EXCLUSIVE – Twenty Republican attorneys general are joining forces in an amicus brief against several LGBTQ+ groups that are pushing to allow minors to receive gender reassignment surgery and hormone altering drugs.
The GOP attorney generals said there is scant evidence that the surgical and chemical interventions on children with gender dysphoria should be considered the standard of care. They added that some mainstream media and activists are bullying dissenting viewpoints into silence, and blasted court decisions for interfering with states’ rights.
The amicus brief – led by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey – opposed decisions on a federal lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal, an LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, which challenged a ban in West Virginia on transgender medical interventions on children as well as a suit against North Carolina for blocking sex-change coverage for employees and their dependents.
“The Court should reverse the judgments of both district courts and rule in favor of the States,” the amicus, filed on May 25, said. “[T]he decisions wrongly assume that the science is settled and fully supports the routine use of puberty blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries to treat gender dysphoria.”
The filing raised a systemic review of medical literature conducted by top doctors in Sweden at the Karolinska Institute. The report called the hormonal interventions for kids “experimental.” The doctors also warned about the known and unknown long-term effects of puberty suppressants.
Ricard Nergårdh, a pediatric endocrinologist and researcher affiliated with the Karolinska Institute, has said, “What we call [puberty blockers] is chemical castration. And it can affect mental health in an unintended, undesirable way. So it’s very important that the patient and the patient’s family are informed about this.”
Ricard (STV/screenshot)
Karolinska also said that puberty suppressants can have permanent effects on a child’s developing bones, and discussed three studies which reported abnormally lower bone mineral density.
Despite Europe’s growing concerns about the medical interventions on minors, the medical establishment in the U.S. – including most major medical associations – almost fully endorse the “affirming” model for children with dysphoria as a standard or practice.
The American Academy of Pediatrics put out a statement opposing bans on gender interventions for children, stating, “The rollback of these protections could have a devastating impact… and adversely affect self-esteem and contribute to the perception that they are undervalued by society and the health care system.”
For example, a military family medicine doctor, David Klein, found in his study reviewing Department of Defense pharmacy and billing records that children taking antipsychotic medication had their prescriptions increased after “gender-affirming care” was initiated.
Dr. David Klein discusses psychotic illness in patients being treated with ‘gender-affirming care.’ (Getty | Adone Stock )
After the study was published, the family medicine doctor appeared to distance himself from its findings, saying that when treatments were “optimized,” the “psychotic disorders” would “start to melt away over time.”
“So more research over time will show that definitively, hopefully,” Dr. Klein, who treats children with gender dysphoria at Travis Air Base, said.
“[A]ny claim that chemical or surgical intervention to treat gender dysphoria is ‘evidence-based’… is simply wrong,” the AG’s said.
Cropped shot of a surgeon passing his colleague a pair of scissors. (Hiraman via Getty Images)
They proceeded to blast the mainstream media and activists for trying “to bully dissenting voices into silence. These suppression attempts have become so bad that prominent practitioners in the field are starting to expose them.”
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