The University of Michigan
University Senate
Motion #110325-2

Resolution to End the “Pause” and Resume Gender Affirming Care, in Alignment with our University’s Values and the Mission of Michigan Medicine

Whereas the University of Michigan announced on August 25, 2025, that the Michigan Medicine system would stop providing gender-affirming care for patients under the age of 19;

Whereas U-M’s Mission is “to serve the people of Michigan and the world through preeminence in creating, communicating, preserving and applying knowledge, art, and academic values, and in developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future,” and Michigan Medicine serves the people of Michigan by providing them with medically necessary care;

Whereas “Michigan Medicine is a diverse place that endorses a culture of equity and inclusion” and Patient Rights and Responsibilities prioritize patient and family centered care including “involvement in care decisions”;

Whereas, the patient right of “access to respectful care” asserts that “[y]ou will receive necessary care regardless of your . . . sex, gender identity and gender expression,” which includes medically necessary care for all trans people, and thus trans adults and youth under 19;

Whereas cisgender individuals under 19 years of age continuing to receive various medically necessary forms of care including hormones and hormone blockers, a disparity that renders the decision to withhold those treatments from trans individuals discriminatory;

Whereas the expert research and recommendations of UM Faculty, physicians, and researchers demonstrate that gender affirming care is medically necessary and lifesaving;

Whereas the serious mental health risks when transgender youth do not receive medically necessary care include depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior;

Whereas data-driven research has consistently shown that increasing stigma, exclusion, and inequity has a negative impact on the mental and physical health of members of the stigmatized community and adversely affects student learning, scholarly innovation, and research excellence;

Whereas data-driven research consistently shows that increasing inclusion and providing basic medical care for trans people of all ages improves the mental health of community members directly and indirectly affected by said medical care;

Whereas the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Psychological Association (APA), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Medical Association (AMA), the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), and the US Professional Association for Transgender Health (USPATH) affirmed evidence-based inclusive care for transgender, gender diverse, and nonbinary individuals;

Whereas University of Michigan demographic data indicate that over 200 transgender or gender nonbinary/expansive undergraduate students aged 18 and under are no longer able to access critical gender affirming care services through University Health & Counseling that they pay for and are entitled to;

Whereas as the August 26th, 2025 letter of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel emphasized, the refusal to provide gender-affirming care for trans people “may constitute discrimination under Michigan law” and that “efforts to withhold or deny healthcare services because an individual is transgender would be discriminatory and risks inflicting irreversible harm on that individual”;

Whereas refusal to provide gender-affirming services for adults and youth under 19 violates Michigan Civil Rights protections against age discrimination;

Whereas the State of Michigan has joined 15 other states and the District of Columbia in challenging as unlawful the Trump Administration’s efforts to ban gender-affirming care for trans people under age 19;

Whereas U-M’s “pause” on gender affirming care for children and teenagers has led other medical providers to cease care as well, leaving institutions who continue to provide it overwhelmed;

Be it resolved that the University of Michigan Faculty Senate reaffirms its support for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse folks and their right to comprehensive, accessible, and life-saving gender-affirming care;

Be it further resolved that the faculty urges the University of Michigan’s Board of Regents to direct Michigan Medicine to resume medically necessary gender affirming care for youth under the age of 19 without delay;

And be it further resolved that the faculty requests that the University of Michigan commit to support all members of its community in their preferred gender expression in all units of the University, to respect the rights of trans and non-binary community members, and to oppose and condemn their stigmatization in any form.

Movant: Rafael Neis, Jean and Samuel Frankel Professor of Rabbinic Literature, Professor of History and Judaic Studies, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, Faculty Director of Arts Learning and Teaching, the Arts Initiative

Supporting Members:

Sean D. Johnson, Assistant Professor of Astronomy, LSA Collegiate Fellow, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts

Natasha R. Kumar, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Michigan Medicine

Melynda J. Price, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, College of Literature, Science and Arts, Director of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender

Approved by the University Senate on November 6, 2025

Results: Yes, 2432 (81.4%); 555 (18.6%); Abstain 651 - Motion PASSED