Trump administration HHS gender dysphoria report: Difference between revisions
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The report claims that [[gender-affirming care]] is experimental without evidence of benefits, and that treatments such as [[puberty blockers]] and [[gender-affirming hormone therapy]] are unethical interventions pushed by activists.<ref name="Wiggins"/> It supports "[[gender exploratory therapy]]", generally considered a form of [[conversion therapy]], and argues it is not the same as conversion therapy.<ref name="Wiggins"/><ref name="Schneid">{{Cite news |last=Schneid |first=Rebecca |last2=Burga |first2=Solcyré |date=2025-05-01 |title=HHS Report Urges "Exploratory Therapy" for Transgender Youth |url=https://time.com/7281894/new-hhs-report-exploratory-therapy-transgender-youth/ |access-date=2025-05-01 |work=Time Magazine |language=en}}</ref> The report states that medical groups support medical treatment over psychological treatment due to a "mischaracterization of such approaches as 'conversion therapy{{' "}}, and states that "Psychotherapy is a noninvasive alternative to endocrine and surgical interventions for the treatment of pediatric gender dysphoria."<ref name="Schneid"/><ref name="MULVIHILL"/> |
The report claims that [[gender-affirming care]] is experimental without evidence of benefits, and that treatments such as [[puberty blockers]] and [[gender-affirming hormone therapy]] are unethical interventions pushed by activists.<ref name="Wiggins"/> It supports "[[gender exploratory therapy]]", generally considered a form of [[conversion therapy]], and argues it is not the same as conversion therapy.<ref name="Wiggins"/><ref name="Schneid">{{Cite news |last=Schneid |first=Rebecca |last2=Burga |first2=Solcyré |date=2025-05-01 |title=HHS Report Urges "Exploratory Therapy" for Transgender Youth |url=https://time.com/7281894/new-hhs-report-exploratory-therapy-transgender-youth/ |access-date=2025-05-01 |work=Time Magazine |language=en}}</ref> The report states that medical groups support medical treatment over psychological treatment due to a "mischaracterization of such approaches as 'conversion therapy{{' "}}, and states that "Psychotherapy is a noninvasive alternative to endocrine and surgical interventions for the treatment of pediatric gender dysphoria."<ref name="Schneid"/><ref name="MULVIHILL"/> |
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The report heavily references the UK's [[Cass Review]] as Cass is cited 149 times in the report.<ref name="NPR1">{{Cite news |date=2025-05-01 |title=Health care for transgender children questioned in 400-page Trump administration report |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/05/01/nx-s1-5383599/transgender-gender-affirming-care-trump-hhs |access-date=2025-05-02 |work=NPR |language=en |archive-date=2025-05-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250501235318/https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/05/01/nx-s1-5383599/transgender-gender-affirming-care-trump-hhs |url-status=live }}</ref> |
The report heavily references the UK's [[Cass Review]] as Cass is cited 149 times in the report.<ref name="NPR1">{{Cite news |date=2025-05-01 |title=Health care for transgender children questioned in 400-page Trump administration report |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/05/01/nx-s1-5383599/transgender-gender-affirming-care-trump-hhs |access-date=2025-05-02 |work=NPR |language=en |archive-date=2025-05-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250501235318/https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/05/01/nx-s1-5383599/transgender-gender-affirming-care-trump-hhs |url-status=live }}</ref> It also cites anti-trans sources such as the [[Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine]] (SEGM) and [[Jesse Singal]], who it said was a victim of "silencing tactics and reputational attacks". It also cited SEGM member Lisa Marchiano, who developed the debunked theory of [[rapid onset gender dysphoria]] and is a board member of [[Therapy First]], formerly called the Gender Exploratory Therapy Association.<ref name="Riedel-05-02">{{Cite news |last=Riedel |first=Samantha |date=2025-05-01 |title=HHS Report on Trans Youth Relies on Junk Science and Endorses Conversion Therapy |url=https://www.them.us/story/hhs-report-trans-youth-gender-affirming-care-brian-christine-conversion-therapy |access-date=2025-05-02 |language=en-US}}</ref> It also deadnames and misgenders transgender historical figures such as [[Lili Elbe]] and [[Christine Jorgenson]].<ref name="Riedel-05-02"/> |
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During a press conference at the White House following the report's release, [[Stephen Miller (political advisor)|Stephen Miller]], the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, called gender-affirming care "barbaric" further stating "They violate all sound medical ethics. They are completely unwarranted. They harm children for life irreversibly. It is child torture. It is child abuse. It is medical malpractice."<ref name="NPR1"/> |
During a press conference at the White House following the report's release, [[Stephen Miller (political advisor)|Stephen Miller]], the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, called gender-affirming care "barbaric" further stating "They violate all sound medical ethics. They are completely unwarranted. They harm children for life irreversibly. It is child torture. It is child abuse. It is medical malpractice."<ref name="NPR1"/> |
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Revision as of 19:45, 2 May 2025
| Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: Review of Evidence and Best Practices | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created | May 1, 2025 |
| Official website | |
| https://opa.hhs.gov/gender-dysphoria-report | |
| Full text | |
 File:Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria.pdf at Wikisource | |
Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: Review of Evidence and Best Practices is a report published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the direction of US President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14187.[1] The HHS and the report itself did not disclose who wrote and reviewed the report, only saying it was done by "eight scholars including doctors, ethicists and a methodologist who represent a wide range of political viewpoints."[2][3][4]
In contrast to the guidance of medical organizations, the report opposes gender affirming care and instead promotes gender exploratory therapy, a form of conversion therapy intended to delay or prevent transition. Advocates and experts have said the report contains misinformation about transgender health care.[5] The report was commissioned by the Trump Administration within Trump's Executive Order 14187, published in January 2025, which seeks to limit gender-affirming care for minors.[5] Because of this, the report has been noted to have had a predetermined conclusion about gender-affirming care for minors as the executive order called the treatment "blatant harm" and a "stain on our nation's history."[3]
According to the HHS, a post-publication review process would start in "the coming days", but they did not say what this review process would be.[3]
The report drew immediate criticism from LGBTQ advocacy groups and medical professionals.
Background
On January 28, 2025, Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14187, "Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation", which directed the HHS to oppose the WPATH standards of care, cease all support for transition of transgender people under the age of 19, and cut federal funding for hospitals that offer transition-related treatments.[5] The order was released one week into Trump's second term, as part of a series of policies targeting LGBTQ rights and transgender healthcare.[6]
Various organizations, including the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), American Academy of Pediatrics, and American Medical Association, support access to gender-affirming care for youth.[7]
Report
The report is limited to children, and does not address treatment for adults. HHS said its report is not clinical guidance and does not make any policy recommendations.[6] In a press release, the HHS highlighted that the report's authors would be confidential.[5]
The report claims that gender-affirming care is experimental without evidence of benefits, and that treatments such as puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormone therapy are unethical interventions pushed by activists.[5] It supports "gender exploratory therapy", generally considered a form of conversion therapy, and argues it is not the same as conversion therapy.[5][8] The report states that medical groups support medical treatment over psychological treatment due to a "mischaracterization of such approaches as 'conversion therapy'", and states that "Psychotherapy is a noninvasive alternative to endocrine and surgical interventions for the treatment of pediatric gender dysphoria."[8][6]
The report heavily references the UK's Cass Review as Cass is cited 149 times in the report.[9] It also cites anti-trans sources such as the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) and Jesse Singal, who it said was a victim of "silencing tactics and reputational attacks". It also cited SEGM member Lisa Marchiano, who developed the debunked theory of rapid onset gender dysphoria and is a board member of Therapy First, formerly called the Gender Exploratory Therapy Association.[10] It also deadnames and misgenders transgender historical figures such as Lili Elbe and Christine Jorgenson.[10]
During a press conference at the White House following the report's release, Stephen Miller, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, called gender-affirming care "barbaric" further stating "They violate all sound medical ethics. They are completely unwarranted. They harm children for life irreversibly. It is child torture. It is child abuse. It is medical malpractice."[9]
Reception
LGBTQ rights organizations
Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said the report "seeks to erase decades of research and learning, replacing it with propaganda". The Trevor Project director Casey Pick warned that it could endanger transgender youth.[11] Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson said "It is deeply unfair to play politics with people’s lives and strip transgender young people, their families and their providers of the freedom to make necessary health care decisions."[7] GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said that the report is "grossly misleading and in direct contrast to the recommendation of every leading health authority in the world."[12]
Other organizations
Harry Dayantis, a spokesman for the Cochrane Collaboration, an international nonprofit organization that makes what scientists consider the premier systematic literature reviews, criticized the lack of transparency regarding the authors of the report, saying "the lack of disclosure prohibits an assessment of possible conflicts of interests." Dayantis additionally criticized the conclusion of the report for not being supported by the report itself, saying the conclusion "highlights a growing body of evidence pointing to significant risks, but the report itself says evidence of harms in systematic reviews is "sparse," theorizing that it's too soon to identify the harms because widespread use of transition care is recent."[4]
Roger Severino, vice president of the conservative think thank, The Heritage Foundation, commended the report and reprimand what he called "profit-seeking doctors and ideological groups" for convincing families that "a child's sex is whatever they say it is."[3]
Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of Do No Harm, an organization which advocates for bans on gender-affirming care praised the report saying, "It is clearer now more than ever that we must end this misguided practice and replace it with evidence-based treatment for gender-confused kids."[4]
The president of the Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, Kristen Waggoner, applauded the report, saying that it "should lead to the closure of every gender clinic in America. Doctors who perpetrate these experiments on children should lose their medical licenses and be sued for damages."[9]
Medical professionals
The American Academy of Pediatrics swiftly rejected the review as "bypassing medical expertise and scientific evidence" in a manner comparable to anti-vaccine activism. The AAP also criticized the HHS for not consulting any major medical organizations for the review and misrepresenting their policies on gender affirming care.[13]
The American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Physicians, the American Osteopathic Association and the American Psychiatric Association released a joint statement criticizing the report and condemning attempts by lawmakers to ban gender affirming care.[2][14]
The American Psychological Association released a statement saying it "supports access to psychological care and evidence-based treatment for treatment for transgender, gender-diverse and nonbinary children, teens and adults" and condemned the report's support of conversion therapy, saying "Psychotherapeutic treatment for transgender and nonbinary youth should aim to help children and adolescents explore and understand, rather than change, their gender identity."[2]
The Endocrine Society released a statement saying it was reviewing the report, but continues to "believe in access to health care, and that medical decisions should be made by the clinician and the patient's family based on scientific evidence" as opposed to bans by politicians.[2]
Dr. Meera Shah, a physician and a board member for the Physicians for Reproductive Health, said that "medical professionals do not question the safety of this care." Shah further stated that "The fact that this was published by a government agency is really scary. The way that it's written is very harmful, and it's very obvious that this is all politically driven and not rooted in fact or science. People tend to trust government. They think government agencies are out to protect people and to help people, so the default is to believe what they say."[2]
Jack Drescher, a New York psychiatrist who contributed to DSM-5 and ICD-11 guidance on gender dysphoria, said the report "magnifies the risks of treatments while minimizing benefits of the treatments".[15]
Erica Anderson, a child psychologist who has been critical of gender-affirming care for minors in the past, praised the report's conclusions, but also said "it was impossible to ignore the inflammatory executive order that led to the report."[3]
See also
References
- ^ Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: Review of Evidence and Best Practices (PDF) (Report). United States Department of Health and Human Services. May 1, 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 1, 2025. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Trump administration releases 400-page review of gender dysphoria treatment for youths but won't say who wrote it". CNN. 1 May 2025. Archived from the original on 1 May 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e "Federal Report Denounces Gender Treatments for Adolescents". New York Times. 2025-05-01. Archived from the original on 2025-05-02. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ a b c Nirappil, Fenit (2025-05-01). "Youth gender transition care criticized in HHS report that conceals authors". Washington Post. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ a b c d e f Wiggins, Christopher (May 1, 2025). "Controversial Trump HHS report targets care for trans kids". The Advocate. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
- ^ a b c Mulvhill, Geoff; Johnson, Carla; Seitz, Amanda (May 1, 2025). "Trump's health agency urges therapy for transgender youth, not broader gender-affirming health care". ABC News. Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
- ^ a b "Trump order aims to end federal support for gender transitions for those under 19". AP News. 2025-01-28. Archived from the original on 2025-04-30. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
- ^ a b Schneid, Rebecca; Burga, Solcyré (2025-05-01). "HHS Report Urges "Exploratory Therapy" for Transgender Youth". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
- ^ a b c "Health care for transgender children questioned in 400-page Trump administration report". NPR. 2025-05-01. Archived from the original on 2025-05-01. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ a b Riedel, Samantha (2025-05-01). "HHS Report on Trans Youth Relies on Junk Science and Endorses Conversion Therapy". Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ Wiggins, Christopher (May 1, 2025). "Controversial Trump HHS report targets care for trans kids". The Advocate. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
- ^ Glenza, Jessica (May 1, 2025). "US health agency's 'review' advocates for therapy for youth gender dysphoria". The Guardian. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ "AAP Statement on HHS Report Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria". www.aap.org. Archived from the original on 2025-05-01. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
- ^ "Leading Physician Groups Oppose Infringements on Medical Care, Patient-Physician Relationship". American College of Physicians. 1 May 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
- ^ "Trump's HHS urges therapy for transgender youth, departing from broader gender-affirming health care". PBS News. 2025-05-01. Retrieved 2025-05-01.