Texas hospital agrees to end ‘sex-rejecting’ procedures on children and fund detransition clinic

Texas Children’s Hospital has reached a major settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton that will bring an end to sex-change procedures on minors at the facility and require the hospital to pay for the country’s first dedicated detransition clinic.

The agreement, first announced by Paxton’s office May 15, resolves a years-long investigation of the hospital that began after whistleblower allegations surfaced claiming the hospital continued performing sex-change procedures on minors in secret even after state lawmakers made such procedures illegal.

According to the Justice department , the Houston-based hospital has agreed to pay more than $10 million in civil penalties and damages for allegedly falsely billing Medicaid and other insurers for these “pediatric sex-rejecting procedures.”

The federal government alleges the hospital violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the False Claims Act, and federal fraud and conspiracy laws.

Under the terms of the settlement, Texas Children’s will no longer provide “gender-transition” interventions, including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, to minors, per Texas law.

The hospital also agreed to establish a multidisciplinary detransition clinic to offer restorative medical care to patients who previously underwent such procedures.

All services at the new clinic will be funded by Texas Children’s, the largest children’s hospital system in the country, and will be provided free of charge for the first five years.

The settlement also requires the permanent termination and revocation of privileges for five physicians who performed these interventions.

The hospital is permanently barred from rehiring or credentialing the doctors and must implement new compliance measures, including bylaw changes that will automatically revoke privileges for any physician who violates Texas law prohibiting such procedures on children.

“Under my watch, I will investigate and bring the full force of the law against any Texas hospital that abuses children with harmful medical interventions to ‘transition’ kids,” Paxton said.

Following the publication of a directive by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that transgender procedures on minors that could be considered “child abuse” under existing state law, Texas Children’s announced in 2022 that it would cease “sex-change” therapies and procedures, citing concerns that these practices were potentially illegal.

In 2023 Texas passed a law that explicitly banned puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender-transition surgeries for minors under 18.

Nevertheless, at least three doctors associated with Texas Children’s — Richard Roberts, David Paul, and Kristy Rialon — continued to perform “sex-rejecting” procedures on children throughout 2022 and 2023, according to whistleblower evidence published by Christopher Rufo, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

Rufo claimed that Rialon had been performing surgeries on minors ranging in age from 15 to as young as 1.

Calling the settlement “historic,” Paxton said it “will ensure that the deranged child mutilators who hurt our kids are fired and held accountable.”

According to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the DOJ “will use every weapon at its disposal to end the destructive and discredited practice of so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ for children.”

The Department of Justice noted that Texas Children’s cooperated with the investigation and took proactive steps that contributed to the resolution. The claims resolved in the settlement remain allegations, with no determination of liability.

“I am grateful that Texas Children’s wants to be part of the solution and no longer the problem,” said Brett Shumate, assistant attorney general for the Civil Division.

Source: https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/texas-hospital-agrees-to-end-pediatric-sex-rejecting-procedures-and-fund-detransition-clinic