Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., on Monday tore into a Nashville medical center that performs transgender surgery on young people, accusing the institution of "chasing dollars."
In a fiery interview on Newsmax TV's "Wake Up America," Burchett described the procedure done at Vanderbilt University Medical Center as "butchery."
"One of their physicians [was] talking about this being a very profitable procedure," Burchett said. "It's butchery. Really, they're butchering these children."
Vanderbilt University Medical Center opened its Transgender Health Clinic in 2018, saying it was dedicated to serving "a high-risk population who have been consistently underserved by the U.S. health system."
It's the first and only center dedicated to transgender health care in Tennessee, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
It has also become the center of a political firestorm.
Matt Walsh, a contributor to The Daily Wire, released the results of what he called an "investigation" into the clinic on Twitter alleging VUMC established the clinic because gender-affirming surgeries were highly profitable, that the center threatened "consequences" for staff who declined to provide gender-affirming care and that it "enforced compliance" by parents who might be hesitant to consent to care for their minor children.
GOP state Rep. William Lamberth "is correct when he says that kids below the age of 18 should not have any type of this type of surgery done on them," Burchett told Newsmax TV.
"This is where we're basically just sacrificing these children on the altar of wokeness in reality, and it's beyond me. I don't know why the gay community isn't standing up saying this is wrong."
"I suspect the next industry for these clowns is gonna be counseling. These poor children who have had this gender-altering surgery," he added.
Burchett also called for the loss of medical licensing for those who perform the surgeries.
"They're just chasing dollars," he said. "And Nashville, Tennessee, has gone so far to the left. It's unbelievable about what's going on there. This should never have been permitted.
"We need to stand up and stop this, and it doesn't matter if you're a Christian or whatever your religious beliefs are. This is wrong. We are talking about life-altering surgery for children, for goodness sakes … where are the parents in this?"
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