Connecticut children’s hospital pays fine, agrees to stop performing ‘gender-affirming care’ on minors

Connecticut Children’s Medical Center has agreed to stop giving puberty blockers or opposite-sex hormones to minors. It also will no longer perform so-called sex-change surgeries on children.

The Justice Department announced the deal Aug. 5. It came after a probe into possible violations of federal law.

Proponents often call these procedures “gender-affirming care.” They seek to make a child’s body look more like the opposite sex.

Connecticut Children’s must pay a monetary penalty. The Justice Department has not disclosed the exact amount yet.

The hospital also must provide another $500,000 in medical care for people living with harm after such treatments. That money is separate from the fine.

The settlement can pay for later medical needs. It cannot undo every physical effect of a drug or operation.

“The Department of Justice will stop at nothing to protect America’s children,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a release. “This resolution is a reminder to hospitals, medical providers, and pharmaceutical companies that the Justice Department will vigorously enforce federal law, especially where the lives of children are endangered.”

In its statement on the settlement, Connecticut Children’s stressed it never turned over private patient records.

“Most importantly, patient privacy remained our foremost concern throughout this process, and we were able to resolve this matter without disclosing any protected patient information to the US government,” the hospital said, according to NBC Connecticut. “We have complied and will continue to comply with all federal and state laws.”

Connecticut Children’s had already started ending its gender program for patients under 19 in July 2025. Hospital leaders said at the time they made the choice after speaking with medical and legal experts.

State Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, attacked the new federal deal. He called the hospital’s payment “outrageous on its face.”

Connecticut was one of 16 states to sue the Trump administration over its effort to end federal support for child sex-change procedures.

President Donald Trump started the effort soon after taking office. He signed Executive Order 14187 on Jan. 28, 2025.

The order defines a child as anyone under 19. It directs federal agencies to stop funding or backing puberty blockers, opposite-sex hormones or sex-change surgeries for children.

“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,” the order says.

Trump also ordered the Justice Department to find fraud, consumer deception or possible violations of federal drug law tied to the procedures.

Connecticut Children’s is the third hospital to settle with the Justice Department as part of its initiative.

As Heartlander News reported in May, Texas Children’s Hospital agreed to end the procedures. It also agreed to pay more than $10 million in damages and penalties. The hospital committed more money to follow-up care and agreed to open a clinic for people seeking help after trying to change their sex.

The Cleveland Clinic reached a similar deal in June. It agreed to a $308,000 penalty, set aside $2 million for follow-up care and promised not to perform the procedures on minors for decades.

“As with Texas Children’s and Cleveland Clinic before it, I am encouraged when leading institutions like Connecticut Children’s agree to be part of the solution and no longer the problem,” Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said in a release. “But while we can be grateful when we arrive at such positive resolutions, we cannot and will not rest in our pursuit of justice for the victims of these discredited practices.”