A coalition of pediatricians, Health Policy Group And conservative organizations are calling on medical professionals to stop promoting transgender medical treatments for children.
The American College of Pediatricians (ACP) and affiliated groups, calling themselves “Doctors Protecting Children,” have published a declaration urging mainstream U.S. medical associations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics to drop support for so-called “gender-affirming care” for transgender youth.
“Joining physicians, nurses, psychiatrists and behavioral health clinicians, other health professionals, scientists, researchers, and public health and policy professionals, we have grave concerns about the physical and mental health implications of the current protocols promoted in the United States for the care of children and adolescents who express discomfort with their biological sex,” the declaration states.
Affirming that gender is a biological characteristic and that medical decisions “should not be based on a person’s thoughts and feelings,” including their self-declared “gender identity,” the groups insist that much of what is currently accepted as best practice treatment for gender dysphoria is actually harmful to patients. Their viewpoint is disputed by the larger medical community, which has established that gender is a social construct, not an innate biological reality, and that recognition and affirmation of a person’s internal self-identity is in their best interest.
The coalition, called “Doctors Protecting Children,” argues that puberty blockers, cross-sex hormone treatments and other “gender-affirming care” for transgender children and teens lack evidence showing their effectiveness as treatments for gender dysphoria. (Adobe Stock)
For example, the American Medical Association (AMA) states on its website that “improving access to gender-affirming care is an important means of improving gender-affirming care.” health outcomes for the transgender population.”
“Receipt of gender-affirming care is associated with dramatic decreases in rates of suicide attempts, decreased rates of sexual assault.” depression and anxietyThe APA claims, “This has led to reductions in substance abuse, improved adherence to HIV medications, and decreased rates of harmful self-prescribed hormone use.”
The federal government, through the Department of Health and Human Services, also supports transgender medical procedures for children and teens, calling it “a supportive form of health care that may include medical, surgical, mental health, and non-medical services for transgender and nonbinary people.”
HHS’s Office of Population Affairs (OASH) states, “Research shows that gender-affirming care improves the mental health and overall well-being of gender-diverse children and adolescents.”
However, several European countries, including the UK, Sweden, Finland, Norway and France, have banned the use of puberty blockers and sex reassignment surgery for children and teenagers. For example, last year the UK announced a ban on the availability of hormone treatments, restricting them to clinical trials only.
UK study finds mental health problems among trans kids who took puberty-blocking drugs
Trans rights activists take part in a protest against the ban on hormone blockers in London on April 20, 2024. (Carl Court/Getty Images)
In contrast to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) standards of care for transsexual, transgender and gender-nonconforming people, Doctors Protecting Children argues that allowing children to socially transition before puberty does not improve their mental health and social well-being outcomes.
The manifesto cites various studies in support of its claims, including the Cass Review, a controversial independent report produced by the United Kingdom’s National Health Service that documented practices and care for children reporting gender identity disorders.
It is named after its primary author, Dr. Hilary CassThe 388-page review found that medical professionals offered “no guidance, no evidence, no training” about gender disorders and were “afraid” to discuss the topic. It concluded that the evidence supporting transgender medical treatment for children and adolescents was “remarkably weak”.
The Cass review has been criticized by WPATH and transgender rights groups, who claim it ignored recent evidence showing that transgender medical procedures are beneficial for transgender minors and “made assumptions about transgender children and adolescents that are outdated and false, forming the basis for harmful interventions.”
Doctors Protecting Children cites multiple studies that show puberty-blocking drugs offer no significant benefit to young people with gender dysphoria. (iStock)
Doctors Protecting Children said the Cass review and related research from York University “further illustrate the failure of the WPATH, American Academy of Pediatrics, and Endocrine Society protocols.”
The coalition argues that research shows there is a lack of evidence that social transitions in childhood have any positive or negative mental health consequences; puberty blockers are successful in suppressing secondary sex characteristics, but “show no change in gender dysphoria or body satisfaction”; and there is insufficient research on the long-term effects of cross-sex hormone therapy to determine whether they are beneficial or harmful.
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Doctors Protecting Children says, “Psychotherapy for underlying mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and autism, as well as prior emotional trauma or abuse, should be the first line of treatment for these vulnerable children who experience discomfort with their biological sex.”
The coalition called on the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, the Pediatric Endocrine Society, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry to “follow the science and their European professional colleagues and stop immediately promoting social affirmation, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgery for children and adolescents who experience distress about their biological sex (emphasis in original).”
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“It’s time for these U.S. medical institutions to follow the lead of science and our European professional colleagues and stop promoting protocols that harm children, including social affirmation, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries for children and teens who experience distress about their biological sex,” said Dr. Jill Simmons, a pediatrician and executive director of the American College of Pediatricians.
AAP, Endocrine Society, Pediatric Endocrine Society, AMA, APA and A.A.A.C.A.P. did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
More than a dozen Republican-led states, including Texas, Despite strong opposition from American medical groups, the United States has already taken action to ban or limit the use of puberty-blocking drugs on minors.
Fox News Digital’s Melissa Ruddy, Anders Hagstrom and Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.
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