The ACLU of Colorado has filed a lawsuit against Children's Hospital Colorado on behalf of an 18-year-old transgender patient who was denied a “gender-affirming surgery.”

The lawsuit alleges that the hospital violated Colorado's anti-discrimination laws when it stopped providing gender-affirming surgeries in July 2023.

The patient, using the pseudonym Caden Kent, had received insurance authorization for the procedure at Children's Hospital when the hospital adopted its new policy and refused to move forward with the surgery.

The ACLU of Colorado says it is suing Children’s Hospital Colorado on behalf of an 18-year-old transgender patient who was denied a gender-affirming surgery. (Children's Hospital Colorado)

According to the ACLU, gender-affirming surgical care is “medically necessary and sometimes life-saving” for transgender individuals. The abrupt cancellation of gender-affirming surgeries by Children's Hospital Colorado has had a devastating impact on Caden and other affected patients, as well as the transgender community in Colorado.

The ACLU argues that refusing to provide medically necessary care based on the identity of the person seeking it is discriminatory and illegal under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.

The ACLU said gender-affirming surgical care is medically necessary and sometimes life-saving for transgender people. (@DENVER7)

Children's Hospital Colorado made the decision in July 2023, after receiving an unprecedented number of referrals for gender-affirming care, and in order to maintain a certain level of care for pediatric patients, that it would discontinue surgical gender-affirming procedures for patients over 18 years old.

At that time, the hospital shared that they would work with impacted adult patients to explore referrals to other hospitals in the region that provide this type of care.

The insurance authorization was received by Caden's family on July 13, 2023, the same day the hospital changed its policy, according to the lawsuit. The family immediately notified the physician's assistant about the authorization, but they were informed that the hospital could not schedule the procedure due to the new policy.

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The lawsuit seeks various remedies, including an order finding that Children's Hospital Colorado discriminated against Caden based on his sex, gender identity, gender expression, and disability. It also requests an injunction and order for the hospital's compliance with the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.

Additionally, the lawsuit seeks monetary awards for disability discrimination, gender identity, sex, and gender expression.

As a result of the denied surgery, Caden and his family say that they have faced significant challenges in finding an alternative provider, re-establishing insurance authorization, and scheduling the surgery before Caden leaves for college.

They will now have to pay for the surgery out of pocket to complete the post-operation recovery before Caden's departure in the fall.