Editor’s note: A previous version of this article referred to the agreement as a settlement. The agreement is not a global settlement and means Rady will provide care until the case resolves, and the state will allow the hospital to decide where to provide the services.
Rady Children’s Hospital has agreed to continue administering gender-affirming care until a trial is held. The agreement means Rady will continue to administer puberty-blocker implant procedures, if a physician deems them necessary, as part of an agreement with the state of California.
After a lengthy delay, attorneys for both sides appeared at a June 24 hearing to announce the agreement, extending the court’s order for the region’s largest children’s hospital network to provide gender-affirming care.
Earlier this year, Rady Children’s announced it was ending treatments following a December 2025 declaration by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., threatening to cut off all federal funding to hospitals that provide gender-affirming care.
Rady, which operates hospitals in San Diego and Orange County, said that doing so would force its hospitals to close, resulting in an estimated 800,000 patients in San Diego and Orange Counties no longer receiving medical care.
California fired back at Rady following the announcement that it would cease offering the gender treatments. Attorneys for the state argued that more than 200 patients who are receiving the care through Medi-Cal would have to travel hundreds of miles in hopes of getting the medical treatments.
After months of legal wrangling, the two sides agreed that in exchange for Rady resuming puberty blocker implant procedures up until a final decision is made, the state will allow Rady Children’s to decide where the procedures will be performed.
Yet, while an agreement is in place, attorneys for both sides say additional hearings are needed in the coming months to handle issues with discovery while the lawsuit over gender-affirming care continues.
The agreement does not impact a separate proposed class action lawsuit filed by four families looking to ensure gender-affirming treatments without disruption. At the court hearing, attorneys for the families say they were not part of the settlement and will need additional assurances before moving forward.
