February 21, 2025
The Oregon Pediatric Society (OPS) affirms that healthcare decisions, including gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary youth, should be made by patients, families, and healthcare providers—not shaped by legislation or executive orders. These deeply personal decisions must be guided by medical needs and evidence-based care.
We support equitable access to gender-affirming care and will continue advocating for policies that protect the safety, dignity, and rights of gender-diverse youth in Oregon. Pediatricians recognize that gender-affirming care supports their patients’ physical, mental, and emotional health, and is life saving: youth who identify as transgender and are stigmatized in society, have experienced physical or verbal threats or harm, or face discrimination, have a higher risk of death by suicide.*
Every child deserves appropriate, medically necessary care in a safe, supportive environment. We oppose efforts to restrict access to or undermine the physician-patient-family relationship. OPS advocates for the autonomy of families and healthcare professionals to make informed healthcare decisions free from political interference.
* According to The Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People, 46% of transgender and nonbinary young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year. LGBTQ+ young people who reported living in very accepting communities attempted suicide at less than half the rate of those who reported living in very unaccepting communities.
