Transgender Medical Operations Officially Banned At Catholic Hospitals

U.S. Catholic bishops voted Wednesday to officially ban gender-affirming medical operations and treatments at Catholic hospitals. The vote, taken inside a Baltimore hotel ballroom, formalizes what has already been the dominant practice for much of the church’s health-care system — but now codifies the prohibition with unmistakable clarity and force.

The vote approved revisions to the ethical and religious directives that govern thousands of Catholic hospitals and care providers nationwide. The impact is enormous: more than one in seven patients in the United States is treated at a Catholic hospital, according to the Catholic Health Association, and in many communities these facilities are the only medical centers available.

The updated guidelines simply codify what has long been standard practice in most Catholic medical facilities. For years, Catholic hospitals have declined to provide gender-transition procedures — whether hormonal, psychological, or surgical. The revisions now bring uniformity to that long-standing policy across dioceses, while still allowing individual bishops discretion over how the rules are implemented locally.

The announcement comes as gender-transition procedures face increasing scrutiny at both the state and federal level, with President Trump’s administration aligning with a national movement rejecting gender ideology in medicine. Many Catholic leaders have long argued that gender transition surgeries and chemical interventions violate Catholic moral teaching about the integrity of the human body.

Bishop Robert Barron underscored this conviction during the public session, saying, “With regard to the gender ideology, I think it’s very important the church makes a strong statement here.”

The new rules also draw directly from earlier Vatican and U.S. bishops’ guidance. A 2023 doctrinal note declared: “Catholic health care services must not perform interventions, whether surgical or chemical, that aim to transform the sexual characteristics of a human body into those of the opposite sex, or take part in the development of such procedures.”

The Catholic Health Association praised the revisions, noting that the bishops adopted much of the group’s recommended language. In its statement, the organization said, “Catholic providers will continue to welcome those who seek medical care from us and identify as transgender. We will continue to treat these individuals with dignity and respect, which is consistent with Catholic social teaching and our moral obligation to serve everyone, particularly those who are marginalized.”

The updated directives also draw from previous guidance on gender identity issued by the Vatican in 2024 and by the U.S. bishops in 2023. Several bishops rose to back the statement during the final afternoon session, including Oklahoma City Archbishop Paul Coakley, the conference’s newly elected president.

Their support followed a pointed passage in the document, which states, “We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement,” adding, “We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants. We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care.”

Transgender medical care in the United States has become one of the most debated areas of modern health policy. Treatment typically includes a combination of social transition, counseling, puberty blockers for adolescents, hormone therapy for adults, and, in some cases, surgical procedures.