Those involved in the effort to promote gender ideology among children have shown a reckless disregard for parental rights and children’s safety. The latest revelation that the Biden administration sought to remove age limits on “gender-affirming” surgeries for children experiencing gender dysphoria presents a disturbing example showing how far these people will go to prioritize their ideology over the wellbeing of America’s children.
Newly unsealed court documents revealed that health officials in the Biden administration tried to pressure the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) to remove age limits in its guidelines on “gender-affirming” surgeries performed on people suffering from gender dysphoria.
Assistant Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Admiral Rachel Levine was at the forefront of the effort to convince the international agency to remove age limits to allow for surgeries to be performed on trans-identified minors.
Lawsuit Against AL's Gender Surgery Ban for Minors Reveals
Rachel Levine Acted to Remove Age Restrictions
These unsealed documents appear to be proving this statement. There has been no lack of shenanigans surrounding this lawsuit. The Department of Justice sought to quash a subpoena for WPATH documents from being included in the discovery, even though these are the major experts the plaintiffs have built their case around. Judge Burke denied their motion. With what has been revealed in the documents, we now understand why the DOJ fought vigorously to have them excluded. It seems Assistant Secretary for HHS Admiral Rachel Levine and his/her/its chief of staff were in deep discussions with WPATH about making some crucial changes to their guidelines.
Some discovery and deposition documents in the case were unsealed on Monday night. One of those documents showed internal communications of unnamed WPATH members developing a standard of care guidelines discussing lobbying efforts in 2022 from Biden administration officials such as Admiral Rachel Levine, who serves as the 17th Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Biden’s cabinet.
“The issue of ages and treatment has been quite controversial (mainly for surgery) and it has come up again. We sent the document to Admiral Levine…She likes the SOC-8 very much but she was very concerned that having ages (mainly for surgery) will affect access to health care for trans youth and maybe adults too,” one WPATH member wrote. “Apparently, the situation in the USA is terrible, and she and the Biden administration worried that having ages in the document will make matters worse. She asked us to remove them. We have the WPATH executive committee in this meeting and we explained to her that we could not just remove them.”
WPATH eventually acquiesced to Levine’s request, doing away with age limits in its guidance on transgender surgeries. What this revelation shows is that those who wish to push transgenderism in society are intent on making children their ambassadors, in a sense. However, given the information that has come out over recent years about the use of “gender-affirming care” on kids, it seems clear this effort has little to do with the well-being of children.
Several studies have shown that these methods, particularly surgical interventions, can have a deleterious effect on minors. The physical and psychological toll these procedures take on minors, whose bodies and minds are still developing, is alarming.
Researchers in Denmark began moving away from the “gender-affirming care” model after Danish physicians began questioning prior studies that seemed to indicate that this approach was beneficial for children. They expressed serious concerns over the growing rates of detransitioners who later regretted going through these treatments, which can also include puberty blockers and hormones. Instead, they have decided to rely more on therapy and other forms of counseling for these children.
This is the right move, especially in light of other studies showing that the vast majority of children who experience confusion about their gender end up growing out of it by the time they become adults without the use of medical interventions.
It is also worth noting that children cannot consent to such treatments due to their lack of development and inability to understand the enormity of such a decision. Moreover, parents of these children are typically coerced and emotionally blackmailed into subjecting their children to these treatments by medical professionals who insist their child will commit suicide if they do not go through these procedures.
The revelations about the Biden administration are the latest glaring example showing how progressives are willing to prioritize politics and gender ideology over the mental health of children. Despite the evidence, they insist on promoting treatments that cause irreversible damage to these individuals – especially after they grow up and regret it. It is a sick reality, but it is reality nonetheless. It is important to remember that we are not fighting against folks who want to safeguard children; we are opposing people seeking to advance an agenda that has more to do with politics than healthy kids.
