Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) sent a letter to Trish Lollo, President of St. Louis Children’s Hospital, to request information about the kinds of medical interventions provided by the hospital’s Transgender Center. This follows troubling accounts of a former employee, who revealed that medical personnel do not always defer to the wishes of a parent who opposes life-altering medical procedures. 

In the letter, Foxx writes: “The family is the most basic unit of society and as such, ‘parents have the inalienable right and responsibility to educate and rear their children.’ Unfortunately, there are people who want to override parents’ decisions. … In some cases, those decisions have resulted in parents’ losing all rights when it comes to their children.”

Foxx continues: “Your former employee’s account reveals that this override of parents’ rights has become more and more prevalent.  The employee stated, ‘[W]hen there was a dispute between the parents, it seemed the center [Transgender Center] always took the side of the . . . parent [who gave consent to treatment].’ … This employee went on to state, ‘The doctors I worked alongside at the Transgender Center said frequently about the treatment of our patients: “We are building the plane while we are flying it.”’”

Foxx concludes: “Your hospital’s website touts the role it plays in delivering ‘gender affirming’ medical interventions, noting your mission is ‘to provide all-encompassing care to kids and young adults who identify as transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary or genderqueer.’ … As noted earlier, I have concerns about the use of life-altering, irreversible medical interventions on children with healthy bodies. Further, I want to ensure parents are a key part of any medical decisions for their children. Parents have the right and responsibility to make medical decisions for their children, and they should be free to do so without undue pressure or interference from medical establishments.”