Officials at Vanderbilt University Medical Center stated on Friday that they are suspending gender-affirming surgery for kids in order to conduct an evaluation of their procedures.
Friday afternoon, the news was made public in a letter sent to a congressman who has requested an end to the procedures. It comes amid mounting political pressure from Tennessee’s Republican leaders, many of whom are running for reelection, who have called for an investigation into the private nonprofit hospital after videos of a doctor boasting that gender-affirming procedures are “huge money makers” surfaced on social media last month. A second video depicted an employee stating that anyone with a religious objection should resign.
No lawmaker could identify a specific legislation that had been violated by the hospital, and to far, no agency has committed to an investigation. The office of Republican Governor Bill Lee stated that they had conveyed their concerns to Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, but his office has not commented on whether he is investigating the hospital in Nashville.
C. Wright Pinson, VUMC’s deputy CEO and chief health system officer, wrote, “We are suspending gender affirmation procedures for patients under the age of 18 until this study is complete, which might take many months.”
In January, the Republican-controlled legislature will return, and numerous members have vowed to draft legislation to severely restrict gender-affirming procedures. In the event of success, it is uncertain if VUMC would be permitted to resume gender-affirming procedures for minors, regardless of their internal evaluation.
“We should not permit irreversible, life-altering decisions that harm children,” tweeted Lee on Friday night. “With the help of the General Assembly, Tennessee should cease this practice.”
According to Pinson, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health recently revised its recommendations for the treatment of transgender individuals, which necessitated a review.
The American Academy of Pediatrics supports “offering access to comprehensive, gender-affirming, and developmentally-appropriate health care for adolescents.” The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) highlights in a 2018 policy statement that “supportive involvement of parents and family is associated with better mental and physical health outcomes.”
Since opening its transgender clinic in 2018, VUMC has on average performed five gender-affirming procedures on kids annually. All participants were over 16 years of age and have parental approval, and none have received genital operations.
“The proceeds from this small number of surgical procedures represent a negligible portion of VUMC’s net operating revenues,” concluded Pinson.
Hundreds of Tennesseans contacted the governor’s office in support of closing the transgender youth health clinic at VUMC, with some requesting a special legislative session to handle the matter, according to emails obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request. Others inquired whether he could suspend the licenses of the clinic’s doctors.
When Lee signed a bill prohibiting doctors from administering gender-confirming hormone treatment to prepubescent adolescents, he was criticized by a few for not adopting harsher measures earlier.
A small number of patients supported the clinic’s services, with some claiming that the transgender health care they got had saved their lives.