Famous as the nation’s largest hospital for minors, the 973-bed Texas Children's Hospital agreed last week to pay $10 million in a resolution with the Department of Justice.
The DOJ was quick to note that TCH became the first entity to make peace in the Justice Department’s ongoing national investigation into violations of federal law in connection with "gender mutilation" procedures for minors.
It won’t be the last medical facility to resolve the issue, a DOJ attorney predicts.
Texas Children’s will officially end those controversial procedures.
Opponents claim the benefits of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone treatments do not outweigh the risks, which may include infertility, bone density issues, and surgical complications.
They emphasize that many youth may turn away from transgender identification over time — citing studies suggesting up to 85% of gender-dysphoric children no longer identify as transgender in adulthood if not medically intervened.
In news perhaps as big as the financial agreement, the Texas Children’s will also establish a first-of-its-kind clinic to provide care for youth who, along with their families, were misled and encouraged into life-altering decisions.
This comes from a hospital which last fall was found to be in violation of Texas law prohibiting such procedures.
Texas state law prohibits "gender transition" medical interventions such as surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross sex hormones for minors.
In January of 2025, the newly-christened Trump administration Department of Justice dropped all charges from the previous administration against Dr. Eithan Haim, the surgeon whistleblower from Texas Children's Hospital.
He claimed that despite public statements that the hospital had paused "gender-affirming care" for minors, the hospital secretly continued providing hormone therapies and other interventions.
Dr. Haim was indicted in 2024 on four counts of criminal HIPAA violations, but he defended his actions, saying he felt morally compelled to expose what he viewed as "abuse."
The DOJ is just getting started, Brett Shumate, an assistant attorney general, said on “Washington Watch” Monday.
“This really was a landmark announcement, and it's just the beginning of our investigations. They continue, and I think you'll see more announcements like this in the coming weeks and months,” he told show host Jody Hice.
The DOJ has indicated that more than 20 hospitals across the U.S. are under investigation for providing what the Left calls “gender-affirming” care to minors.
One hospital confirmed to be under scrutiny is New York University Langone Health, which disclosed on May 7 that it had received a grand jury subpoena.
The hospital has not said how it will respond.
New York law prevents the disclosure of medical records related to gender-affirming care and abortion except in limited circumstances and broadly prohibits law enforcement from cooperating with investigations into gender-affirming care, 19thNews.org reports.
In some cases outside the investigation, friendly federal judges have provided shelter as hospitals have pushed back.
“We applaud Texas Children's for doing the right thing and recognizing that these types of procedures should not be provided any further. They've agreed not to provide them. We hope this announcement and this agreement and resolution provide a model for other hospitals to follow across the country,” Shumate said.
This was a top-of-list priority for President Donald Trump. In the first month of his second term, he issued an executive order stating the United States would no longer fund, sponsor, promote or support the gender mutilation procedures on minors and would “rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”
He directed the DOJ to investigate such practices around the country.
“We're not in the business at the Department of Justice of regulating the provision of medical care. What we do is investigate violations of federal law, both civil and criminal laws.The laws that bear on this subject include health care fraud, violations of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, conspiracy. Those are the types of investigations that we're conducting,” Shumate explained.
