Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has secured a settlement that requires Texas Children’s Hospital to establish what it calls the nation’s first “transition clinic” for patients who previously received gender-affirming treatment.
Under the settlement, negotiated with Paxton’s office and the U.S. Department of Justice, Texas Children’s Hospital must provide free medical care to patients undergoing gender reassignment procedures. press release.
The clinic aims to help patients discontinue hormone therapy and receive medical care related to detransition. Under the settlement, Texas Children’s Hospital will fund all services provided through the clinic for the first five years.
It remains unclear whether the clinic will provide mental health services or counseling as part of detransition care.
Mr. Paxton previously issued a legal opinion arguing that mental health providers cannot provide gender-affirming treatment to minors who differ from their assigned sex at birth. Critics say the position has raised concerns among health care providers about treating transgender youth without risking accusations of violating the state’s ban on gender-affirming care.
Texas Children’s Hospital also agreed to amend its rules to stop providing gender-affirming care to minors and to revoke the privileges of physicians who violate its policies.
The hospital also agreed to fire and permanently strip the privileges of five unnamed doctors accused of prescribing gender-affirming treatments to minors in violation of state law. Texas Children’s Hospital will also pay $10 million to resolve allegations that it improperly billed Texas Medicaid for transition-related care using false diagnosis codes.
The settlement ends a years-long investigation by Paxton as part of a broader statewide crackdown on providers accused of providing gender-affirming care to minors. of texas tribune As previously reported, Paxton is suing four doctors, along with Children’s Health System of Texas in Dallas, seeking to have their medical licenses revoked.
Paxton hailed the settlement as “a monumental day in the fight to stop the radical transgender movement” and praised Texas Children’s Hospital for agreeing to establish what he called the first gender reassignment clinic.
Research shows that only a small percentage of transgender youth who receive gender-affirming care later transition. Researchers say people who transition often cite factors such as cost, lack of insurance coverage, and fear of rejection from family and society rather than regretting the transition itself.
But opponents of gender-affirming care argue that many children experiencing gender dysphoria will eventually identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.
Several studies refute these claims. 2024 study A paper published in JAMA Pediatrics found that only 1% of transgender youth later detransition, while a 2022 study from the American Academy of Pediatrics found that Found Only 2.5% of transgender youth identified as cisgender five years later.
Texas Children’s Hospital said it had made the “difficult decision” to settle with Mr. Paxton’s office to end legal issues “caused by falsehoods and confusion.” The hospital said it submitted more than 5 million documents to the state and the U.S. Department of Justice over a three-year period.
“All investigations and investigations continue to support the facts and we comply with all laws,” the hospital said in a statement disputing some of Paxton’s claims. “To be clear, we are determined to protect our resources from endless and costly litigation. … We have always put our purpose over politics and are law-abiding, and we are proud to continue to be law-abiding.”
Brad Pritchett, CEO of Equality Texas, a statewide LGBTQ nonprofit, accused Paxton of “blackmailing hospital systems into creating resources no one asked for” and said the focus on detransition ignores “actual science and years of data about the overwhelming benefits of gender-affirming care.”
“It’s shameful that a hospital that was once respected for its medical care has lost its integrity and is putting politics ahead of its patients,” Pritchett said.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
