Erie Community Protests UPMC Youth Healthcare Denial

On April 3, 2025, on the corner of State and 2nd Street, the Erie community convened to protest UPMC's decision to stop providing gender affirming care to trans and gender-expansive youth after an executive order prohibiting such treatment.

The rally, hosted by Erie City Councilperson and founder of Compton's Table Dr. Tyler Titus, was part of a large state-wide protest and rebuke of UPMC's decision organized by The Pennsylvania Coalition of LGBTQ Organizations. The Erie rally featured several speakers: Dr. Tyler Titus, Reverend Melinda Hall, Eli Skelton, Rose Davis, and Caitlyn Strohmeyer.

Dr. Tyler Titus spoke next with a strong reminder to trans youth that they matter and do not have to fight this fight alone that there are many dedicated adults who are fighting on their behalf. They cited that this care is often lifesaving and that UPMC's decision will make it deliberately hard for the most at-risk youth to access.

Melinda Hall, a local Episcopal Reverend, spoke first in support of youth in the gender-expansive and trans communities and the need for sustained support of those marginalized.

Eli Skelton, a member of Northwest PA Pride Alliance, shared his experiences of discrimination and his journey to access gender affirming care as a teenager transitioning in Crawford County.

Rose Davis, Treasurer of TransFamily, shared her family's experience accessing gender affirming care for her son and how it drastically improved his quality of life. She shared that he is now a healthy, happy 20-something experiencing life as he was meant to.

Caitlyn Strohmeyer, one of the founders of TransFamily, spoke about her experiences as a trans woman and voiced support for the importance of gender affirming care to trans well-being and lives.

Rally attendees flew trans flags, carried signs of support, and expressed care and concern for the futures of trans and gender expansive youth in Erie and the surrounding counties.

The broader medical and scientific community stand firmly behind research that cites the helpful benefits of gender affirming care for gender diverse youth. The Trevor Project cites several studies from researcher de Vries et al that states "Pubertal suppression is associated with decreased behavioral and emotional problems as well as decreased depressive symptoms" and "Research on GAHT [gender affirming hormone therapy] for youth demonstrates positive effects on body image and overall psychological well-being as well as reduced suicidality. GAHT decreases both emotional and behavioral problems." According to the American Medical Association: "Receipt of gender-affirming care has been linked to dramatically reduced rates of suicide attempts, decreased rates of depression and anxiety, decreased substance use, improved HIV medication adherence, and reduced rates of harmful self-prescribed hormone use."

In response to the statewide protests, a UPMC spokesperson said that they will "monitor and comply with directives coming from the federal government that affect the ability of our clinicians to provide specific types of care" and says that they will continue to provide behavioral health and other support "within the bounds of the law."

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