HOUSTON — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday announced he is investigating a second Texas hospital to see if it is conducting what he called “illegal behavior and performing ‘gender transitioning’ procedures on children.”

What You Need To Know

  • Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday announced he is investigating Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston based on a report that is it “performing ‘gender transitioning’ procedures on children"

  • The investigation into Texas Children’s Hospital follows a similar investigation into Dell Children’s Hospital in Austin

  • The announcement came just days after the Texas Legislature passed a bill banning gender-affirming care in the state. It has yet to become law

  • The investigation into Texas Children’s Hospital was prompted by an article by City Journal that claims that the hospital earlier announced it had halted gender-affirming procedures but has since resumed

The investigation into Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston follows a similar investigation into Dell Children’s Hospital in Austin. According to Spectrum News 1 partner the Texas Tribune, that investigation resulted in canceled appointments and doctors departing from the clinic.

“I’ve been clear that any ‘gender transitioning’ procedures that hurt our children constitute child abuse under Texas law,” Paxton wrote in a news release announcing the investigation. “Recent reports indicate that Texas Children’s Hospital may be unlawfully performing such procedures, and my office it is working to uncover the truth. I am committed to investigating any entity in our state to ensure that our children are protected. Though many unhinged activists compromising the healthcare field think otherwise, children are not to be treated as science experiments.”

The announcement comes just days after the Texas Legislature passed a bill banning gender-affirming care in the state. It awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature and will go into effect on Sept. 1.

The investigation into Texas Children’s Hospital was prompted by an article by City Journal that claims that the hospital earlier announced it had halted gender-affirming procedures but has since resumed.

Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee issued a statement claiming that someone leaked children’s medical records to City Journal.

Gender-affirming care is an umbrella term that, according to the World Health Organization, is "health care [that] can include any single or combination of a number of social, psychological, behavioural or medical (including hormonal treatment or surgery) interventions designed to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity."

Every major medical organization — including the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics — has opposed the bans and supported the medical care for minors when administered appropriately.