In the wake of the executive orders threatening to cut federal funding to programs providing gender affirming care, the clinic did make some changes to its public-facing communications. “We were asked to take our pronouns out of our signature box, and information about our gender-affirming support groups and care was taken off the website,” said Quinn, who requested I not identify the location, name, or type of clinic out of fear of retribution. “But groups and individuals are still meeting with their providers.

“The actual care has continued, because it’s ethical medical care.”

Quinn is one of countless healthcare workers across the United States mobilizing to support the young transgender and gender-diverse patients they care for, as the Trump administration unleashes a flurry of executive orders, and political attacks, aimed at limiting this population’s ability to exist openly in the world.

Within this climate, many workers, like Quinn, are mobilizing in private. Others are taking action in the open as union members, participating in protests against hospitals that roll back services or staging creative actions to show support for their patients. While no one is free from fear of repercussions, those organizing as union members seemed more comfortable going on the record, and those who are retired especially so.

But every healthcare worker I talked to said they are desperate to do what they can to stem a mounting attack on an already vulnerable population and keep providing care that they fervently believe saves lives. “I have seen what not providing gender-affirming care looks like, and objectively speaking, it results in worsening mental health issues, can result in increased mortality, and can worsen patient outcomes,” Andrea Soto López, a pediatrician for a Los Angeles-area hospital, told me over the phone.