Students Stage NYU Langone Protest Over $8.5M Trans Care Deal

On Tuesday afternoon, around 60 students, activists and allies gathered outside NYU Langone Health's Tisch Hospital in Manhattan. The rally started at 4:30 p.m., with marchers carrying signs and a long white banner that read "Honor your oath." The NYU Langone protest was organized as a public response to the medical center's $8.5 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, an agreement under which the hospital will permanently stop providing gender-affirming care to minors, according to Washington Square News.

The demonstration was put together by the Gender Liberation Movement, a grassroots group that campaigns for access to gender-affirming care as well as LGBTQ+ and abortion rights. NYU's chapter of Students for a Democratic Society took part, along with ACT UP, The Center and Destination Tomorrow, the student paper reported.

Chants at the NYU Langone protest included "NYU, honor your oath! Denying care hurts trans kids' growth!" and "Trans lives are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!" Attendees carried signs reading "Trans lives are not bargaining chips" and "Protect trans kids." The full report on the rally is available in Washington Square News' coverage of the NYU Langone protest.

A settlement that ended a federal investigation

The settlement was announced on Friday. It closes a federal investigation into the hospital's gender-affirming care for minors, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy, that had been running since January 2025. A spokesperson for the medical center said the deal would protect patients' best interests and safeguard their medical records.

The NYU Langone protest followed a long standoff between the hospital and federal prosecutors. NYU Langone ended all gender-affirming care for minors in February. In May, a federal prosecutor subpoenaed the medical center, demanding records "sufficient to identify" patients who had received gender-affirming services, or helped provide them, going back to 2020. The hospital received a two-week extension on the deadline before transgender patients sued the medical center and the Justice Department to stop compliance with the subpoena.

NYU Langone is not the first hospital system to reach such an agreement. Mount Sinai Health System, also in New York City, struck a similar deal last month. The Trump administration issued subpoenas to more than 20 health care providers across the country last year in connection with criminal investigations into their gender-affirming care programs.

Students say the hospital abandoned its duty

CAS junior April Gorman, who attended the NYU Langone protest, told the student paper they had received gender-affirming care from NYU's Student Health Center and said the hospital was failing the university's ideals. Gorman said people die without this care and that NYU Langone, like all medical facilities, has a duty to do no harm and to provide care.

Elliot Page, the Academy Award-nominated actor and film producer, attended Tuesday's NYU Langone protest. In an interview with Washington Square News, Page said he wanted to show support for transgender youth who could face the consequences of the hospital's decision. He called it a serious situation with dire consequences, adding that these bans have led to higher rates of depression and suicide and that many marginalized communities are being attacked right now.

Jay Walker, a Tisch alum and LGBTQ+ activist who spoke at the rally, argued that NYU Langone deserved blame even if it had been pressured. According to the report, Walker said the university was strong-armed, but added that it was also weak in character and weak in its support of transgender youth.

During the demonstration, one protester displayed a gender-affirming care injection, according to photographs published with the report.

What the data shows about trans youth and care

The NYU Langone protest drew on data from the Trevor Project's 2025 national survey on LGBTQ+ youth mental health. The survey found that 40 percent of transgender and nonbinary youth had seriously considered attempting suicide, and that those who could not access hormone therapy were nearly twice as likely to do so.

Activists say the settlement sets a precedent that lets political objectives override medical ethics. Legal organizations including Lambda Legal, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union called the agreement a capitulation, while the Justice Department described it as a protective measure for children.

For now, no patient data has been disclosed to the Justice Department because a court injunction remains in effect, according to reporting on the case. The injunction keeps the hospital from turning over the records the federal subpoena demanded.