Ferndale Pride Declines Corewell Health Sponsorship After Decision to Stop Gender Affirming Care for Youth
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Feb. 11, 2025)
UPDATE: Following backlash, Corewell Health has decided to continue offering gender affirming care.
Ferndale, MI – Ferndale Pride has rejected a $2,500 sponsorship by Corewell Health for their annual LGBTQ+ festival which takes place May 31 in Downtown Ferndale.
The festival raises money, mainly through sponsorships, to support local groups such as Gender Identity Network Alliance, Transgender Michigan, Matrix Human Services, Transgender Detroit, Access HIV, and Affirmations. They work with Ferndale Community Foundation who is a fiduciary of the event and also a recipient of funds which support other community projects. Corewell has been a sponsor of Ferndale Pride since it grew from a merger between Beaumont and Spectrum Health in 2022.
The decision to turn down Corewell’s sponsorship came after reports that the state-wide health system would no longer be allowing people under age 19 to begin hormone therapy as part of gender-affirming care. According to WoodTV8, patients already using hormone treatment would be able to continue. The policy change came after an Executive Order by President Donald Trump issued Jan. 28 banning the use of hormones or surgery on minors for gender affirming care.
On Feb. 7, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a statement telling healthcare providers “the availability of federal funding has no bearing on Michiganders’ right to seek and receive healthcare services without discrimination. Moreover, access to federal funds does not relieve Michigan healthcare facilities and providers of the obligation to comply with Michigan laws, including those that prohibit discrimination against individuals based on their membership in a protected class, such as religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or marital status. See, e.g., MCL § § 37.2102, 2202, 2302. Refusing healthcare services to a class of individuals based on their protected status, such as withholding the availability of services from transgender individuals based on their gender identity or their diagnosis of gender dysphoria, while offering such services to cisgender individuals, may constitute discrimination under Michigan law.” There is a lawsuit in progress aiming to stop the executive order.
Corewell continues to provide gender-affirming care to adults and other services to the LGBTQ+ community, with information on their website.
Yet providing gender-affirming care to minors is essential, says Ferndale Pride Executive Director Julia Music. “It is one of the ways we help young trans people to survive. It makes sure that they’re happy and healthy in their bodies. When young people can be themselves they are less likely to have depression, less likely to make unhealthy choices, and less likely to die of suicide. Gender-affirming care saves lives.”
Multiple organizations, including Equality Michigan, ACLU of Michigan, MiGen, PFLAG Detroit, Transgender Michigan, LGBTDetroit, and Affirmations LGBTQ+ Community Center issued an open letter to Corewell stating “We respectfully urge you to reconsider your course of action and to evaluate the ethical principle of “do no harm” in the context of sustaining vital treatment for the young people in your care. It is not hyperbole to posit that if health care for transgender people can be denied across the country without due process, without legislative action, and without the scrutiny of the courts, tomorrow, we could see similarly contrived assaults on the bodily autonomy of women and girls, access lifesaving treatments for HIV, or any other matter at the intersection of health care and individual rights. We urge you to stand by these young people and their families, to respect individual freedom, and to honor our democratic traditions. The health, safety, and lives of transgender young people are at risk.”
In a press release, Music said “We can not take this situation lightly. We know that there are many clinicians that have expressed their frustrations with Corewell Health’s stance. We are hopeful that these clinicians will educate Corewell’s management about the importance of gender affirming care. LGBTQ emplyees are welcome to join us as guests this year but there will not be booth space dedicated to the hospital system.”
Music said that finding sponsorships has been difficult as companies distance themselves from pro-LGBTQ+ events. Ferndale Pride event still has room for a naming rights sponsor, two stage sponsors, and other sponsorship opportunities available. Those interested in sponsoring can visit https://ferndalepride.com/sponsors/2025-sponsors/. Donations can also be made at http://www.ferndalepride.com/donate.
Dana Taucher, owner of Syndicate in Ferndale, is among the businesses who sponsor the event. “We’re proud to support Ferndale Pride and celebrate the vibrant, diverse community that makes our city so special. At Syndicate we strive to be more than just a cocktail bar, we’re a space for creativity, connection, and inclusivity.”
Other healthcare systems and providers continue to be part of Ferndale Pride, including Henry Ford Health, IEP Urgent Care, Honor Community Health, Health Quest Physical Therapy, and McMillan Behavioral Health and Addiction Services.
For Mark McMillan of McMillan Behavioral Health, Ferndale Pride is an essential part of the community. “As a long time person in recovery I got sober here mostly in the Ferndale area. Since becoming an addiction therapist and opening my private practice here in October 2020, I’ve sponsored the Recovery Booth at Ferndale Pride since 2021 as a way of giving back to a community that saved my life.”
Oakland County Times reached out to Corewell but they have not yet sent comment on the situation.
