Morning Wire XX
[0] More and more, children in America who say they identify as the opposite sex are being encouraged to get medical treatment, including hormones and even surgery, to conform to their gender identity.
[1] Meanwhile, some European countries, which historically have led the U .S. on these avant -garde treatments, are now pumping the brakes on medical transition for minors.
[2] For this episode of Morning Wire, we talk to Daily Wire's Marade Allorty about the legal status of transgender medicine for youth in Europe and the U .S. and whether the U .S. will ultimately follow Europe in curbing these treatments for teens.
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[14] So, Marade, just this month, the FDA released a warning about puberty blockers for kids, and I want to get to that.
[15] But first, tell us what's going on in Europe.
[16] Hi, Georgia.
[17] So a number of countries in Europe initially embraced puberty blockers and cross -sex hormones for children several years ago, but now they're taking a step back from those options and actually raising the alarm about the dangers to kids.
[18] The United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, and France have all taken steps recently to pull back on transgender medical treatments for children who report having gender dysphoria.
[19] Okay, so these countries initially recommended that children take these hormones or do these treatments, but now they're saying that there are risks involved.
[20] That's right.
[21] So what are these countries saying specifically about those risks?
[22] Well, for example, last year, Swedish hospitals halted the use of puberty blockers in five of the country's six clinics for minors with gender dysphoria.
[23] The last clinic only uses puberty blockers in clinical trials.
[24] The country now emphasizes psychotherapy for minors with gender dysphoria instead.
[25] We should note, too, Sweden has been one of the most progressive nations on transgender health care for decades.
[26] Back in 1972, Sweden became the first country to allow transgender people to change their legal gender.
[27] The Swedish hospitals actually cited a UK court ruling in their decision to stop prescribing hormones to kids.
[28] The UK took a step back in December 2020 when the High Court in London effectively suspended prescribing puberty blockers for children 15 and under and recommended that teens ages 16 to 18 get court approval before going on hormones.
[29] The original case was brought by a woman named Kira Bell.
[30] She argued that the UK's only youth gender identity clinic should have pushed back on her more when she expressed her desire to transition to male as a teen.
[31] She ended up having surgery to remove her breasts.
[32] Obviously, that's an irreversible decision that she made when she was still a minor, which she now regrets.
[33] Here's how Bell described her experience.
[34] When I was put on the hormone blockers, I had no real idea of how it was going to affect me in reality on a day -to -day basis.
[35] In April of last year, before the UK court's initial decision in favor of Bell was overturned, the UK's health advisory board found that the evidence for prescribing puberty blockers to minors with gender dysphoria was, quote, very low.
[36] They also reported that studies of the treatment were small and, quote, subject to bias and confounding.
[37] Now, though, the UK is back to prescribing transgender hormones to kids because the court decision was nixed.
[38] Okay, so the UK court case challenging transgender hormones for minors wasn't successful, but you also mentioned Finland and France too.
[39] That's right.
[40] So Finland has been similar to Sweden.
[41] In June 2020, Finland began de -emphasizing medical treatment for children with gender dysphoria and recommended prioritizing psychotherapy instead.
[42] Finland didn't ban puberty blockers outright, but it said hormones should be prescribed on a case -by -case basis and only after careful consideration.
[43] Finland did say, though, that surgery is not part of the treatment for minors with gender dysphoria.
[44] That's according to Finland's Council for Choices in Healthcare, which issues recommendations on public health care.
[45] The Council also said more information is needed about the effects of different treatment methods on the well -being of children, as well as on the disadvantages of those procedures and on people who regret them.
[46] Dr. Anna Lou DeVrie, a Dutch researcher who helped pioneer standards for hormone blockers and children, known as the Dutch Protocol, called the research beautifully developed.
[47] I think why a Dutch protocol is so beautifully developed because it starts with puberty blockers.
[48] And puberty blockers itself, you can stop whenever you want, and then have puberty, gender will evolve and develop further.
[49] without consequences, so it gives you thinking time.
[50] But of course, people also worry about what are the consequences of using puberty suppression.
[51] For example, for bone development.
[52] And another worry people have is on neurodevelopment, so brain development.
[53] Then we have France.
[54] France has also warned people recently about prescribing these hormones to every child who says their transgender.
[55] France's National Academy of Medicine warned medical professionals in a March press release that the spike in young people saying they want to medically transition genders may be due to social contagion.
[56] The press release urged medical personnel to be extremely cautious in their approach.
[57] The Academy called the rise in gender dysphoric children epidemic -like and noted that cases can appear in clusters.
[58] The press release also noted that adolescents may be influenced by too much social media and peer pressure.
[59] The Academy reminded medical professionals that children and teens are extremely vulnerable, especially psychologically, and that some of the medical treatments can cause serious complications.
[60] So the main theme here is they are advising a lot of caution with these treatments and emphasizing psychotherapy.
[61] Definitely.
[62] Now, this is coming from the courts and government agencies, but what are medical professionals saying?
[63] Well, many medical professionals in recent years have come out as outspoken advocates of minors receiving puberty blockers, cross -sex hormones, and in some cases, surgical transitions.
[64] Surgical transitions for minors typically means double mastectomies for girls and bottom surgery in some cases.
[65] Now, though, a few medical professionals are speaking out and warning about the dangers.
[66] Stella O'Malley, a UK -based psychotherapist, an author who works with young people, told me that puberty blockers are quickly becoming the most controversial aspect of gender dysphoria treatment for children.
[67] She pointed out that, quote, we simply don't know who will go on to transition as adults and who will come to accept their bodies as they are.
[68] Meanwhile, critics have warned that research and data on gender dysphoric children and how various treatment paths affect them is limited.
[69] One recent report even suggested that puberty blockers and cross -sex hormones in teens could actually increase the teen suicide rate rather than decrease it as advocates claim.
[70] We should note too that while some of Europe has pulled back, other countries in Europe allow children to access transgender hormone therapy at very young ages.
[71] As of 2018, Denmark and Slovenia allowed 15 -year -olds to obtain hormones without parental consent.
[72] Latvia allowed 14 -year -olds to do so, and Poland and Spain put their minimum age only slightly higher at 16.
[73] Now, what about other countries?
[74] Are there countries that have more fully embraced the transgender medical treatments for kids?
[75] Well, Canada is actually very progressive on these treatments.
[76] Canada was quick to promote gender hormone treatments and even permanent procedures like double mastectomies for gender dysphoric minors.
[77] A court in British Columbia ruled that in the cases where parents and their children disagree about whether to pursue gender transitioning treatment, the health care provider has the final say.
[78] In other words, it's the doctor who is responsible for assessing the child's ability to consent and they can overrule parents who disagree.
[79] Now, what about the U .S.?
[80] Where do we stand on this at a federal level?
[81] Well, in the U .S., the issue of medical intervention for gender dysphoric children has actually pitted opposing government forces against one another.
[82] The Biden administration promoted early transgender surgeries and hormone treatments as crucial for the health of minors who identify as transgender and non -binary.
[83] In March, Biden's HHS secretary Javier Becerra released official guidance on the standard of care for children with gender dysphoria, and that document offered robust support for early access to treatments, including both hormones and surgery.
[84] In May, Becerra dodged a question on sex change surgeries for children from Senator Mike Braun during a congressional hearing.
[85] In what case would it be appropriate to perform irreversible sex change surgery on kids?
[86] Those decisions are made by that individual in consultation with physician and caregivers.
[87] Just this month, the FDA actually issued a warning about puberty blockers saying they could cause swelling of the brain when given to children.
[88] The FDA is still looking into this, but what we know now is that at least six young girls between the age of 5 and 12, came down with a rare condition called pseudotumor cerebris while on these medications or shortly after being on them.
[89] It remains to be seen whether this link is confirmed and what the incidence is, but for now it's just another data point suggesting that these medications may come with more risks than initially thought.
[90] But even before that FDA warning, a growing list of states started pushing back.
[91] Last year, Arizona, Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas banned minors from receiving surgeries related to gender transition.
[92] The last three states also banned cross -sex hormones and puberty blockers for minors.
[93] Only Alabama's law is still standing, however, after the others were struck down in federal court.
[94] At least 15 states are considering similar pieces of legislation relating to gender dysphoric minors and medical treatments.
[95] Overall, though, the U .S. is trending towards more medical intervention for minors with gender dysphoria rather than less.
[96] However, if we follow in Europe's footsteps, we could start seeing messy malpractice lawsuits that could end up cooling the trend.
[97] All right.
[98] Well, Mairead, thank you so much for reporting.
[99] Thanks, Georgia.
[100] That's Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Allorty.
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