Donald Trump’s HHS Defends Whistleblower Nurse Fired Over Gender Treatment Refusal [WATCH]

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has launched a federal investigation into a major pediatric hospital over the firing of a nurse who refused to administer puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors on religious grounds.

While HHS has not officially named the facility, the probe follows public allegations made by nurse Vanessa Sivadge against Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH), the largest children’s hospital in the country, as reported by Fox News.

Sivadge, who testified before Congress in 2024, said she was terminated after requesting a religious exemption and speaking out about what she described as troubling practices involving gender-related treatments for minors.

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Sivadge first made her concerns public in June 2024 and was placed on administrative leave shortly after. Her employment was formally terminated in August 2024.

According to a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Sivadge asked to be transferred out of the program and back to the hospital’s cardiology department in May 2024, citing her religious beliefs.

In her Capitol Hill testimony, Sivadge said she had “witnessed the powerful and irreversible effects” of treatments that were presented to parents as “lifesaving.”

She said doctors would pressure families by warning that failure to affirm their child’s gender identity could result in self-harm.

“I was saddened to see young girls suffering from profound mental health struggles like depression and anxiety, many of whom had also suffered sexual abuse or trauma, persuaded by doctors at TCH that hormones would resolve their gender confusion.”

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She also alleged that federal agents visited her home during the Department of Justice’s investigation into Dr. Eithan Haim, a whistleblower affiliated with the hospital who had also raised concerns about transgender treatments on minors.

It was a privilege to be a witness in a Congressional hearing @JudiciaryGOP

My opening 5 minute testimony ⬇️pic.twitter.com/ezLVljG1GN

— Vanessa Sivadge (@V_Sivadge) April 12, 2025

Sivadge described the visit as intimidating, stating that one agent “effectively asked me to compromise my Christian beliefs and made veiled threats regarding my career and safety.”

Yesterday during the @JudiciaryGOP hearing, the ranking member attempted to discredit my qualifications as a pediatric nurse.

My response speaks for itself. @chiproytx https://t.co/nA1YhH677Q

— Vanessa Sivadge (@V_Sivadge) April 10, 2025

Dr. Haim, who was training at Baylor College of Medicine—affiliated with TCH—was charged with violating HIPAA, though the case was later dropped under the Trump administration.

Haim accused the hospital of deceptive billing practices to conceal gender procedures on minors, such as recording mastectomies as “breast reductions” and using a male diagnosis to bill for testosterone prescribed to a teenage girl.

Sivadge’s attorney has alleged that the hospital’s decision to terminate her was retaliatory and tied to her EEOC complaint.

The complaint also noted that the hospital had temporarily halted gender-related procedures after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton warned in February 2022 that such treatments could qualify as child abuse under state law.

The state officially banned those treatments in May 2023, with the law taking effect in September of that year.

In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed the “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” executive order, barring gender transition procedures for minors nationwide.

Following the order, HHS released guidelines encouraging whistleblowers to come forward and assured them of protection under federal law.

HHS is investigating a “pediatric hospital” to examine “whether it violated federal law by firing a whistleblower nurse after she requested a religious accommodation to avoid administering puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children…”

Our report today. pic.twitter.com/jNnUQ3mFdr

— Nate Foy (@foymeetsworld) April 17, 2025

“The Department will robustly enforce federal laws protecting these courageous whistleblowers, including laws that protect healthcare professionals from being forced to violate their religious beliefs or moral convictions,” said Acting HHS Office for Civil Rights Director Anthony Archeval.

Fox News reported reaching out to both Texas Children’s Hospital and the Department of Health and Human Services for comment.

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