Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

Texas Children’s Hospital Stops Puberty Blockers for Minors After Abbott Labels It ‘Child Abuse’

Photo by Lena Balk/Unsplash
Photo by Lena Balk/Unsplash
Share Tweet
By Tré Goins-Phillips
Editor

March 10, 2022

Texas Children’s Hospital — the largest pediatric hospital in the state — has announced it will no longer provide puberty blockers to children after state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) labeled the practice “child abuse.”

Listen to the latest episode of the Faithwire podcast 👇

As CBN’s Faithwire previously reported, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has directed state agencies to undertake “prompt and thorough” investigations into so-called “sex change” procedures and hormonal treatments to determine if such actions constitute child abuse. Abbott’s directive came after Paxton issued a non-binding legal opinion stating that performing “sex reassignment” procedures “can legally constitute child abuse under several provisions” of state law.

Texas Attorney General: “There is no doubt" that gender transition of minors is ‘child abuse’ under Texas law.

The Texas Dept. of Family & Protective Services will enforce this ruling and investigate & refer for prosecution any such abuse.https://t.co/hZQguNOiye

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) February 22, 2022

“After assessing the attorney general’s and governor’s actions, Texas Children’s Hospital paused hormone-related prescription therapies for gender-affirming services,” TCH said in a statement, per CNN. “This step was taken to safeguard our healthcare professionals and impacted families from potential criminal legal ramifications.”

The hospital also stated its mission is “to create a healthier future for all children, including transgender children, within the bounds of the law,” adding, “This step was taken to safeguard our health care professionals and impacted families from potential criminal legal ramifications.”

Paxton, for his part, celebrated the hospital’s decision Friday.

Glad to hear that today Texas Children’s Hospital halted their child-abuse procedures. https://t.co/HC9NJLrc3u

— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) March 4, 2022

In his mid-February opinion, Paxton argued prescribing puberty blocking drugs and performing body-altering procedures on children can cause “mental or emotional injury to a child that results in an observable and material impairment in the child’s growth, development, or psychological functioning.”

He also warned such actions could cause “physical injury that results in substantial harm to the child.”

Paxton’s opinion came after Jaime Masters, commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, issued a ruling in August 2021, stating it found some transgender procedures on minors are abusive.

“Genital mutilation of a child through reassignment surgery is child abuse, subject to all rules and procedures pertaining to child abuse,” Masters stated at the time. “Such mutilation may cause a ‘genuine threat of substantial harm from physical injury to the child’ [according to Texas law].”

“This surgical procedure physically alters a child’s genitalia for non-medical purposes, potentially inflicting irreversible harm to children’s bodies,” he continued. “Generally, children in the care and custody of a parent lack the legal capacity to consent to surgical treatments, making them more vulnerable.”

As CBN News reported:

Some medical centers around the world are taking a second look at how to treat children with gender dysphoria.

In May 2021, a renowned Swedish hospital announced it will no longer prescribe puberty-blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors under the age of 16. 

“The hormonal treatment of children and adolescents with gender dysphoria may consist of puberty-blocking treatment initiated at the onset of puberty, and cross-sex hormones initiated at the age of 16,” the Karolinska University Hospital located in Stockholm said in a statement. “These treatments are controversial and have recently become subject to increased attention and scrutiny both nationally and internationally.”

“This makes it challenging to assess the risk/benefit for the individual patient, and even more challenging for the minors and their guardians to be in a position of an informed stance regarding these treatments,” the hospital said.

The Karolinska University Hospital is a teaching hospital affiliated with Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, with two major sites in the municipalities of Solna and Huddinge. The hospital network is the second largest in Sweden. 

In 2020, CBN News interviewed Dr. Paul Hruz, a pediatric researcher at the Washington University School of Medicine. He said at the time parents should — at the absolute minimum — know that the science behind these kinds of treatments for dysphoric children is highly experimental.

“We really have no long-term data in using this intervention in children,” he explained. “We do have short-term studies that have very serious weaknesses and limitations.”

You can watch that full interview below:

As for Abbott’s directive in Texas, it’s not immediately clear what will happen.

Although the TCH has suspended its hormone therapies for minors, some prosecutors and county attorneys across the Lone Star State have indicated they do not plan to enforce the governor’s directive.

***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***

Latest

  • Faith

    ‘Thank God He Was There’: Off-Duty Firefighter Says It Was the Lord Who Led Him to Save Deputy Hurt in Crash

  • News

    ‘Kind of a Miracle’: Storm Chaser Rescues Family After Tornado, Pledges to Help Rebuild Home After Terrifying Ordeal

  • News

    Amid ‘Hidden Dangers That Lurk’ in Culture, Christian Video Games Could Offer Parents a Powerful Solution

  • News

    All-American Swimmer Blasts ESPN for Promoting Transgender Athlete in ‘Celebrating Women’s History Month’

  • News

    ‘Dear Jesus, Please Help Them’: Meteorologist Credited With Saving Lives After Viral, On-Air Prayer to God as Deadly Tornado Hit


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • ‘Thank God He Was There’: Off-Duty Firefighter Says It Was the Lord Who Led Him to Save Deputy Hurt in Crash
  • ‘Kind of a Miracle’: Storm Chaser Rescues Family After Tornado, Pledges to Help Rebuild Home After Terrifying Ordeal
  • Amid ‘Hidden Dangers That Lurk’ in Culture, Christian Video Games Could Offer Parents a Powerful Solution
  • All-American Swimmer Blasts ESPN for Promoting Transgender Athlete in ‘Celebrating Women’s History Month’
  • ‘Dear Jesus, Please Help Them’: Meteorologist Credited With Saving Lives After Viral, On-Air Prayer to God as Deadly Tornado Hit

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • Culture
  • culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?