Connecticut Children’s Agrees to End Gender-Transition Treatments for Minors in Justice Department Settlement

Connecticut Children’s Medical Center has agreed to stop providing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and gender-transition surgeries to minors as part of a resolution with the U.S. Department of Justice.

The agreement makes Connecticut Children’s the third major hospital to reach such a resolution amid a national Justice Department investigation into whether medical treatments provided to transgender minors violated federal law. Similar agreements were previously reached with Texas Children’s Hospital and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

The Justice Department describes the treatments as “sex-rejecting procedures,” while medical providers and advocates commonly call them “gender-affirming care.”

Under the agreements, Connecticut Children’s committed not to administer puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to minors or perform gender-transition surgeries on children and adolescents. The hospital also agreed to pay an unspecified monetary penalty and provide an additional $500,000 in medical care for people experiencing harmful consequences attributed to previous treatments.

“The Department of Justice will stop at nothing to protect America’s children,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said. He added that federal officials would enforce laws involving hospitals, medical providers and pharmaceutical companies when children may be endangered.

The Justice Department said Connecticut Children’s cooperated throughout the investigation and took proactive steps that were considered when negotiating the resolution. Officials particularly cited the hospital’s commitment to providing follow-up medical care.

Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said the department welcomed the hospital’s decision but would continue investigating other institutions and pursuing cases involving the treatments.

The matter was handled by several Justice Department offices, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

The settlement does not constitute a finding that Connecticut Children’s violated federal law. The government said its claims remain allegations, and Connecticut Children’s denied all allegations resolved by the agreements.