The Department of Health and Human Services released a new report detailing the lack of evidence for “gender-affirming care” among youth.
The 409-page report highlights the “very-low quality” evidence used for treatment approaches in gender medicine for minors.
“This Review is published against the backdrop of growing international concern about pediatric medical transition. Having recognized the experimental nature of these medical interventions and their potential for harm, health authorities in a number of countries have imposed restrictions,” the report’s forward says.
It goes on to note that “gender-affirming” models of care include “irreversible endocrine and surgical interventions on minors with no physical pathology” that carry “risk of significant harms including infertility/sterility, sexual dysfunction, impaired bone density accrual, adverse cognitive impacts, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders, psychiatric disorders, surgical complications, and regret.”
“A central theme of this Review is that many U.S. medical professionals and associations have fallen short of their duty to prioritize the health interests of young patients,” the report’s conclusion reads, adding, “While no clinician or medical association intends to fail their patients—particularly those who are most vulnerable—the preceding chapters demonstrate that this is precisely what has occurred.”
In a press release for the report, HHS noted that the review makes it clear that “science and evidence do not support their use, and the risks cannot be ignored.”
“Our duty is to protect our nation’s children—not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said in a statement. “We must follow the gold standard of science, not activist agendas.”
