Parents of a teenage son who has Asperger’s and autism were threatened by authorities to have their child placed in foster care after they refused to help facilitate a so-called "sex change" of the boy.

Recalling the horrifying ordeal to The Daily Mail, the couple, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed an NHS clinic in the U.K. said their then-14-year-old boy should be put on hormone-blockers since he told them he thought he was a girl. The parents, believing their child's autism played a role in the declaration of gender confusion, refused to cooperate with the “transition,” particularly since the blockers can cause irrevocable harm.