In an executive order signed into law on Tuesday, January 28 by President Donald Trump, the president banned gender change operations for children, whether conducted by chemicals or surgery, saying that his administration will not support or fund such procedures moving forward.
Announcing the move on Truth Social, the president said, “Today, it was my great honor to sign an Executive Order banning the chemical castration and medical mutilation of innocent children in the United States of America. Our Nation will no longer fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support so-called “gender affirming care,” which has already ruined far too many precious lives.”
Continuing, the president described what the new executive order will do, saying, “My Order directs Agencies to use every available means to cut off Federal financial participation in institutions which seek to provide these barbaric medical procedures, that should have never been allowed to take place!”
The order itself was titled, “PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM CHEMICAL AND SURGICAL MUTILATION.” It began by saying, “Across the country today, medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a child’s sex through a series of irreversible medical interventions. This dangerous trend will be a stain on our Nation’s history, and it must end.”
The president’s executive order further argued that the procedures that have been allowed will lead to horrible regret in the future, saying, “Countless children soon regret that they have been mutilated and begin to grasp the horrifying tragedy that they will never be able to conceive children of their own or nurture their children through breastfeeding.”
And, explaining what economic consequences these procedures could have for children in the future, it said, “Moreover, these vulnerable youths’ medical bills may rise throughout their lifetimes, as they are often trapped with lifelong medical complications, a losing war with their own bodies, and, tragically, sterilization.”
Then, getting to what this now law, the order said, “Accordingly, it is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called “transition” of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”
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Later on, it described what exactly is being ended, saying, “The phrase “chemical and surgical mutilation” means the use of puberty blockers, including GnRH agonists and other interventions, to delay the onset or progression of normally timed puberty in an individual who does not identify as his or her sex; the use of sex hormones, such as androgen blockers, estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone, to align an individual’s physical appearance with an identity that differs from his or her sex; and surgical procedures that attempt to transform an individual’s physical appearance to align with an identity that differs from his or her sex or that attempt to alter or remove an individual’s sexual organs to minimize or destroy their natural biological functions. This phrase sometimes is referred to as ‘gender affirming care.'”
And, later on, the order described what actions the government will take, saying, “within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall publish a review of the existing literature on best practices for promoting the health of children who assert gender dysphoria, rapid-onset gender dysphoria, or other identity-based confusion.”
It further noted, “The Secretary of HHS, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, shall use all available methods to increase the quality of data to guide practices for improving the health of minors with gender dysphoria, rapid-onset gender dysphoria, or other identity-based confusion, or who otherwise seek chemical or surgical mutilation.”
It also noted, “The head of each executive department or agency (agency) that provides research or education grants to medical institutions, including medical schools and hospitals, shall, consistent with applicable law and in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, immediately take appropriate steps to ensure that institutions receiving Federal research or education grants end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children.”