Hospitals warned they must protect children from chemical and surgical mutilation: HHS agency memo

"Other developed nations have taken decisive actions to prohibit or significantly limit these mutilation practices to ensure that children are protected from harmful, unscientific medical interventions," the memo adds. 

The notice also said " CMS may begin taking steps in the future to align policy, including CMS-regulated provider requirements and agreements, with the highest-quality medical evidence in the treatment of the nation's children in order to protect children from harmful, often irreversible mutilation, including sterilization practices.

"In recent years, medical interventions for gender dysphoria in children have proliferated," the memo adds. "Initiated with an underdeveloped body of evidence and now known to cause long-term and irreparable harm to some children, CMS may begin taking steps in the future to adjust its policies to reflect this reality and the lack of medical evidence in support of these harmful treatments."

Dr. Kurt Miceli, the medical director at the conservative medical activist group Do No Harm, told Fox News Digital the memo "did a nice job" of highlighting medical data from other countries regarding "gender-affirming" care for kids. 

"And we really salute them for really looking at the data and being very clear that we need to protect children, really, from these irreversible harms that, unfortunately, we see from sex-change surgeries or hormonal therapies that are used," Miceli said.

Between 2016 and 2020, nearly 3,700 children between the ages of 12 and 18 underwent surgery, with more than 3,200 having breast or chest surgery and more than 400 undergoing genital surgery, resulting in permanent changes to their reproductive organs, the memo states. More than 120,000 children between 6 and 17, from 2016 to 2020, were diagnosed with gender dysphoria, with more than 17,000 starting treatments like puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones.