Methodist Le Bonheur intends to restart gender-affirming surgeries in Memphis after pause

One of the few hospitals offering gender-affirming surgeries in Tennessee paused procedures in recent weeks. But in response to legal threats from the American Civil Liberties Union, Methodist Le Bonheur in Memphis says the pause will be temporary — indicating procedures will restart by the end of the year.

“In recent weeks, some care providers voiced questions about patients receiving gender affirming procedures at a facility affiliated with our health system. This resulted in a temporary pause to review current practices,” spokesperson Rachel Powers said in a statement. “We have not changed our practices regarding the treatment of transgender and/or non-binary patients. We have not wavered from our commitment as a health system for all. We understand the physicians are moving forward with getting the patients rescheduled before the end of the year.”

Late last week, the ACLU demanded that Methodist reschedule a planned surgery for a 19-year-old patient named Chris Evans, giving a deadline of Friday afternoon. They wanted the procedure completed by Dec. 31.

ACLU of Tennessee staff attorney Lucas Cameron-Vaughn says they’re still not satisfied since the hospital has not explicitly confirmed it will continue offering gender-affirming surgeries.

“The hospital’s attorney has requested another week to investigate the situation, and we have agreed to that timeline,” he says. “We will evaluate whether we need to file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights once we have a response from the hospital.”

Gender-affirming surgeries, such as breast removal and genital reconstruction, have become an intensely debated topic in Tennessee politics over the last few months, especially involving teenagers. Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville was targeted by conservative activists and agreed to pause all surgeries on minors, while also saying it performs roughly five surgeries a year on pediatric patients and never on genitals.

The Tennessee Legislature is on track to take action when a new session begins in January. The first bill filed would ban most gender-affirming care until patients are 18.