Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., has been the subject of online attacks and harassing phone calls after a far-right Twitter account published a phone recording last week, in which operators for the facility falsely claimed that the hospital provides gender-affirming hysterectomies to transgender children, a hospital spokesperson said.
The phone call, which was secretly recorded by Chaya Raichik, founder of the conservative Twitter account Libs of TikTok, featured two operators at Children's National Hospital who misstated that the facility provides gender-affirming hysterectomies to patients under the age of 18, . The operators made these statements in response to questioning from Raichik, who identified herself as someone seeking a hysterectomy for a 16-year-old transgender boy.
"I've been in touch with quite a few hospitals and a lot of them, they said they won't do it for my 16-year-old," Raichik said in the recording. "I just want to know if you guys do service that age," she added.
The operator said "it depends" and that "each department is different; some departments cut off at 18." After Raichik reiterated that she was asking for a hysterectomy for a 16-year-old, the operator responded: "They're in the clear."
Children's National has faced "a large volume of hostile phone calls, social media messages and emails" following the spread of this misinformation online, a spokesperson for the hospital told 番茄社区app.
"We do not and have never provided gender-affirming surgery for anyone under the age of 18," the spokesperson said, adding that clinicians are not permitted to perform a hysterectomy on a minor without a court order.
The hospital spokesperson also noted that the employees recorded on the phone call do not provide care to patients. "The information in the recording is not accurate," the spokesperson said.
The hospital has also stated that it does not provide hormone therapy to patients before puberty begins.
"Care is individualized for each patient and always involves families making decisions in coordination with a team of highly trained pediatric specialists," the spokesperson said.
Children's National Hospital is the second hospital to face online attacks and harassing phone calls from far-right groups in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Boston Children's Hospital became a target of these groups over similar false claims that the hospital provides hysterectomies to minors. The attacks on both Children's National and Boston Children's were sparked by social media posts from Libs of TikTok, which has more than 1.3 million followers on Twitter.
According to its website, Children's National follows standard-of-care , which does not recommend genital surgery for children as part of gender-affirming care.
Libs of TikTok has . Raichik's anti-trans tweets have gone viral before, with some of her posts urging followers to contact schools that allow "boys in the girls bathrooms." Her accusations that members of the queer community "groom" young children have also earned Raichik features on prominent conservative broadcasts, including Tucker Carlson's show.
The account was from Twitter on Saturday over its "hateful conduct," according to Fox News. Following attacks on Boston Children's Hospital, Libs of TikTok said that it was banned permanently by Facebook. However, that ban has been reversed, and the account has continued posting on that platform.