James E. Shmerling, president and CEO, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, left, and Richard "Rachel" Levine, Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | ConnecticutChildrens.org / US Public Health Service
James E. Shmerling, president and CEO, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, left, and Richard "Rachel" Levine, Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | ConnecticutChildrens.org / US Public Health Service
Connecticut Children's Medical Center (CCMC) was among the “12 worst offending children’s hospitals promoting sex change treatments for minors,” performing such experimentation on 54 patients between 2019 and 2023.
That’s according to a national database released today of hospitals and medical facilities “administering irreversible sex change interventions on children in the United States” by the organization Do No Harm.
“With the launch of the Stop the Harm Database, Do No Harm is building on our mission to expose the dangers of experimental pediatric gender medicine and bring the practice to an end,” said Do No Harm Chairman Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, in a press release. “This first-of-its-kind project provides patients, families, and policymakers with a resource that reveals the pervasiveness of irreversible sex-change treatments for minors in America.
“While this data represents the tip of the iceberg, this is the first step in holding the medical establishment accountable for participating in, and often times promoting, predatory and unscientific medical interventions for vulnerable children,” Goldfarb said.
Do No Harm said the database “catalogs pediatric sex change-related services, including surgeries, cross-sex hormones, and puberty blockers, at U.S.-based medical facilities between 2019 and 2023.”
The data represents sources including “claims clearinghouses, data aggregators, payors, health systems, CMS, and multiple open data sources,” according to Do No Harm, and includes data from commercial insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, and VA claims.”
CCMC saw 3 “sex change” patients, who were children, from 2019 to 2023, according to the database, including 3 surgery patients. In all, it amounted to $11,815 total submitted charges.
A pediatric hospital located in Hartford, CCMC provides a range of services, including emergency care, surgeries, and treatment for chronic conditions. It is affiliated with the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, and operates satellite offices throughout the state.
The hospital has a "gender program" that offers "before puberty" and "after puberty" programs for children. The director of the program is pediatric endocrinologist Priya Phulwani, MD.
"We are also proud to stand with our colleagues at children’s hospitals and health systems across the country, as they remain committed to providing gender-affirming care to their patients and families," says a "statement of support" for the gender program posted on the CCMC website. "Together, we will continue to advocate for transgender and gender-diverse youth and their families."
The hospital was also "developing a portal that will connect kids from states where gender transition surgeries and hormone injections are banned to resources that would help them pursue so-called gender-affirming care," reported National Review in Oct. 2023.
Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Richard Levine — a cross-dresser who goes by the name "Rachel" — was invited by CCMC to speak at a "pediatric roundtable" in 2023 "about the political implications of children's hospitals performing gender reassignment surgery," reported ABC 7 KATV.
Levine said "he believes the practice of medically changing a child's gender will eventually be normalized," reported the TV station.
James E. Shmerling, the president and CEO of CCMC, is "a nationally recognized leader in issues concerning children’s health and wellness" according to the hospital website. He previously was the CEO of Children's Hospital Colorado, which Do No Harm also lists among its "Dirty Dozen" hospitals. Schmerling also has worked at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center, Indiana University Hospitals, James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children and the Children’s Hospital of Alabama.
A faculty member at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Shmerling also is a member of the boards of directors of the Pediatric Home Services Board of Directors, Biostage, Inc., Abe’s Garden, and the Hartford Board of Education.
In all, hospitals in Connecticut saw 97 minors who were “sex change patients,” including 46 total surgery patients. These hospitals administered “hormone and puberty blockers” to 55 total children, and wrote 226 prescriptions. In all, it totalled $761,060 in total submitted charges.
Chloe Cole, a senior fellow at Do No Harm, said the database “proves the lies from the medical establishment and radical politicians who argue that cases like mine are rare.”
A 20-year-old woman who said that she had “gender dysphoria” was given “puberty blockers,” testosterone and had a double mastectomy at age 12, Cole has since “de-transitioned” and supports bans on the chemical castration of minors.
“The stats in this database represent thousands of kids who are being treated like Guinea pigs for unproven, and sometimes dangerous, medical experiments,” said Cole. “I hope politicians and parents alike use this database to see where these treatments are happening and protect their children from being rushed into irreversible, life-altering treatments.”
Nationally, 13,994 children received sex change related treatments between 2019 and 2023, according to Do No Harm’s database. This includes 5,747 sex change surgeries performed on children, and 62,682 hormone and puberty blockers prescriptions written for 8,579 pediatric patients.
“At least $119,791,202 made from sex change treatments performed on minors,” reported the organization.
The "Dirty Dozen" Hospitals
The “12 worst offending children’s hospitals promoting sex change treatments for minors" according to Do No Harm.
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