Children’s Hospital of Colorado (screengrab via KUSA).
A college-bound transgender student sued a Colorado children’s hospital Wednesday for discriminating against him by suddenly and without warning canceling his gender-affirming surgery, leaving him no choice but to pay out of pocket for the procedure in order to complete it by the time he begins college. The case is the latest legal battle involving Colorado’s anti-discrimination law, the same statute at issue in the Masterpiece Cake Shop cases and in the case of a website designer who didn’t want to make websites for gay people getting married.
The student, who is proceeding in the lawsuit under the pseudonym Caden Kent, is an 18-year-old transgender man who lives in Denver, Colorado. In the lawsuit, Kent is represented by the ACLU of Colorado. Kent began receiving care for gender dysphoria in 2021 at age 16. In 2023, Kent’s doctors determined that chest masculinization surgery was medically necessary for his treatment and that he was a good candidate for the procedure. He sought care from Children’s Hospital of Colorado (CHCO).