A big battle is brewing between President Donald Trump and New York State Attorney General Letitia James. The issue: whether or not hospitals can continue performing sex change operations on children in New York State and across the country.
The new Commander in Chief signed an Executive Order called 'Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation'.
The Order bans using puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy, and surgical procedures that cause permanent changes to a minor child’s body in the impossible effort to change a person’s sex. It applies to children and teenagers under 19 years old.
Federal funds for hospitals that continue these surgeries would be in jeopardy.
"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," says the order.
New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James (D-NY), however, demands New York’s hospitals and physicians continue sex change operations on children, stating that stopping the surgery would be a violation of New York State civil rights laws.
James sent a letter to New York health care providers saying that hospitals have "obligations to comply with New York state laws," adding that refusing service to "transgender individuals" goes against anti-discrimination laws.
"Electing to refuse services to a class of individuals based on their protected status, such as withholding the availability of services from transgender individuals based on their gender identity or their diagnosis of gender dysphoria, while offering such services to cisgender individuals, is discrimination under New York law," the letter stated.
Trump's order states: “The blatant harm done to children by chemical and surgical mutilation cloaks itself in medical necessity, spurred by guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which lacks scientific integrity.”
Twenty-two states have banned gender-affirming care for people younger than 18, and much of Western Europe either bans entirely or severely limits sex modification interventions to children under 18. This includes the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, Holland, and Sweden.