The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a peer-reviewed report exposing the dangers posed to children from efforts to change their biological sex. The report found that the harms of “gender-affirming” care are “significant, long term, and too often ignored or inadequately tracked,” HHS said.
According to the 410-page report, the “number of children and adolescents who question their sex and identify as transgender or nonbinary has grown significantly.” The report is not to be seen as a “clinical practice guideline,” but as a means of providing the “most accurate and current information available regarding the evidence base for the treatment of gender dysphoria in this population, the state of the relevant medical field in the United States, and the ethical considerations associated with the treatments offered.”
The report concludes that “many U.S. medical professionals and associations have fallen short of their duty to prioritize the health interests of young patients,” going on to list specific criticisms against health professionals that fueled the dangers of gender-affirmation:
“First, there was a rapid expansion and implementation of a clinical protocol that lacked sufficient scientific and ethical justification. Second, when confronted with compelling evidence that this protocol did not deliver the health benefits it promised, and that other countries were changing their policies appropriately, U.S. medical professionals and associations failed to reconsider the ‘gender-affirming’ approach. Third, conflicting evidence—evidence that challenged the foundational assumptions of the protocol and the professional standing of its advocates—was mischaracterized or insufficiently acknowledged. Finally, dissenting perspectives were marginalized, and those who voiced them were disparaged.”
“The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics peddled the lie that chemical and surgical sex-rejecting procedures could be good for children,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. “They betrayed their oath to first do no harm, and their so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people. That is not medicine — it’s malpractice.”
Earlier this year, HHS released a report detailing the lack of evidence for “gender-affirming care” among youth. The 409-page document highlighted the “very-low quality” evidence used for treatment approaches in gender medicine for minors.
