The nation’s largest pediatric hospital has paused hormone therapies due to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s recent executive order authorizing child abuse probes into parents and doctors who facilitate gender-transition surgeries or hormone treatments for children.
“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…This step was taken to safeguard our healthcare professionals and impacted families from potential criminal legal ramifications,” a spokesperson for the hospital wrote in a statement released Friday.
Abbott’s directive comes after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton published an opinion that established the child’s liberty interest in retaining their reproductive faculties and classified transition procedures as “child abuse.” The assessment applies to hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and sex reassignment surgery in the state of Texas.
Following the hospital’s decision, Abbott tweeted, “Glad to hear that today Texas Children’s Hospital halted their child-abuse procedures.”