The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently published Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: Review of Evidence and Best Practices. Given current widespread distrust of HHS, especially regarding vaccines, we knew this review, which we co-authored, would be met with skepticism. So, it is worth noting that we, along with most of the other authors, are liberals.
While everyone should be concerned when vulnerable populations do not receive appropriate medical care, those of us on the left side of the political spectrum need to pay special attention. This is because many of the organizations and individuals we trust have gotten this issue wrong.
Let’s start with a bit of medical history.
The approach to pediatric gender distress currently favored in the U.S., which involves the provision of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones sometimes followed by surgery, was rapidly adopted internationally largely on the basis of a Dutch experiment comprised of just 70 adolescents who had been gender nonconforming since early childhood. The vast majority of these patients (62 out of 70) reported being exclusively same-sex attracted (gay).
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