LGBT

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Shuts Down Harmful ‘Center for Transyouth’

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is shutting down their harmful “Center for Transyouth Health and Development,” one of the oldest and largest children’s “gender clinics” in the country.

Pro-child advocates celebrated the closure, as the center will no longer be irreparably damaging minors with irreversible, experimental puberty blockers, opposite sex hormones and surgeries.

The “transyouth” clinic stated its decision “followed a thorough legal and financial assessment of the increasingly severe impacts of recent administrative actions and proposed policies.”

Those administrative actions included announcements by the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that they would be investigating and prosecuting those responsible for mutilating and sterilizing children with sexual identity confusion.

In announcing its closure, the “transgender” clinic stated:

For more than 30 years, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has provided high-quality, evidence-based, medically essential care for transgender and gender-diverse youth, young adults, and their families. CHLA is immensely proud of this legacy of caring for young people on the path to achieving their authentic selves.

Despite this deeply held commitment to supporting LA’s gender-diverse community, the hospital has been left with no viable path forward except to close the Center for Transyouth Health and Development, effective July 22, 2025.

It’s important to know that the interventions the clinic refers to as “medically essential care” do not have “high-quality, evidence-based” research behind them. This is a bald-faced lie.

A recent, comprehensive HHS review, Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria Review of Evidence and Best Practices, found a lack of good evidence for using drugs, hormones and surgeries for children suffering from sexual identity confusion.

A news release from HHS clearly explained the troubling paucity of evidence and grave risks for confused children who receive these drugs, hormones and surgeries:

This review, informed by an evidence-based medicine approach, reveals serious concerns about medical interventions, such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries, that attempt to transition children and adolescents away from their sex.

The review highlights a growing body of evidence pointing to significant risks – including irreversible harms such as infertility – while finding very weak evidence of benefit. That weakness has been a consistent finding of systematic reviews of evidence around the world.

The HHS report lists other countries that have stopped or limited these damaging, disfiguring treatments, including Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. They all found a lack of scientific evidence for these procedures and noted the serious harms and risks to minors.

In addition to the HHS report, England’s Dr. Hilary Cass spent four years reviewing the evidence about “gender identity” interventions for minors and released a 388-page report with 12 research-based appendices.

Dr. Cass explains that there is little evidence for using drugs, hormones and surgeries for minors:

This is an area of remarkably weak evidence, and yet results of studies are exaggerated or misrepresented by people on all sides of the debate to support their viewpoint. The reality is that we have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender related distress.

Journalist and pro-child activist Brandon Showalter has written extensively about the horrible damage to minors from transgender medicine. He touted the closure of the clinic in a post on X:

Focus on the Family heartily agrees. We are thankful that the closure of this clinic means more children will be protected from these experimental, ineffective, disfiguring procedures.

Related Articles and Resources

To speak with a family help specialist or request resources, please call us at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).

Counseling Consultation & Referrals

Transgender Resources

God’s Amazing Grace in a Transgendered Person’s Life

Chloe Cole: Gender Reassignment Surgery Regret

Addressing Gender Identity with Honesty and Compassion

Support for Parent Whose Adult Child Identifies as Transgender

Discussing Transgender Issues With Teens

Pam Bondi Directs DOJ Attorneys to Investigate Transgender Procedures for Minors

FBI, DOJ Target Those Mutilating Children with ‘Transgender’ Drugs and Surgeries

Image from Shutterstock.

LGBT Issues and the Church: Problems With a ‘Gay Christian’ Identity

This is part one of an ongoing series on problematic trends in the church regarding LGBT issues.

There’s a movement in Christian circles where those struggling with same-sex attractions identify themselves with terms like “gay Christian” or “gay celibate Christian.”

Others use terms like “sexual minority Christians,” “queer Christian” or even “trans Christian.”

Many who describe themselves this way – but by no means all – say they are embracing chastity or celibacy and pursuing a relationship with Christ. That is, they believe the historic, biblical Christian sexual ethic, that God created humans male and female, and sexual expression is reserved for the marriage relationship of a husband and wife.

A number of Christian writers and ministries have adopted this nomenclature, with some of them training churches and other ministries to follow their lead.

Focus on the Family does not believe these terms are biblical or helpful for same-sex-attracted strugglers. Although these groups and individuals hold to biblical teaching that transgender and homosexual lust and behavior are wrong, they fail to practice Scripture’s teaching on identity – who believers are in Christ.

We are not questioning the faith of individuals who use this language, but we would challenge the wisdom and rationale for calling themselves or others “gay Christians” or similar terms.

There are a number of arguments that people give for using “gay Christian,” including:

  • “Gay” best describes my life experience as different from “heterosexual” folks.
  • I take a “missiological” or “missional” approach, using “gay Christian” as a way of relating to non-Christian LGBT-identified people and reaching them for Christ.
  • It’s polite to practice “pronoun hospitality,” using a person’s “chosen pronouns” and self-described “gender.”  
  • “Gay” is simply a linguistic synonym for “same-sex attracted,” and most people think of “gay” in this manner.
  • Saying, “I’m a gay Christian” doesn’t define me – it’s just like using language like, “I’m American” or “I’m a surfer” or “I am  a mechanic.”

While this article will not answer all these arguments, we’ll answer more in the future and discuss other areas of concern where many in the church have succumbed to harmful LGBT ideology.

For now, here are four reasons why identifying as a “gay Christian” is not biblical, wise or helpful. (N.B.: It’s cumbersome to use all the different LGBT terms throughout this article, so I’ll generally use “gay” as a catch-all for the wide range of “identities” created by LGBT activists.)

1. Dividing up the world into “gays” and “straights” is an unbiblical, false modern construct.

    Humans are either male or female. This is actually a core identity – along with, for believers, the deeper, Christian identity of being a son or daughter of our Father. Both male and female are made in the image of God and both are good and valuable and necessary complements for each other.

    Yet many in the world, and especially LGBT-identified people, see the world divided up into sexual identities: “gay” or “straight”; “transgender” or “cisgender”; “heterosexual” or “homosexual.” These are all modern, man-made identities based on sexual thoughts, feelings, socio-political constructs, behaviors and attractions.

    The terminology lends itself to the idea that “gays” are a different type of people from “straights.” This is not how Scripture identifies people – so why should we?

    2. It’s unbiblical and disconnected from Church history – not to mention nonsensical – to call oneself a “gay Christian.”

    Here’s a simple thought experiment: Can you imagine any of the early believers identifying this way? “Hi, I’m James; I’m the gay apostle.”

    It’s absurd.

    It’s just as much of a problem if you substitute the Greek words commonly translated “homosexual” in the New Testament. First, there’s the word “arsenokotoi,” meaning “men who lie with other men” – which is what many mean by our modern term “gay.” It’s impossible to believe that any man throughout Church history would say, “I’m an arsenokotoi, but also a chaste Christian.”

    It’s oxymoronic.

    Malakoi is another word for homosexuality in Scripture; it means effeminate or soft. No disciple would ever say, “That’s Nicodemus; he’s the effeminate follower of Jesus.”

    No. Adding “gay” to “Christian” is to detach from biblical and historic Christianity. It puts a barrier between a believer and his true identity in Christ.

    3. “Gay Christians” argue that “gay” is the equivalent of “same-sex attractions.” But that’s not really how most people use this language.  

    While people sometimes use “gay” to mean “same-sex attracted,” the term is more often used as if “being gay” were a person’s core identity. People use language like, “I discovered my true self,” or “He’s gay” or “I came out as gay” – as if revealing their central, most authentic self.

    I would argue that most people assume that when someone says, “I’m gay,” it means the person is not only same-sex attracted, but also acting on their desires and pursuing same-sex romantic or sexual relationships. The redefinition of marriage to include “gay marriage” has further cemented this into people’s minds, regardless of whether someone adds the term “celibate” or “single” as a modifier.

    Using “gay Christian” language is even more confusing today because so many churches, denominations and religious colleges affirm LGBT attractions, identities and relationships. Activist groups like the Human Rights Campaign, Q Christian Fellowship, “Side A Christians,” and The Reformation Project actively promote “gay Christianity.”

    The linguistic sleight of hand of those who say, “Well, when I say, ‘gay Christian’ I mean I’m attracted to the same sex,” is not convincing when “gay” is so connected to sexual lust and behavior in the minds of many. Why use language that is so confusing?

    4. Calling oneself “gay” buys into the lie that we define ourselves by our own thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and romantic and sexual attractions.

    In his book Strange New World, Carl Trueman describes our modern culture’s view of “the self,” which he says is characterized by people believing they create or discover their “true identity.”

    “Being gay” is part of a broken world where  “expressive individualism” rules.

    Truman writes, “The priority that the LGBTQ+ movement places on sexual desire and inner feelings relative to personal identity is part of this broader accent on the inner, psychological life of Western people that shapes us all.”

    It’s difficult to see why authentic Jesus followers would buy into this postmodern ideology and see sexual attractions (or “sexual orientation,” a spurious concept invented by psychologists) as a core part of themselves, worthy of being placed in front of being a Christian. This is not a biblical view of personhood. Certainly sex and sexuality are part of who we are, but they aren’t the defining aspect of believers’ lives.

    I’ve read a lot of the arguments from “gay Christians”; far too much ink has been spilled on debating this question. But I have yet to see an argument for this terminology that is rooted in Scripture.

    It’s important for the whole Church to have correct thinking on this issue. The language people use to describe themselves is an important theological consideration, not a matter of preference or self-definition.

    So we do not define people by sexual attractions or sexual behaviors. Rather we see men and women, created in God’s image and deeply loved by Him.

    Related Articles and Resources

    10 Things Everyone Should Know About a Christian View of Homosexuality

    Carl Trueman: Strange New World: How Thinkers and Activists Redefined Identity and Sparked the Sexual Revolution

    Is ‘Gay Christian’ a Proper Term?

    Joe Dallas: In Other Words, Part One, Two and Three

    Linda Seiler: Becoming the Woman God Made Me to Be; Trans-Formation: A Former Transgender Responds to LGBTQ

    Rosaria Butterfield: Accepting My True Identity in Christ, Part One and Part Two; The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert; Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age

    Image from Shutterstock.

    California Sues DOJ Over ‘Transgender’ Athlete Ban

    California is suing the Justice Department over its demand the state prohibit male athletes from competing in women’s and girls sports.

    The lawsuit retaliates against letters sent to California school districts by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon last week, ordering them to certify the ban “in writing” because “knowingly depriving female students of athletic opportunities and benefits on the basis of their sex would constitute unconstitutional sex discrimination under the Equal Protection Clause.”

    “Defendants have no right to make such a demand,” the California lawsuit states. It continues:

    Instead, allowing athletic participation consistent with students’ gender identity is substantially related to the important government interests of affording all students the benefits of an inclusive school environment, including participation in school sports, and preventing the serious harms that transgender students would suffer from a discriminatory, exclusionary policy.

    Of course, the lawsuit makes no mention of the “serious harms” to women that result from males competing in their sports.

    This heated pushback is occurring despite President Trump’s recent executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”

    This February order explains that males competing in women’s sports is “demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports.”

    The order later states:

    It is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy. 

    It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta argues this presidential executive order violates California antidiscrimination laws, including California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) rules.

    The CIF governs California public and private school sports. It contains a bylaw that forces “gender identity” recognition “in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s records.”

    However, Julie Hamill, principal attorney with California Justice Center, is adamant that the U.S. Constitution provides protection for biologically female athletes – rights that California is violating by “allowing males into ‘girls only’ categories.”

    Permitting males to compete in women’s and girls sports also violates Title IX, a federal civil rights law enacted in 1972 which prohibits sex discrimination in education programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.

    Hamill stated, “By continuing to fan flames of division and play politics, leftist politicians and media outlets are causing further harm to American girls.”

    This was especially evident in May when female athletes were forced to share their podium with AB Hernandez, a male, at the California State Track and Field Championships. 

    “Watching two girls share one of the biggest moments of their athletic careers with a male competitor was a painful reminder of how far we’ve strayed from truth and fairness,” said Sophia Lorey, outreach director at California Family Council.

    “What I witnessed at the California State Track and Field Championships was not progress, it was the erasure of girls sports,” she continued.

    Focus on the Family couldn’t agree more. California’s lawsuit seems intent upon harming countless young girls and their rights, while protecting men pretending to be women. This unfair policy not only strips female athletes of their hard-earned achievements but also violates their basic human rights as women.

    Please pray California’s lawsuit is defeated in court.

    Related Articles and Resources

    Transgender Resources

    What is “Gender Identity?”

    Addressing Gender Identity with Honesty and Compassion

    Feds Pressure California After Boy Wins in Girls Track and Field Championship

    Department of Justice Launches Title IX Task Force to Protect Women’s Sports

    Girls Shouldn’t Apologize for Protesting Boys in Girls Sports

    Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces

    Female Athletes Challenge Minnesota Policy Forcing Them to Compete Against Males

    Some Companies Back Away From LGBT Pride – Parents Should Still Be Watchful

    Corporations are providing less support for LGBT pride month this year, leading some activist groups to scale down their celebrations of sexual sin and brokenness.

    But parents should still be mindful; it’s very easy for families to stumble across LGBT parades, events and merchandise. Parents will want to plan ahead to protect their children as much as possible from exposure to sexually confusing, inappropriate subjects.

    One study, from Gravity Research’s “Pride Pulse Poll,” surveyed leaders across Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies about their anticipated corporate involvement in pride month. The survey found:

    • Scaled-Back Visibility: 39% of companies plan to reduce Pride-related engagement in 2025. Notably, no respondents reported plans to increase engagement.
    • Quiet Internal Continuity: Despite pullbacks in external-facing efforts like event sponsorships and social media branding, internal initiatives – such as workplace activities or partnerships with employee resource groups – remain largely intact.
    • Backlash Planning in Progress: 65% of respondents say they are actively preparing for backlash, crafting reactive communication strategies and training HR teams to manage internal sentiment.

    The Advocate, an LGBT activist magazine, noted one of the reasons for this reduced support was that companies were abandoning “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs. As this occurred, “Many also axed their commitments to LGBTQ+ Pride Month.”

    The news outlet listed 14 corporations that “have stopped or scaled back sponsorship” of pride parades and activities, including Anheuser-Busch, Citi, Comcast, Garnier, Lowes, Mastercard, Nissan, PepsiCo, Target and Walmart.

    Anheuser-Busch, for example, stopped sponsoring pride events in St. Louis, San Francisco and Columbus, while in New York City, “Hair care company Garnier was one of the four ‘Platinum’ donors that has withdrawn its support in 2025,” The Advocate reported.

    Over at the conservative news and opinion outlet Red State, Senior Reporter Brandon Morse wrote:

    “Major businesses that once plastered their logos with the Pride flag the moment June 1 rolled around have kept their logos virtue-signal-free.”

    Morse listed Microsoft, IBM, Xbox, Target and Starbucks as companies no longer including LGBT symbols in their logos.

    Despite this pullback by some companies, parents should be aware that pride events are still happening across the U.S. throughout June – and not only this month, as the LGBT calendar and events now stretch from January to December. In addition, many stores carry LGBT merchandise year-round.

    It’s no longer a question of “if” children will encounter homosexuality and transgenderism in the culture – it’s “when” will they do so. So here are a few ideas, along with some resource suggestions, to help parents keep their children grounded in truth and protect them from sexually confusing ideology.

    1. Teach your children God’s good design for humanity and marriage, before they encounter damaging and false ideas. In age appropriate ways, help children understand the basics: God created humans male and female; He designed marriage to be between a husband and wife; and a married mom and dad provide the best, safest place for raising children.

    Simple conversations about these issues should take place earlier than you might think, as children can be exposed to these issues at very young ages. Remember, too, that this should be an ongoing conversation as they grow and mature.

    2. Plan ahead as you travel and visit different cities. It’s easy to check online and avoid areas where LGBT parades and celebrations are taking place.

    3. When your children encounter harmful teaching and images about sexuality, stay calm and cool, and discuss what happened. Listen to what they say, ask questions and assure them that they did nothing wrong – but the people who exposed them to these things were wrong to do so.

    If you’re angry, acknowledge this to them, but offer assurance that you’re not upset with them, you love and care about them, but you are unhappy about what happened to them.

    If they’ve seen destructive sexual behaviors or images, pray over them, asking God to cleanse their minds and protect them.

    4. Make sure you’ve also taught your children about God’s plan for salvation. Talk with them about God’s good creation, how people disobeyed Him and sinned, and about His plan of salvation for all of us. Remind your kids that God loves everyone – even those who get caught in sinful behaviors – and He helps people get freedom from sin.

    How you manage these subjects will depend upon their age, of course, but your children need to know it’s always safe to talk with you about difficult issues.

    Focus on the Family and the Daily Citizen have resources to help parents (and grandparents and other concerned adults) understand LGBT issues and respond to questions from children in healthy, non-reactive ways. We also have resources for those navigating these issues with a family member or friend.

    Related Articles and Resources

    Counseling Consultations and Referrals

    Five Things for Christians to Remember During ‘LGBT Pride Month’

    Focus on the Family: Parenting

    Focus on the Family Resources: Sex Education

    How to Talk to Your Children About Homosexuality: A guide for parents

    How to Teach Your Children About Marriage: Creative and practical ideas

    Navigating ‘LGBT Pride Month’ – How Should Parents Respond?

    Raising Children Who Honor Marriage: What you should know 

    The Talk: Healthy Sexuality Education – Basic Goals and Guidance from Focus on the Family

    Transgender Resources

    Understanding Homosexuality

    When Transgender Issues Enter Your World: How Christians can respond with compassion, courage and truth

    Image from Shutterstock.

    Nebraska Becomes 26th State to Protect Girls and Women’s Sports

    Nebraska became the 26th state to protect girls and women’s K-12 and collegiate sports after Governor Jim Pillen signed “The Stand for Women Act” earlier this week.

    The bill allows for all male, all female and coed teams in school sports.

    Although many transgender and media activists call such legislation “transgender bans,” these commonsense laws don’t even mention transgenderism. They are grounded in science, defining male and female based on reproductive capacity, not spurious gender ideology.

    Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Erica O’Connell commended the legislature and governor for “passing this critical bill,” adding:

    Letting men intrude on women and girls sports teams is an invasion of privacy, a threat to their safety, and a denial of the real biological differences between the sexes.

    Nebraska is right to ensure that female athletes of all ages have a fair and level playing field and protect the safety and dignity of women and girls.

    Legislative Bill 89 originally included provisions restriction school restrooms and locker rooms based on sex, but those were removed to assure the bill’s passage.

    The Nebraska Examiner reported that state Sen. Merv Riepe, who objected to sex-segregated facilities being mandated by the legislature, said, “I did not run for office to become part of the ‘Nebraska State Potty Patrol.’”

    The act’s sponsor, Senator Katheen Kauth, said she’ll try again to protect the privacy, dignity and safety of all students by introducing a bill in 2026 that mandate’s separate facilities in schools. The Examiner quoted her saying, “The work is not done. We’re going to continue.”

    LB 89 is based on the reality of innate differences between the two sexes, as the legislation explains:

    Males and females possess unique and immutable differences that manifest prior to birth and increase as they age and experience puberty.

    Differences between the sexes are enduring and may, in some circumstances, warrant the creation of separate social, educational, athletic, or other spaces in order to ensure safety and to allow members of each sex to succeed and thrive.

    The act lists some of the physical advantages for males, noting they have “on average, a larger body size with more skeletal muscle mass, a lower percentage of body fat, and a greater maximal delivery of anaerobic and aerobic energy.”

    Noting the “significant sports performance gap between the sexes,” LB 89 further states:  

    Even at young ages, males typically score higher than females on cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and speed and agility. These differences become more pronounced during and after puberty as males produce higher levels of testosterone. On average, male athletes are bigger, faster, stronger, and more physically powerful than their female counterparts.

    The new law explains that these natural advantages are not erased when males suppress testosterone and take female hormones.

    It’s unfair and even dangerous to allow males to compete in girls and women’s sports. We at the Daily Citizen are grateful that more and more states, as well as the federal government, are moving to protect their athletic achievements, along with their health, dignity and privacy.

    Related Resources and Articles:

    Don’t Let the Media Deceive You About Trump’s Order Protecting Female Athletes

    Feds Pressure California After Boy Wins in Girls Track and Field Championship

    House Passes Bill Protecting Women and Girls in Sports

    NYT Poll Finds Almost 80% of Americans Oppose Men in Women’s Sports

    Payton McNabb, Injured Volleyball Player, Wins Title IX Victory

    Senate Democrats Block Bill to Save Women’s Sports Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces

    Image from Gov. Jim Pillan