University Of Michigan Regents Pressed To Redefine — Not Abandon — Care For Trans Minors

Michigan Advance

February 20, 2026

As they have each month since the University of Michigan’s statewide hospital network halted gender affirming care for minors, parents of trans children addressed the university’s board of regents this week to reconsider that decision.

On Thursday, it was Kim Dorey, the parent of two transgender young adults who called the university’s decision to halt the services a “messaging failure” that has left families scrambling.

Speaking during public comment, Dorey said her children were able to reach adulthood “thanks to the Michigan Medicine team” and asked regents to “continue yet redefine” care for minors rather than abandon it.

“For over a decade, your doctors have given families like mine more than a roadmap for care,” Dorey said. “They gave us options. They gave us hope.”

Her remarks come months after University of Michigan Health ended gender-affirming care for minors following a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice under President Donald Trump’s administration. The move followed escalating federal scrutiny of providers offering puberty blockers, hormone therapy and related services to transgender youth despite being considered by many medical experts to be medically necessary and potentially life-saving for transgender youth.

University officials have said the decision was driven by legal concerns and the potential criminal liability facing doctors and staff.

Dorey argued that many treatments labeled “gender-affirming care” are commonly provided in other contexts — including hormone therapy, fertility services and surgical procedures — and said the terminology has distorted public understanding.

“At some point we started referring to specialized care for what it does and who is allowed to get it,” she said. “When that happens, the general public stops hearing ‘health care’ and starts believing social media narratives.”

She also raised concerns about privacy, saying families expect their children’s medical information to remain confidential and warning that broken trust could deter people from seeking care.

Dorey referenced previous speakers who had appealed to the board in recent months, including parents who urged the university to follow the example of Boston Children’s Hospital, which challenged legal threats in court and resumed services.

“We would like to see an open vote from the regents on this topic,” she said. “Let’s get some of those questions that are burning answered.”

Regent Paul Brown thanked Dorey and other speakers, acknowledging the sustained advocacy from families who have addressed the board in recent months.

“I’ve been told the care that we used to give is still considered best practices,” Brown said. He added that he understands “the position the Trump administration has put doctors and caregivers in — the real legal and criminal jeopardy it’s put them in.”

Brown said it is “fair to ask” what legal or political changes would need to occur for the university to reinstate the services, though he did not call for an immediate vote.

“I’m not asking for an answer now,” he said, “but in the near future on what needs to happen in order for us to reinstate this care. What legal decisions and opinions need to happen, what political changes need to happen? And I think the community deserves that clarity.”

University officials have given no indication they plan to revisit the policy, which has drawn criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates and some faculty.

For families like Dorey’s, however, the stakes remain personal.

“Will you work with us to plow a path forward for these families?” she asked the regents. “Or go down in history leading us straight to this dead end road.”

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