Texas Children’s Hospital agreed to pay more than $10 million, stop pediatric gender-transition procedures, terminate five doctors’ privileges, and create the nation’s first multidisciplinary detransition clinic after a joint Trump DOJ and Texas attorney general investigation into alleged Medicaid billing fraud and illegal procedures on minors.
In 2023, Dr. Eithan Haim, a surgeon who had worked at Texas Children’s Hospital during his residency, identified himself as the whistleblower behind disclosures alleging that the Houston hospital continued pediatric gender-transition procedures after publicly saying it would stop offering them.
That disclosure led to a highly publicized, but diametrically opposed response from the federal and state governments: The Biden administration’s Department of Justice later indicted Haim on four counts related to unauthorized access to protected patient information. Haim maintained that he acted as a whistleblower and did not publicly disclose personally identifying patient information, while prosecutors alleged that he obtained patient names, treatment codes, and physician information without authorization. The Texas Attorney General’s Office, meanwhile, opened a years-long investigation into Texas Children’s that ultimately led to a settlement reached in coordination with the Trump DOJ.
On May 15, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that TCH agreed to pay $10 million to resolve allegations that it billed public and private payors for pediatric gender-transition procedures through improper or false billing practices. The settlement also requires TCH to terminate and revoke the privileges of five physicians, whose names have not been publicly released.
Most significantly, under the terms of the agreement, TCH will establish a new detransition clinic to provide care for those who have undergone gender transition treatments and procedures and now wish to restore their bodies and health to the degree possible so they can go back to living as their original gender. For the first five years, TCH will pay the bills of all patients. Officials describe it as the nation’s first multidisciplinary clinic devoted specifically to restorative care for detransitioners.
The five doctors, who were not named, will also have their privileges revoked and can never be rehired by the hospital.
In a statement, Paxton explained the significance of the settlement:
“Today is a monumental day in the fight to stop the radical transgender movement. This historic settlement reflects an institutional and fundamental cultural shift away from radical ‘gender’ ideology. In addition to helping establish the first-ever Detransition Clinic and securing millions, this settlement will ensure that the deranged child mutilators who hurt our kids are fired and held accountable. I applaud Texas Children’s Hospital for changing course and committing to being a part of the solution by agreeing to form a first-of-its kind Detransition Clinic that will help provide free care to those who have been victimized by twisted, morally bankrupt transgender ideology. Under my watch, I will investigate and bring the full force of the law against any Texas hospital that abuses children with harmful medical interventions to ‘transition’ kids.”
In a statement Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said,
“The Justice Department will use every weapon at its disposal to end the destructive and discredited practice of so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ for children. Today’s resolution protects vulnerable children, holds providers accountable, and ensures those harmed receive the care they need.”
The DOJ praised TCH for its cooperation in the investigation and for wanting to “be part of the solution and no longer the problem.”
However, despite settling the case, TCH officials vehemently deny any wrongdoing. According to the Texas Tribune, which has received donations from TCH and Texas LGBT advocacy groups, TCH stated, “All reviews and investigations continue to support the facts — we have been compliant with all laws. To be clear — we are settling to protect our resources from endless and costly litigation … We stand proud knowing we will always put our purpose over politics and that we have and will continue to follow the law.”
DOJ also noted that the claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, that there has been no determination of liability, and that the entities involved denied the allegations.
Dr. Haim, who had all charges against him dismissed with prejudice by the Trump DOJ in January 2025, has a very different account of TCH’s actions. After the settlement was announced, he said,
“I’ve seen this evil up close and lived with that terror every second of every day for years. I’ve also witnessed extraordinary courage, honor and dignity from those who sacrificed alongside me. I always believed [that sacrifice] would one day be worth it. Today is that day.”
Texas and the DOJ have decided to pursue legal action against doctors and hospitals that violated the law, and it is making a major difference in the fight to stop child mutilation and other unethical medical practices.
Texas has already filed suit against Dr. May Lau for using fraudulent billing codes to hide her orders for gender transition treatments on more than 20 minors. Lau turned in her medical license during the investigation. Now the Texas AG Office and the DOJ have gone up against the largest children’s hospital in Texas and received major concessions that will not only ensure it stops these crimes but also help heal those who have been harmed by them.
For years, activists and many medical professionals have insisted that gender transition procedures for minors were rare or nonexistent. The evidence has increasingly contradicted those claims. Whistleblowers like Haim and Jamie Reed, along with the testimony of detransitioners, have helped expose what hospitals and doctors denied (and continue to deny).
Because of those whistleblowers, detransitioners, and state investigations, doctors and hospitals involved in illegal child sex changes are now facing growing legal and public accountability.
The opening of a detransition clinic is a watershed moment in the fight against gender ideology.
While LGBT groups claim that “no one is asking for” the clinic and insist that detransitioners are rare, the growing number of young people living with physical and emotional scars of irreversible procedures tells a different story.
Chloe Cole, who was socially and medically affirmed as transgender by doctors at age 13 and underwent a double mastectomy at 15, has lived through the procedures and is still coping with the consequences.
On hearing about the TCH settlement, Cole wrote on X, “What an incredible moment for the movement to end child mutilation. Texas will be home to the first clinic that helps victims of these barbaric procedures to get back to normalcy.”
It is unknown how many victims will ultimately seek treatment at the clinic. What is already clear, however, is that many minors needed adults in the medical field to tell them the truth — that they were not born in the wrong body and that they couldn’t somehow be medically or surgically “transitioned” into the opposite sex.
Instead, many vulnerable young people were pushed toward irreversible and mutilating medical interventions despite limited evidence regarding long-term outcomes. Whether motivated by ideology or financial incentives, doctors and therapists often affirmed confusion rather than addressing its deeper causes — and those doctors and the medical facilities that enabled it are finally being held accountable.
Children are not experiments, and truth is not negotiable. Your tax-deductible gift helps the Standing for Freedom Center expose dangerous ideologies, defend vulnerable children, and equip Americans to stand for biblical truth when powerful institutions call harm “care.”
