Child Abuse? Hospital stops therapies after gender-confirming care order

The nation’s largest pediatric hospital has announced it has stopped gender-affirming therapies after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the state’s child welfare agency to investigate reports of gender-confirming care for kids as abuse.

Texas Children’s Hospital, located in Houston, announced that its decision to stop such hormone-related prescription therapies was made after it reviewed Abbott’s order, which came when Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton last month released a nonbinding legal opinion that labeled certain gender-confirming treatments as “child abuse.” 

Joe Biden on Wednesday condemned Abbott’s directive and announced steps his administration was taking to protect transgender youth and their families in the state.