Group: Cincinnati Children's Hospital transgender clinic should 'stop experimenting on our children'

A conservative group on Monday called on Ohio’s medical board to investigate the director of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s transgender clinic based on testimony that all children seen by the clinic are deemed candidates for treatment.

At a news conference on the steps of the Hamilton County Courthouse, Aaron Baer, executive director of Citizens for Community Values, said an ethics complaint will be filed Monday.

“We’re demanding they research this,” Baer said. “Stop experimenting on our children and start caring for them the way Cincinnati Children’s Hospital was designed to.”

The news conference was a response to a Hamilton County Juvenile Court judge’s decision earlier this month to give legal custody of a transgender teen to his grandparents. With some conditions, visiting judge Sylvia Hendon’s decision paved the way for the teen to pursue hormone therapy, which his parents oppose.

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State Rep. Tom Brinkman said at the news conference that parental rights are under attack. He intends to introduce legislation “to make sure this never happens again.”

“This is big business for somebody,” said Brinkman, a Republican from Mount Lookout. “Their concern is whether they can make more money – not whether it’s in the child’s interest.”

Children's Hospital spokesman Jim Feuer said in a statement that the practices employed by the transgender clinic "are in line with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the Endocrine Society, which articulate criteria for initiating hormone therapy for individuals with gender dysphoria."

"As each patient is different," the statement says, "our goal is to develop a plan with the patient’s best interest in mind.”

GOP gubernatorial candidate Mary Taylor’s running mate, Nathan Estruth, addressed Children’s Hospital CEO Michael Fisher directly at the news conference.

“What you are doing in this case is exactly contrary to what you have stood for, for so many years," Estruth said. “Standing with parents is the right thing to do."

The case surrounded a Cincinnati-area teen who was admitted to Children's Hospital's psychiatric unit in November 2016 after emailing a crisis hotline, court documents say.

Based on what he told doctors, the hospital refused to return him to the custody of his parents and a lengthy battle ensued in juvenile court, which culminated in Hendon’s ruling.

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There was testimony that the teen was suicidal and also that there were “reprogramming” attempts by the parents.

It was Hendon who raised concern about the testimony of the clinic’s director, Dr. Lee Ann Conard, who according to Hendon said "100 percent" of patients seen at the clinic “are considered to be appropriate candidates for continued gender treatment.”

A local group that supports transgender youth, the Living with Change Foundation, said in a statement that it agreed with Hendon’s decision “to put the safety and medical care of the child first."

“It’s unfortunate to see these individuals attack the court-ordered rights of a young member of our community," the statement said. "Through education, understanding and open dialogue, we hope more people will put the health and safety of children first instead of holding on to outdated and misguided ideals.”