Dozens marched outside the University of Michigan's Ruthven Building on Thursday, Sept. 17, demanding the Board of Regents reinstate gender-affirming care for patients younger than 19.

The rally marked roughly one year since Michigan Medicine announced it would stop providing hormonal therapies and puberty blockers to minors. The health system disclosed that decision in an Aug. 25, 2025, announcement, citing a federal subpoena tied to a criminal and civil investigation.

Five groups organized the protest: the Huron Valley Democratic Socialists of America, the Huron Valley Area Labor Federation, Equality Michigan, the Young Democratic Socialists of America at the University of Michigan and the Jim Toy Community Center.

Attendees carried signs reading "UM Regents: Stop Kneeling To Trump" and "Gender Care is Health Care." The group circled the intersection near the Central Campus Transit Center, each lap accompanied by chants and drums.

Colleen Murphy, a member of Ann Arbor Indivisible who has a transgender family member, said she was deeply disappointed by the university's decision.

"I just think it's extremely important that the University and other institutions don't give in to demands from the government that are based not on science, not on facts, and that we fight for people who deserve healthcare," Murphy told The Michigan Daily.

Inside the Regents meeting, two speakers pressed the board during the public forum. Naomi Silver, a lecturer and associate director of the Sweetland Center for Writing and parent of a young transgender adult, urged regents to reverse the policy. She told the board that community members have spoken at nearly every meeting over the past year asking for reinstatement, according to a separate Michigan Daily report.

Donald Levitt, chair of the alumni group Maize and Blue Courage, told regents his organization was co-sponsoring the protest outside and called for care to be reinstated.

The U-M Faculty Senate voted on Nov. 3, 2025, to pass a resolution calling on Michigan Medicine to resume the care, with 81.4% of faculty voting yes. As we reported Thursday, Democratic regent candidates Paul Brown and Amir Makled also voiced support for reinstating the care at a recent town hall.

Statewide, an estimated 22,100 minors ages 13 to 17 identify as transgender in Michigan, according to UCLA's Williams Institute. The advocacy group Stand with Trans estimates about 1,000 young people in the state have been affected by Michigan Medicine's and Corewell Health's decisions to end the care, Bridge Michigan reported.

Neither Michigan Daily report included a response from Michigan Medicine or the Board of Regents to the reinstatement demands.

After the rally, attendees gathered at the Jim Toy Community Center to decompress and write letters to the regents.