langone of bowing to political pressure and warned the decision could deter other providers from offering care. “Politicians do not belong in the doctor’s office,” Executive Director Kei Williams said in a statement to The Advocate , calling the move “a chilling effect for providers offering this evidence-based, life-saving gender-affirming care.” Williams urged state leaders to take action to protect access, including mandating Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care in New York. In a statement shared with The Advocate , Tyler Hack, executive director of the pro-trans rights political action committee, the Christopher Street Project, described the program’s closure as an “abandonment of its patients.” The Christopher Street Project supports pro-trans rights candidates for elected office and advocates for the trans community. “This is an attack on every single American who cares about their access to quality health care,” they said. “The Trump administration is trying to scare institutions into a false choice. Hospitals must choose to stand up to these power grabs and hold the line to protect their patients.” This article was written as part of the Future of Queer Media fellowship program at The Advocate, which is underwritten by a generous gift from Morrison Media Group . The program helps support the next generation of LGBTQ+ journalists.