Texas Children's Hospital to pay $10 million, open detransition clinic after DOJ probe

Texas Children's Hospital in Houston agreed to stop giving puberty blockers to children, pay $10 million in penalties and open a detransition clinic after a joint investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the state of Texas.

The settlement ends a years-long probe by Texas' Healthcare Program Enforcement Division. Investigators found that the hospital had billed Texas Medicaid for procedures the state deemed unallowable and illegal, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement Friday.

Under the agreement, Texas Children's will create the state's first multidisciplinary clinic to treat patients who underwent gender-transition procedures. The hospital will fund all services at the clinic and provide them free to patients for the first five years.

The settlement also requires the hospital to dismiss five doctors who performed gender-transition surgeries on minors, Paxton said.

"Today is a monumental day in the fight to stop the radical transgender movement," Paxton wrote. "This historic settlement reflects an institutional and fundamental cultural shift away from radical 'gender' ideology."

Texas Children's Hospital said it settled to avoid further costly litigation. In a statement later removed from its website, the hospital called the surrounding controversy an "unconscionable campaign of mistruths and mischaracterization" and said the agreement would let it focus on patient care and research.

Prominent transgender-rights advocates criticized the deal. Alejandra Caraballo, a civil-rights attorney, called it "complete chicken--- stuff" by the hospital's leadership.

Detransitioner Chloe Cole welcomed the outcome. "What an incredible moment for the movement to end child mutilation," Cole wrote on X. "Texas will be home to the first clinic that helps victims of these barbaric procedures to get back to normalcy."

Fox News Digital sought additional comment from Texas Children's Hospital, the Justice Department and the Texas Attorney General's office.