Leavitt said that Trump "was quite surprised by the uptick we are seeing in the embracement by the Democrat Party when it comes to the chemical castration and mutilation of young, innocent bodies. And so the president made it a very early priority to sign very strong executive orders to cut off the funding for any hospital or any medical facility in this country that provides such barbaric procedures."
"And as a result of that strong policy and the president’s strong common-sense position on the issue, we’ve had such an overwhelming response, which is great for children," Leavitt said.
She noted how the Phoenix Children’s Hospital "has stopped providing puberty blockers and hormone therapy to minors," Stanford Medicine in California "ended sex-change surgeries for minors," the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles is "closing its center for trans youth health and development surgical program," and Lurie Children’s Hospital Chicago "stopped sex-change surgeries."
"Again, let’s think about what we’re talking about here: sex-change surgeries for minors," Leavitt continued. "These are barbaric practices that no children, no child, innocent child should have to endure."
"And the President wants to protect the innocence of children, and I know the vast majority of Americans support him in that effort. This is a wildly popular and common-sense endeavor this administration has taken, and we've seen many of these medical institutions have followed through with the President's executive orders, but we'll continue to take further action on this important issue."
Trump signed an executive order in the first week of his second term titled, "Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation," which declared that it is "the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called 'transition' of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures."
It ordered department heads to take steps to "ensure that institutions receiving Federal research or education grants end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children."
