Pediatric gender-transition medicine relies on systemic deception and fraud, and warrants criminal prosecution
Source: Chris Bray. "'Trans Kids' Madness Is Built On A Foundation Of Constant Lies." October 30, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author says two new investigations show that clinics treating trans-identified kids lie about diagnoses to dodge state bans and get insurance to pay. He argues this proves the whole field is built on fraud and that the government should bring criminal charges, not just settle civil cases.
Conclusion
The industry providing 'sex-rejecting' medical procedures to minors is fundamentally built on lies and fraud (in diagnosis, coding, and treatment), and the federal government should respond with criminal charges rather than only civil settlements.
Premises
- Undercover reporting by Christina Buttons found that providers affiliated with the Campaign for Southern Equality described ways to circumvent state bans, such as mailing hormones to patients' homes and using a generic 'endocrine disorder' code so pharmacies would not know the real reason for the prescription.
- Evidence from a detransitioner lawsuit, as presented by surgeon Eithan Haim, shows providers used false diagnoses as proxies for gender-related diagnoses so that insurers would pay for transition-related interventions on children.
- Providers falsifying billing codes is a tacit admission that they know their conduct is wrong.
- As states ban these procedures and the DOJ shuts down pediatric transgender facilities, the industry is moving underground and relying on subterfuge to continue treating minors.
- The DOJ has so far pursued only civil settlements with hospitals, which Haim argues do not match the severity of the alleged crimes.
Assumptions
- Evasion of legal restrictions and use of alternate diagnostic codes demonstrate fraud and a belief that the treatment is wrong, rather than a response to what providers see as unjust laws or insurance barriers.
- Undercover calls and a single lawsuit's records are representative of the industry as a whole.
- Gender-transition interventions for minors are inherently harmful, so deceptive practices to provide them are harmful too.
- Billing irregularities are sufficient to show the underlying treatment is itself fraudulent or a 'lie'.
- Criminal prosecution is the proportionate and appropriate remedy for the alleged conduct.
- The accounts of the cited sources (Buttons, Haim, Friday) are accurate and not selectively presented.