Trump Delivers a Major Blow Against Child Sex-Change Surgeries

What’s happening: On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning federal funding for sex-change operations for minors, ensuring taxpayer dollars will no longer be used to promote irreversible medical procedures on children. The order prohibits funding for puberty blockers, hormone therapies, and transgender surgeries, labeling them as “destructive and life-altering.”

Cutting off funds: The order directs all federal agencies to rescind policies — described as having done “blatant harm” — that were based on guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), an activist group that has pushed dangerous medical interventions without sufficient scientific data.

• More: The order also empowers the Department of Justice to investigate deceptive medical claims and enforce protections against female genital mutilation. Additionally, it will block Medicaid and Medicare from covering the surgeries.

Holding the medical industry accountable: Trump made clear that doctors and institutions performing these procedures will no longer receive federal grants. “Medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing … impressionable children,” the order states, “under the radical and false claim that adults can change a child’s sex.”

• Empowering states: The Trump administration will provide resources to states seeking to restrict these medical practices.

By popular demand: Polls have consistently shown Americans favor bans on child sex change surgeries; one recent poll found that nearly 60 percent want the practice banned.

New practices: Within 90 days, the Department of Health and Human Services has been ordered to release a report recommending the “best practices” for treating children with “identity-based confusion.”

Whistleblower protections: The federal government is also moving to protect whistleblowers, like Dr. Eithan Haim out of Texas, who alerted the public to medical abuses regarding sex-change interventions for children.

Why it matters: By blocking funding from any organization that practices child sex changes — including federally funded universities and hospitals — Trump is likely to greatly reduce their number after years of left-leaning media and institutions trying to normalize the practice.