One of America's largest children's hospitals is opening a specialised clinic. This clinic serves transgender youth seeking to detransition. Detransitioning means returning to one's sex assigned at birth.

Texas Children's Hospital in Houston announced this on Friday. The hospital reached a settlement with Texas's attorney general and the US Department of Justice. The case involved serious allegations against the hospital.

The complaint stated the hospital used false diagnostic codes. It allegedly billed gender-affirming care through Texas Medicaid. Medicaid is a government programme covering medical costs for low-income people.

As part of the settlement, the hospital pays ten million dollars to Texas. Additionally, the hospital stops providing gender-affirming care to youth. This represents major change for a hospital once offering such care in Texas.

Critics are deeply concerned about this decision. Many doctors and LGBTQ+ organisations warn that gender-affirming care is medically necessary. Major medical organisations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, support this care for transgender youth. They say denying such care can harm young people's mental health.

Settlement supporters, including Trump administration officials, view this as a victory. The federal government has repeatedly tried limiting or banning gender-affirming care for minors.

Opening a detransition clinic is extremely rare in America. Experts and LGBTQ+ activists are critical. They say little scientific evidence supports such a clinic's necessity. Research shows only a small percentage of transgender people later regret transitioning.

This case shows how politics and medical care increasingly clash in America. For transgender youth in Texas, accessing care doctors deem necessary is becoming harder.