For A, the mother of a young transgender daughter in Houston, denying her child hormone therapy “is not an option.”
Few people know that A’s daughter is transgender, A said, but that could change once her child goes through puberty — something that could happen in a matter of months. Her child’s doctors have recommended her daughter start taking puberty blockers at the first onset of such hormonal changes. But on Friday, Houston-based Texas Children’s Hospital, the largest pediatric hospital in the country, announced it would stop prescribing gender-affirming hormone therapies.
The hospital said the policy was decided “after assessing the Attorney General’s and Governor’s actions,” which include a recent order from Gov. Greg Abbott (R) directing Texas’s child welfare agency to investigate reports of children receiving gender-affirming care as “child abuse.”
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“The mission of Texas Children’s Hospital is to create a healthier future for all children, including transgender children, within the bounds of the law,” the hospital said in a statement. “This step was taken to safeguard our healthcare professionals and impacted families from potential legal ramifications.”
The decision came as a major blow to Texas transgender communities in Houston and beyond that say they are terrified and confused about what the future holds.
This means more parents like A are now looking to get treatment out of state — or move altogether — to receive gender-affirming health care they say is crucial for their children to lead safe, healthy lives.
FAQ: What you need to know about transgender children
“If I was in an environment that didn’t allow me or my child to be our authentic selves, I don’t think we could live,” said A, who is being identified by her first initial because of the potential legal ramifications of talking openly about her transgender daughter. “It’s not like hiding a birthmark. … It’s your whole being. You can’t hide your whole being.”
Last month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) authored a nonbinding legal opinion that categorized gender-affirming treatments as “child abuse.” Following the announcement from Texas Children’s Hospital on Friday, Paxton tweeted that he was “glad to hear” about the hospital’s decision.
Paxton has likened puberty blockers and hormone therapies to castration, which is listed as a form of “abuse” under the Texas Family Code. “When performed on children, these procedures are ‘abuse’ under Texas law,” Paxton told the conservative outlet Townhall last week. “They’re illegal. And family courts, family-law government agencies and the like must do their part to stop it.”
Biden accuses Texas Gov. Abbott of ‘government overreach at its worst’ for investigating parents of children transitioning genders
The American Medical Association has advocated for “patient-led” gender-affirming care, calling bills denying this care to transgender minors “inappropriate and harmful.” When a transgender child has met certain diagnostic criteria and after the child first shows physical changes of puberty, clinicians may recommend puberty-suppressing treatments. The medications, which pause puberty, are intended to give young people more time to decide what to do next. At any point, a transgender teenager can stop taking puberty blockers and continue to go through the puberty of the sex on their birth certificate. Hormone treatment is not recommended for pre-pubescent children.
The Texas Medical Association, in a statement from last month, said “the issues raised” by Abbott and Paxton were “complicated.”
“TMA physician leaders are seeking input from the governor’s office and others to determine what these orders actually mean for patients and the physicians who care for them,” the organization said. “Our ultimate goal is to ensure patients can access sensitive, thoughtful, caring consultation with their physicians, regardless of the health care issue.”
Families of transgender youths in Texas are already being investigated by the state’s child welfare agency, prompting the American Civil Liberties Union to file a legal challenge last week asking a district court to block Abbott’s order. Judge Amy Clark Meachum granted a temporary restraining order to the plaintiffs represented in the ACLU’s suit, which includes a mother who works for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS).
‘These are powerful people who are attacking children’: Parents respond to Texas’s latest anti-trans directive
While investigations in the ACLU lawsuit have been paused, DFPS can still investigate others for allegedly providing gender-affirming care to their children. This has left many parents confused and afraid to speak out against the new policies.
Few people know that A’s daughter is transgender, A said, but that could change once her child goes through puberty — something that could happen in a matter of months. Her child’s doctors have recommended her daughter start taking puberty blockers at the first onset of such hormonal changes. But on Friday, Houston-based Texas Children’s Hospital, the largest pediatric hospital in the country, announced it would stop prescribing gender-affirming hormone therapies.
The hospital said the policy was decided “after assessing the Attorney General’s and Governor’s actions,” which include a recent order from Gov. Greg Abbott (R) directing Texas’s child welfare agency to investigate reports of children receiving gender-affirming care as “child abuse.”
ADVERTISING
“The mission of Texas Children’s Hospital is to create a healthier future for all children, including transgender children, within the bounds of the law,” the hospital said in a statement. “This step was taken to safeguard our healthcare professionals and impacted families from potential legal ramifications.”
The decision came as a major blow to Texas transgender communities in Houston and beyond that say they are terrified and confused about what the future holds.
This means more parents like A are now looking to get treatment out of state — or move altogether — to receive gender-affirming health care they say is crucial for their children to lead safe, healthy lives.
FAQ: What you need to know about transgender children
“If I was in an environment that didn’t allow me or my child to be our authentic selves, I don’t think we could live,” said A, who is being identified by her first initial because of the potential legal ramifications of talking openly about her transgender daughter. “It’s not like hiding a birthmark. … It’s your whole being. You can’t hide your whole being.”
Last month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) authored a nonbinding legal opinion that categorized gender-affirming treatments as “child abuse.” Following the announcement from Texas Children’s Hospital on Friday, Paxton tweeted that he was “glad to hear” about the hospital’s decision.
Paxton has likened puberty blockers and hormone therapies to castration, which is listed as a form of “abuse” under the Texas Family Code. “When performed on children, these procedures are ‘abuse’ under Texas law,” Paxton told the conservative outlet Townhall last week. “They’re illegal. And family courts, family-law government agencies and the like must do their part to stop it.”
Biden accuses Texas Gov. Abbott of ‘government overreach at its worst’ for investigating parents of children transitioning genders
The American Medical Association has advocated for “patient-led” gender-affirming care, calling bills denying this care to transgender minors “inappropriate and harmful.” When a transgender child has met certain diagnostic criteria and after the child first shows physical changes of puberty, clinicians may recommend puberty-suppressing treatments. The medications, which pause puberty, are intended to give young people more time to decide what to do next. At any point, a transgender teenager can stop taking puberty blockers and continue to go through the puberty of the sex on their birth certificate. Hormone treatment is not recommended for pre-pubescent children.
The Texas Medical Association, in a statement from last month, said “the issues raised” by Abbott and Paxton were “complicated.”
“TMA physician leaders are seeking input from the governor’s office and others to determine what these orders actually mean for patients and the physicians who care for them,” the organization said. “Our ultimate goal is to ensure patients can access sensitive, thoughtful, caring consultation with their physicians, regardless of the health care issue.”
Families of transgender youths in Texas are already being investigated by the state’s child welfare agency, prompting the American Civil Liberties Union to file a legal challenge last week asking a district court to block Abbott’s order. Judge Amy Clark Meachum granted a temporary restraining order to the plaintiffs represented in the ACLU’s suit, which includes a mother who works for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS).
‘These are powerful people who are attacking children’: Parents respond to Texas’s latest anti-trans directive
While investigations in the ACLU lawsuit have been paused, DFPS can still investigate others for allegedly providing gender-affirming care to their children. This has left many parents confused and afraid to speak out against the new policies.
