HHS Issues Report Extolling Medical Treatment For Trans Kids
President Joe Biden has repeatedly spoken out in favor of mandating that minors be allowed to receive often irreversible and unproven medical treatments or surgeries described by supporters as “gender-affirming care.”
Now, his administration’s Department of Health and Human Services has taken the issue one step further with a report that seems to openly encourage transgender youth to undergo such procedures.
The document, called “Moving Beyond Change Efforts: Evidence and Action to Support and Affirm LGBTQI+ Youth,” laments a supposed “crisis” caused by those who oppose subjecting children to life-altering procedures that many go on to regret.
According to a press release, the HHS report “provides a comprehensive overview of the scientific research and consensus that LGBTQI+ youth are resilient and can thrive when they are supported and affirmed, but that pervasive discrimination, rejection, and bullying of LGBTQI+ youth has led to a nationwide mental health crisis.”
News of the report was coordinated to coincide with “transgender day of visibility” on Friday, which itself came on the heels of a deadly shooting at a private Christian school in Tennessee that was reportedly perpetrated by a transgender individual.
“HHS is releasing this report today, on Transgender Day of Visibility, to uplift transgender youth and the parents, teachers, and providers who support them,” the agency asserted.
The press release went on to denounce efforts by a growing number of Republican-led states to either more strictly regulate or completely ban many controversial procedures on children.
“The report finds that this crisis is most acute for transgender youth, whose mental health and wellbeing is put at risk by policies that seek to restrict their access to appropriate health care and inclusion at school,” the HHS asserted.
About a month ago, Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill outlawing many transgender medical procedures on minors. Despite harsh criticism from LGBT activists and groups, the bill’s sponsor in the state House defended its protections.
“These treatments and procedures have a lifetime of negative consequences that are irreversible,” said GOP House Majority Leader William Lamberth.
From the Biden administration’s perspective, however, it appears that no treatment is too extreme for children who want to change their gender.
“For gender-diverse youth, gender-affirming care supports health and well-being — and should not be withheld or legally prohibited,” the HHS press release states. “Gender-affirming care is a highly specialized model of care that uses evidence-based practices to address distress arising from gender dysphoria.”
