September 1, 2025
The University of Michigan Ann Arbor Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (UM-AA AAUP) was appalled to learn of the University’s decision to discontinue gender-affirming and lifesaving medical care across its statewide hospital network, bowing to pressure by the Trump administration after being subpoenaed by the Department of Justice.
Our AAUP chapter decries the University’s unnecessary and anticipatory compliance in response to threats of the Trump administration that will endanger young people. Our chapter supports continuation of gender-affirming and trans healthcare at the University’s statewide hospital network. Discontinuing these treatments withholds needed medical care, and will do harm.
In January 2025, the AAUP Council adopted a statement warning against anticipatory obedience and describing administrative officers’ “eagerness to obey” as ushering in a “bleak future for higher education.” Our chapter adopted a similar statement in March 2025, calling on the University to not comply with Trump administration demands except as required by law. This stance ensures checks and balances, and upholds the rule of law. Instead, the University’s decision to end this lifesaving medical care exemplifies anticipatory obedience. As Samuel Bagenstos, professor at the University of Michigan School of Law and AAUP Member-at-Large, stated in an interview with Michigan Public about the University’s decision, “To say ‘Look, we’re really afraid of what the Trump administration might do, so we’re not even going to go into court to try to fight them and stop them from doing this.’ If I were a parent or a transgender teenager who put my trust in this institution, I would feel like that was a breach of trust.”
An AAUP series of articles describes the Trump administration’s aim to erase transgender and nonbinary people from public life through a torrent of anti-trans executive orders. These orders include adopting a false and inaccurate definition of sex as binary and immutable, excluding transgender women from sports, and restricting agency and freedom of movement by forcing sex identity markers on government documents like passports. Among these executive orders is a decree to end lifesaving medical care for transgender and nonbinary people. By choosing to discontinue gender-affirming care, the University is aiding and abetting the Trump administration in this erasure. According to State Attorney General Dana Nessel, withholding care to transgender people may be illegal under Michigan law. Moreover, in defying guidance from reputable medical organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, as well as ignoring standards of care from its own nurses and doctors, the University not only appears to be obeying in advance but also is undermining its own reputation by ignoring best practices in medical care that may have life and death consequences.
The University’s decision indicates a willingness to discard certain types of care to maintain funding. The recent decision is notably distinct from the University’s support for abortion access. In 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and threatened reproductive care, University leaders vowed to ensure continued access to abortion. President Mary Sue Coleman stated, “I strongly support access to abortion services, and I will do everything in my power as president to ensure we continue to provide this critically important care.” Michigan Medicine CEO Marschall Runge stated, “U-M Health remains committed to providing high-quality, safe reproductive care for patients, across all their reproductive health needs.” With abortion access in the Trump administration’s crosshairs, the University’s decision raises questions about what other gender-affirming and lifesaving medical care may be at risk in the future.
We call on the University to not waver in its support for transgender and gender diverse people, including students, staff, and faculty, as well as community members and patients in the hospital network—even or especially when confronted with attacks by the Trump administration against institutions of higher education. We urge the University to eschew anticipatory obedience and to restore gender-affirming and lifesaving medical care across its statewide hospital network.
University of Michigan AAUP 