Last week, Seattle Children's Hospital suddenly canceled all gender-affirmation surgeries for patients under 19 years of age during February. Community members have organized a protest for this Valentine's Day, calling on the hospital to stand up for Transgender kids, rather than complying with President Trump's harmful executive order limiting such care.

The protest on Friday, Feb. 14 will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. at 4800 Sand Point Way NE, and will include calling representatives, resource sharing, writing valentines, dancing, and celebrating Queer joy.

"Seattle Children's is supporting the Washington state attorney general's temporary restraining order (TRO) in response to President Trump's January 28th executive order directing federal agencies to revoke funding for institutions providing gender-affirming care to minors," a Seattle Children's spokesperson told the SGN.

The Stranger's Vivian McCall first reported on how a Transgender teenager's masculinizing top surgery was postponed merely hours before it was scheduled to occur, saying that hospital staff called the 16-year-old patient last Monday evening and explained how the surgery was postponed due to the potential loss of federal funds.

During a Tuesday morning meeting, surgery center staff informed the family that if surgery was not postponed, the healthcare of other children would be put at risk and that the decision to halt gender-affirmation surgeries was made based on the interest of the entire community.

"Given the uncertainty surrounding the order's legal authority, we are seeking clarity to safeguard the best interests of Seattle Children's patients and families, and our workforce, so we can continue to deliver on our mission," the spokesperson said. "We remain committed to caring for our patients and families who need us and engaging in life-changing research, while ensuring we operate within all applicable laws."

On February 7, Justin Gill, president of the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA), issued a letter to Seattle Children's CEO, Jeff Sperring, requesting that all care for Transgender pediatric patients be restored.

"It is not an overstatement to say that the hospital's decision is life-threatening," Gill said. "We believe all gender-affirming care is critical to provide Trans kids with necessary medical and mental health resources."

The WSNA has 21,000 members, including 2,100 registered nurses at Seattle Children's. Gill said the hospital's abrupt halt to providing healthcare to Trans children is reverberating.

"Children's has historically been a leader in providing this kind of care, and the WSNA commends the courage the hospital has demonstrated in the past to protect its patients' privacy and their right to treatment," Gill stated. "This is why the hospital's decision — what appears to be a premature capitulation to an executive order [that] does not require the hospital to take any action — is so disturbing.

"Frankly, the hospital's silence regarding its retreat from providing the full panoply of gender- affirming care comes across as a desertion of leadership in this field."