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Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) in Houston agreed to stop administering puberty blockers to children, pay $10 million in penalties and open a “detransition clinic” after a sweeping probe from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the state of Texas.
The resolution brings to a close a years-long investigation by Texas’ Healthcare Program Enforcement Division, which concluded that TCH fraudulently billed Texas Medicaid for “unallowable and illegal ‘gender-transition’ interventions,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote in a Friday statement.
“Under the terms of this landmark agreement, Texas Children’s will establish the first-ever multidisciplinary clinic designed to provide medical care to patients who were subjected to ‘gender-transition’ procedures,” Paxton wrote.
“This Detransition Clinic will help patients reverse the damage caused by ideologically-motivated physicians who harmed patients by performing dangerous medical interventions for the purpose of “transitioning” them,” Paxton’s statement continued.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks with the media after oral arguments at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 26, 2024. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)
All services provided through the detransition clinic will be funded by Texas Children’s and be free of charge to patients for the first five years of the clinic, according to Paxton.
He also revealed that the settlement mandated TCH to fire five “woke” doctors who performed gender transition surgeries on children.
“Today is a monumental day in the fight to stop the radical transgender movement. This historic settlement reflects an institutional and fundamental cultural shift away from radical ‘gender’ ideology. In addition to helping establish the first-ever Detransition Clinic and securing millions, this settlement will ensure that the deranged child mutilators who hurt our kids are fired and held accountable,” Paxton added in his statement.
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“I applaud Texas Children’s Hospital for changing course and committing to being a part of the solution by agreeing to form a first-of-its kind Detransition Clinic that will help provide free care to those who have been victimized by twisted, morally bankrupt transgender ideology. 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,” he concluded.
In a statement, Texas Children’s Hospital, meanwhile, characterized controversies surrounding its gender-affirming care program as an “unconscionable campaign of mistruths and mischaracterization.”
Texas Children’s Hospital stands at the Texas Medical Center campus in Houston, Texas, on June 24, 2020. (Callaghan O’Hare/Bloomberg)
“Today, we made the difficult decision to settle with the Texas Attorney General and the Department of Justice, closing a chapter that has been wrought with falsehoods and distractions. To be clear – we are settling to protect our resources from endless and costly litigation. This settlement will allow us to redirect those precious resources to focus on the life-saving care and groundbreaking discoveries of our exceptional clinicians and scientists,” the hospital wrote in a Friday statement, which has since been deleted from its website.
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Prominent pro-trans activists criticized the move.
“Just complete chicken— stuff by the general counsel and admin at Texas Children’s,” Alejandra Caraballo, a prominent transgender civil rights attorney, wrote in a post on social media network Bluesky.
Detransitioner Chloe Cole says her event at University of Washington with TPUSA tomorrow has been postponed due to alleged threats from Antifa. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Detransitioner Chloe Cole, however, praised the decision in her own social media post. “What an incredible moment for the movement to end child mutilation. Texas will be home to the first clinic that helps victims of these barbaric procedures to get back to normalcy,” Cole wrote on X.
Fox News Digital contacted Texas Children’s Hospital, the DOJ and the Texas Attorney’s General office for additional comment.