Houston Republic

The largest children's hospital in the United States, Texas Children's Hospital, is currently under investigation for allegations of providing gender affirming care to minors, ABC 13 reported.

Despite announcing the discontinuation of transition-related care last year, recent reports have emerged suggesting that certain healthcare professionals within the hospital may still be involved in such practices, the station said.

"This is happening right here in #Houston! This MUST be stopped!" tweeted Brad Johnson, leader of the organization Gays Against Groomers Texas. "This is child abuse and should be illegal. Join #GaysAgainstGroomers @againstgrmrs to fight back on behalf of vulnerable children."

The investigation into Texas Children's Hospital is the second of its kind in the last two weeks, following the recent inquiry into Dell Children's Hospital in Austin, the Texas Tribune reported. These investigations coincide with the Legislature's efforts to officially prohibit gender-affirming care for minors. Earlier this month, the Senate voted 19-12 in favor of accepting the House's version of Senate Bill 14, which aims to restrict minors from accessing medical treatments such as puberty blockers, hormones and associated surgeries, the Tribune reported.

“I’ve been clear that any ‘gender transitioning’ procedures that hurt our children constitute child abuse under Texas law,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a statement. “Recent reports indicate that Texas Children’s Hospital may be unlawfully performing such procedures, and my office is working to uncover the truth. I am committed to investigating any entity in our state to ensure that our children are protected. Though many unhinged activists compromising the healthcare field think otherwise, children are not to be treated as science experiments. Doctors and hospitals should not be pushing mutilative and irreversible ‘gender transitioning’ procedures that will negatively impact innocent children for the rest of their lives.”

Gender-affirming care encompasses a diverse array of treatments aimed at alleviating the distress caused by the incongruity between an individual's gender identity and their sex at birth, ABC 13 reported. These treatments span from simple adjustments like using different pronouns or wearing clothing associated with a different gender, to more involved interventions such as hormone therapy and surgical procedures, the station said.