HHS Could Soon Cut Funding for Facilities That Perform Sex-Change Procedures on Kids

A federal rule change that could help protect children from sex-change procedures is pending review before being officially published.

On August 7, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services submitted the proposal “Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Hospital Condition of Participation: Limiting Participation Based on the Performance of Sex Trait Modification Procedures on Children” for official review. The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has scheduled a meeting to review the proposal on Tuesday.

A written copy of the proposal hasn’t been published yet, but news outlets report that sources say the federal rule would “effectively end” sex-change procedures performed on children. Concerned Women for America says the rule is expected to “defund all ‘gender-affirming’ drugs and surgeries from Medicaid.”

In January, President Trump issued an executive order prohibiting federal funding from being used for sex-change procedures on kids — including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-change surgeries.

Medical institutions, and facilities who receive federal research or education grants must “end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children” immediately, under the order.

Earlier this summer, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a public inquiry into whether U.S. doctors and clinics may have deceived parents and children about the risks of these procedures, and the U.S. Department of Justice issued subpoenas to doctors and medical facilities involved in performing sex-change procedures on minors.

In recent years, men and women have testified about how they were rushed through gender-transitions as children without understanding the procedures’ risks, consequences, or alternatives.

Today we know pro-LGBT activists manufactured much of the medical “consensus” in support of these procedures. Public health experts in the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, Finland, and other nations have found that science simply does not support giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids.

In 2021, lawmakers in Arkansas passed the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act generally prohibiting doctors from performing sex-change procedures on children or giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. A federal court recently upheld the law — which is good news.

Additional steps must be taken to protect children from these dangerous procedures nationwide. We appreciate the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services working on rules to help do exactly that.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.