Protesters Rally For Trans Lives

by Laura Glesby

“Raise your hand if you are somebody or love somebody whose life was saved by gender-affirming care,” Staklo said. ​“Now, open your eyes.”

Nearly 150 hands had braved the sky, the atmosphere heavy with recognition.

The crowd had gathered Thursday afternoon to protest a decision two weeks ago by Yale New Haven Health to stop providing medication-based gender-affirming care to trans youth under the age of 19, along with Connecticut Children’s Hospital’s decision to end its gender-affirming care program altogether. 

The protest was cosponsored by a wide array of local advocacy groups, including Trans Haven, the CT Party for Socialism and Liberation, several unions and healthcare advocacy organizations, the New Haven Pride Center, Citywide Youth Coalition, Children of Marsha P. Johnson, and New Haven Immigrants Coalition. 

Prior to the protest, hospital spokesperson Mark D’Antonio wrote in a statement, echoing a letter that patients received on July 23: ​“We have been carefully monitoring federal executive orders and administrative actions relating to gender-affirming care for patients under age 19. After a thorough assessment of the current environment, we have made the very difficult decision to modify the pediatric gender program to eliminate the medication treatment component of the gender-affirming program for patients under age 19.”

“This decision was not made lightly,” D’Antonio continued. ​“We are aware of the profound impact that this decision will have on the patients treated in this program, as well as their families.” He noted that YNHH is ​“committed to offering transitional support” for the patients.

“We need an immediate reversal of this decision,” Staklo said at the rally, calling on city and state leaders to find a way to ensure that medical providers keep gender-affirming care available. 

The crowd spanned generations and included teachers and healthcare workers, parents and children, seasoned leftist activists and a handful of city officials. Their voices united in a series of chants over the course of nearly two hours. 

“When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” the protesters chanted. ​“1, 2, 3, 4, open up the clinic doors! 5, 6, 7, 8, make CT a safe state!”

“It’s gotten so bad that care providers are telling people to hold onto expired [gender-affirming] medication just in case you need it,” said Emmett, a representative of Teamsters 1150’s Pride Caucus.

YNHH administrators ​“have decided that trans people are disposable,” said Staklo’s fellow emcee, Sam.

Speaker after speaker emphasized the stakes of the decision to deny gender-affirming medical care for trans youth, who often report experiencing intensely distressing gender dysphoria. A 2023 study from the UCLA School of Law found that 81 percent of trans adults in the U.S. have at one point contemplated ending their lives, and 42 percent attempted to do so at some point over the course of their lifetimes. 

Many of Thursday’s speakers and attendees echoed a version of the same statement: ​“Gender-affirming care saved my life.”

Protester Angel Fernandez-Ayala, who is 24, attested to that experience after recently undergoing gender-affirming surgery. (YNHH had not been performing surgeries on minors; the medical care affected by the new policy included reversible puberty-blocking medication and, for some older teens, hormone replacement therapy.) 

“It’s every trans youth’s right to get gender-affirming care,” Fernandez-Ayala said.

“Trans people have been at the forefront of every single movement. We are not silent. We are not meek. We are not weak. We have always stood up for everyone in our community and for everybody else’s communities,” Staklo said. 

He joined other speakers in decrying President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdowns, Congress’ decision to shrink Medicaid access, and rising economic inequality as the number of billionaires in the country continues to rise.

In the crowd stood Mayor Justin Elicker and Health Director Maritza Bond.

Elicker said that he spoke with leadership at Yale New Haven Hospital in the aftermath of the decision to stop providing gender-affirming medicine to youth. He said that Yale New Haven Health faced potential funding cuts under the Trump administration, which has made it a priority to threaten institutions providing medicine-based gender-affirming care.

“I can’t force” the institution to go back on this decision, he said. ​“The important thing is not to obey in advance.”

He underscored the city’s commitment to ​“welcoming everyone,” including ​“the LGBTQ community and the trans community.”

“It was very helpful to hear what a lot of people here had to say today,” he said, as the city considers how to support trans youth in the school system and the community at large.

At one point, someone walking by the Green began to yell and curse out the protest. But the crowd’s words of resistance were far louder. 

As New Haven Federation of Teachers representative Erin Mich put it, ​“We are here today because we love our kids.”

The Trans Lifeline operates a peer support phone service run by trans people for trans and questioning peers. If you need someone trans to talk to, even if you’re not in crisis or if you’re not sure you’re trans, call 877 – 565‑8860 Monday through Friday, from 1 PM – 9 PM Eastern time. 

The Trevor Project offers 24/7 crisis support for LGBTQ+ young people via text, chat, or phone. To reach a trained listener, call 1 – 866 – 488‑7386 or text START to 678 – 678.