HOUSTON — Texas Children's Hospital will be discontinuing gender-transitioning care over the next few months in anticipation of Senate Bill 14 becoming law, a hospital spokesperson confirmed to KHOU 11 News.
The announcement was first reported by the Houston Chronicle.
SB 14 bans gender-affirming care for children in Texas. It has passed the legislative session, but it does not go into effect until September 1 and has not yet been signed by the governor.
The Chronicle said a screenshot of an email from the hospital's CEO, Mark Wallace, was first posted to Twitter saying the hospital will be working with patients and their families to manage the discontinuation of hormone therapies and other transgender care or help patients find care outside of Texas. A hospital spokesperson later confirmed the authenticity of the email to the Chronicle.
"We will continue to offer psychosocial support and any form of care we can within the bounds of law," the letter read.
Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he was launching an investigation into Texas Children's Hospital to find out whether they are "actively engaging in illegal behavior and performing gender transitioning procedures on children.”
Paxton requested 25 different types of documents related to gender-affirming care from the hospital.
Last year, he and the governor called these kinds of treatments "child abuse" and asked the state health department to investigate that type of care. Courts blocked that effort.