US proposes ban on gender surgeries for minors

The US Department of Health and Human Services has announced a series of proposed regulatory actions to implement President Trump’s Executive Order directing HHS to end the practice of sex-rejecting procedures on children.

This act the HHS says exposes young people to irreversible harm.

These procedures include pharmaceutical or surgical interventions intended to align a child’s physical appearance or body with an asserted identity different from their sex, a Thursday release obtained by our correspondent on the HHS website disclosed this.

The Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will release a notice of proposed rulemaking to bar hospitals from performing sex-rejecting procedures on children under age 18 as a condition of participation in Medicare and Medicaid programmes.

According to HHS, nearly all US hospitals participate in these programmes, and the action is intended to ensure the federal government does not contract with organisations that inflict permanent harm on children.

CMS is proposing the rule under its authority in sections 1861(e)(9), 1871, and 1905(a) of the Social Security Act, which allow the agency to establish standards to protect patient health and safety in Medicare- and Medicaid-participating hospitals.

CMS will also issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to prohibit federal Medicaid funding for sex-rejecting procedures on children under 18, and for Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding on individuals under 19.

Currently, 27 states do not provide Medicaid coverage for these procedures. HHS said such interventions—including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical operations—can cause irreversible damage, including infertility, impaired sexual function, diminished bone density, altered brain development, and other lasting physiological effects.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who signed a declaration based on an HHS peer-reviewed report, stated that these procedures “do not meet professionally recognised standards of health care.”

He said practitioners who perform sex-rejecting procedures on minors would be deemed out of compliance with those standards.

“Under my leadership, and answering President Trump’s call to action, the federal government will do everything in its power to stop unsafe, irreversible practices that put our children at risk.

“This Administration will protect America’s most vulnerable. Our children deserve better—and we are delivering on that promise,” Secretary Kennedy said.

CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said, “Children deserve our protection, not experimental interventions performed on them, that carry life-altering risks with no reliable evidence of benefit.

“This proposal seeks to clarify that hospitals participating in our programs cannot conduct these unproven procedures on children. CMS will ensure that federal program standards reflect our responsibility to promote the health and safety of children.”

Also, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing warning letters to 12 manufacturers and retailers for illegal marketing of breast binders to children for gender dysphoria, products normally intended for medical uses such as post-mastectomy recovery.

DA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H., said, “Illegal marketing of these products for children is alarming, and the FDA will take further enforcement action such as import alerts, seizures, and injunctions if it continues.”

HHS is also moving to reverse the Biden administration’s attempt to include gender dysphoria in the definition of a disability.

Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill said, “The Biden administration abused a law that was never intended to require health care providers or health programs to support transgender surgeries for minors.

“Our rule would restore regulatory clarity and ensure that organizations receiving federal funds can set evidence-based policies without fear of violating federal civil rights requirements.”

Assistant Secretary for Health and Head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Admiral Brian Christine, M.D., added, “Children’s health and well-being guide our every move.

“Evidence shows sex-rejecting puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries are dangerous. Providers have an obligation to offer care grounded in evidence and to avoid interventions that expose young people to a lifetime of harm.”

HHS said nearly 14,000 minors received sex-rejecting procedures between 2019 and 2023, according to claims data, and its peer-reviewed study, Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: Review of Evidence and Best Practices, highlights the medical dangers posed by these interventions.