"Dr. Kade Goepferd watched the Trump administration's moves on Thursday to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth with "a mix of sadness and frustration." Goepferd, who is the founder of Children's Minnesota Gender Health Program, says that for the medical community, nothing has changed about the evidence supporting gender-affirming care that could justify the government's actions. "There's a massive propaganda and disinformation campaign that is selectively targeting this small population of already vulnerable kids and their families," Goepferd says."
"Federal health officials said many times at Thursday's announcement that their actions were driven by science and evidence, not politics or ideology. They frequently praised a report published by the Department of Health and Human Services in November. It concluded that clinicians who provide medical care to help youth transition have failed their patients and emphasized the benefits of psychotherapy as an alternative."
"He added that "the blurring of the lines between sexes" represented a "hatred for nature as God designed it." Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said doctors and medical groups had "peddled the lie" that these treatments could be good for children, and that those youth were "conditioned to believe that sex can be changed.""
Federal health officials announced actions to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth, citing science and a November HHS report that criticized clinicians and promoted psychotherapy. Officials questioned whether people can be transgender and framed sex as immutable. Acting CDC Director Jim O'Neill stated that "Men are men..." and described the blurring of sex lines as a "hatred for nature." Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused doctors and medical groups of "peddling the lie" that treatments benefit children. Pediatric medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, pushed back, defending the medical consensus and warning that policies misconstrue pediatric care and harm vulnerable youth and families.
Read at www.npr.org
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]