(RepublicanPress.org) – Healthcare in America has been a hot topic for years. Issues like abortion, IVF, contraception, and gender-affirming care have been front and center across the country. Recent reports surfaced about the Biden administration and one of these topics — guidelines for the care of transgender minors.
On June 25, newly unsealed court documents reportedly showed that health officials in the Biden administration encouraged the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) to drop proposed age limits for transgender treatments. The draft guidelines from 2021 apparently set 14 as the age limit for hormonal treatments, 15 for mastectomies, 16 for facial surgeries or breast augmentation, and 17 for hysterectomies or genital surgeries. However, the age limits were reportedly removed from the final guidelines.
Emails regarding the subject suggest a possible reason for the change. One correspondence from an unnamed member of WPATH recounted a conversation with then-Chief of Staff Sarah Boateng, serving under DHS Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel Levine. It said the age limits proposed would “result in devastating legislation for trans care” and wondered if they could be removed. Another email apparently expressed concerns Levine had about the age limits affecting “access to care for trans youth and maybe adults too.”
The collection of communications was part of a report filed by James Cantor, a psychologist opposed to gender treatments for minors. He submitted the documents to support a ban on transgender care for minors in Alabama. Most of the report is still under seal, and no emails from Admiral Levine’s staff have been released.
WPATH president and doctor Marci Bowers said the organization doesn’t take politics into consideration “when making a decision.” The group’s final guidelines were released in the fall of 2022 without age limits. The release of the emails and resurfacing of the issue occurred as part of a case challenging the Alabama ban on treatments for transgender youth.
Copyright 2024, RepublicanPress.org
