‘Fear, Intimidation’: DOJ Condemns Alleged Threats To Hospital Over Child Sex Changes

The Department of Justice released a statement Wednesday condemning alleged threats made against Boston Children’s Hospital and its staff following controversy over the facility performing sex change procedures on minors.

Boston Children’s Hospital came under fire after several prominent Twitter accounts shared publicly available videos the hospital had put out promoting sex change procedures it offered to minors, and the hospital said it received threats of violence. The DOJ responded to these complaints with a statement condemning the alleged threats and appearing to praise child sex change procedures.

“Children deserve an opportunity to thrive and grow as their own authentic selves. Parents/guardians and health care providers who support them in that journey should be allowed to do so free of threats and harassment,” the statement from Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins read.

“While free speech is indeed the cornerstone of our great nation, fear, intimidation and threats are not. I will not sit idly by and allow hate-based criminal activity to continue in our District,” it concluded.

Rollins condemned the threats, which she called “disturbing,” and pointed to a prior statement from Attorney General Merrick Garland pledging his commitment to combating hate crimes. She said she had created a unit specifically for investigating and prosecuting civil rights violations and that the DOJ would ensure transgender people received equal protection under the law.

Twitter users shared videos of BCU staff promoting puberty blockers for children, mastectomies for girls as young as 15 and various genital surgeries the hospital offers, most of which have since been removed from YouTube. They also drew attention to BCU guidance which said the hospital offered vaginoplasty at as young as 17 and didn’t list a minimum age requirement for “gender-affirming” hysterectomies; those guidance pages have since been updated following public backlash with age requirements set at 18, although the minimum age for mastectomies is still 15.

Several media outlets drew attention to the subsequent backlash over sex change surgeries being performed on minors, which reportedly included a deluge of harassment and threats against hospital staff.

The DOJ and BCU did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.