Protesters have been rallying in Los Angeles after it was announced that the largest centre providing gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth in the US will be shut down on July 22. The decision follows the Trump administration’s threat to cut federal funding to hospitals that offer gender-affirming care programmes for minors.

The Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) is the country’s biggest provider of trans healthcare for children and teens. The centre provides care to over 3,000 trans minors and people up to 25 years old.

The announcement of its closure came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January aimed at cutting federal support for providers of gender-affirming care for people under 19. It also follows a Supreme Court ruling which upheld state bans on gender-affirming care for trans youth.

According to CBS News Los Angeles, the hospital’s administration stated that they were forced to close the centre and terminate all gender-affirming programmes due to the “increasingly severe impacts of federal administrative actions and proposed policies.”

Since the news was announced, scores of protesters gathered outside the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to demand a reversal of the decision. Rallies organised by the Los Angeles LGBT Center took place every week, featuring speakers from the community and families who will be affected by the imminent closure.

“It is a disappointment to see this abrupt closure disrupting the care that trans youth receive. But it’s also a stain on their legacy,” said Maria Do, community mobilisation manager at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. “I think it showcases that they’re quick to abandon our most vulnerable members.”

Sage Sol Pitchenik, a non-binary young person who attended the protests, told The Associated Press: “Trans kids are done being quiet. Trans kids are done being polite, and trans kids are done begging for the bare minimum, begging for the chance to grow up, to have a future, to be loved by others when sometimes we can’t even love ourselves.”