White House says transgender surgeries should NOT be performed on children, in major turning point
The Biden administration has said that transgender surgeries should not be performed on children, which seems to be a major turning point.
A White House spokesman made his position clear in a statement today, saying that “very personal decisions” such as surgeries should be reserved only for those 18 and older.
They still support other forms of gender-affirming care for minors, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy.
The White House appears to be moving away from its previous position, as Biden has previously criticized Republican states for restricting children’s access to surgeries.
Some LGBT groups reacted strongly to the change, calling it “plainly wrong” and accusing the president of being “scientifically and materially wrong.”
The White House has previously expressed strong support for transgender health care
The number of children undergoing the procedure has increased 13-fold since 2013 (pictured left), with some patients as young as 12 (top right). The vast majority had no regrets about the surgery, with only two children saying they wished they hadn’t done it.
The shift in vision was first revealed by The 19th newsa news channel focusing on gender, politics and policy.
A White House spokesman wrote in an email: “These are very personal decisions and we believe these surgeries should be limited to adults.
“We continue to support gender-affirming care for minors as it represents a continuum of care, and respect the role of parents, families, and physicians in these decisions.”
Gender confirmation surgeries are surgeries that aim to bring a person’s physical body into alignment with his or her gender identity.
Examples include a mastectomy (or “top” surgery), in which breast tissue is removed to create a more masculine chest, and breast augmentation, or the placement of breast implants, to create a more feminine chest.
In the US, at least 800 children between the ages of 12 and 18 undergo gender confirmation surgery each year. according to a study who analyzed data from nearly every state. The vast majority had undergone chest or thoracic surgery.
At least 20 states have taken steps to restrict or completely ban health care for transgender youth
Montoya, 27, has since been banned from the White House by officials after she untied the top of her dress and grabbed her breast on the South Lawn. The above is from June of last year
Many clinics refuse to perform gender confirmation surgeries on individuals under the age of 18, while Arizona has banned this type of surgery on minors.
The US is an outlier in the Western world when it comes to transgender care. Many European countries want to restrict surgery and hormone therapy for children, because these are often irreversible.
Examples include the United Kingdom, where puberty blockers are now only prescribed in clinical trials, and Sweden, which last year began restricting hormone therapy for minors.
This comes amid growing reports suggesting that the effects of gender-affirming treatments have been poorly researched, and that many children who identify as transgender have other conditions, such as autism, that may contribute to their diagnosis.
Human Rights Campaign President Kelly Rowland criticized the White House statement, saying, “The Biden administration is flat out wrong on this point.
“It is wrong on a scientific level and wrong on a substantive level. It is also inconsistent with other steps the government has taken to support transgender youth.”
However, some medical organizations support this position, including The Endocrine Society, which recommends postponing genital surgery until a patient is 18 years old.
The White House statement comes just a week after reports that the team of Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Adm. Rachel Levine, a trans woman, called on an international group of medical experts to remove age limits for gender-affirming surgeries for adolescents.
Email excerpts from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which publishes guidelines on transgender care, and which was adopted by the New York Timesshow that Biden officials reached out to their staff and urged them to eliminate the age limit for transgender care altogether.
It appeared they succeeded, as the final guideline, published in 2022, did not include age limits.
Previously, it was proposed to lower the age limit to 14 for hormone treatments, 15 for mastectomies, 16 for breast enlargement or facial surgery, and 17 for genital surgery or hysterectomies.
Biden also posed for photos with transgender activists on the White House lawn last June at a party that drew widespread criticism after an attendee bared her breasts.
The activist, Rose Montoya, was later banned from attending events at the White House.
In October 2022, Biden also interviewed trans TikToker Dylan Mulvaney at the White House.
So far, 25 Republican-led states have passed laws banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors since 2021. The severity, however, varies by state.
In Arizona, surgery is banned, while other forms of care are permitted. But in Texas, laws prohibit doctors from prescribing gender-affirming care to transgender minors.
