25-min Video | Censored Science: The Illusion of Consensus on Transgender Medicine for Kids

The culture wars have gone too far. We uncover buried truths about transgender medicine for children that can bring us together across our differences.

With the nation divided on medical interventions for trans youth and ongoing legal battles on all sides of the political aisle, now is a crucial time for open, uncensored dialogue on the issue. Culturally, medically, and ethically, we’re in uncharted territory together.

In our 25-min Mindful News Brief video, we draw on the best research to investigate what’s really going on in the world of transgender medicine for youth:

• The safety and efficacy of medical interventions for children who identify as transgender

• What the science, top experts, and whistleblowers in the field are saying publicly and behind closed doors

• Who’s profiting from the billion dollar industry of transgender medicine for children

• The stifling climate of fear, censorship, and cancel culture surrounding transgender medicine in our medical and educational institutions

We call on everyone to play a role in healing the culture wars that are dividing society. Our greatest hope in making this video is that it can break the illusion of consensus and spark open dialogue on both sides of the aisle, uniting us around shared values for the well-being of our children. We welcome everyone to this conversation regardless of your views—especially if you've felt apathetic or confused about the topic because of all of the divisive noise in the media about it. Below, we’ve included some of our key findings.

Gender dysphoria is the psychological distress that arises from a mismatch between a person’s self-described gender identity and the biological sex they were born with. In recent years, there has been an unprecedented explosion in the number of young people experiencing gender dysphoria, particularly among girls, many of whom have no prior history of gender distress.

According to Reuters, in 2021, about 42,000 children and teens across the United States were diagnosed with gender dysphoria, nearly triple the number in 2017. Tens of thousands of children have received off-label medication and surgeries for their gender dysphoria, and surgeons say top surgeries are becoming more common among youth.

Transgender medical care experiences vary widely. Many can be life-changing and even life-saving. Yet not all experiences align with the mainstream narratives we often hear. Despite the illusion of consensus presented to us by mainstream media, there’s no scientific consensus around transgender medicine and surgeries for youth. A growing movement of young people who transition to a different gender, then detransition, are voicing regrets over irreversible medical harms and feeling abandoned by both the trans community and the medical system for speaking out. Lawsuits are emerging and gaining ground.

Youth gender medicine is increasingly treating puberty as though it were a life-threatening condition like cancer or diabetes, and natal sex organs as though they were potentially dangerous growths. Of course, with that kind of diagnosis you want to be very sure — and unlike doctors treating cancer or diabetes, who can rely on blood tests and imaging, gender-medicine doctors ultimately have only the patient’s feelings to go by.
— “When treating transgender youth, how informed is informed consent?” | Washington Post

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is the first American major medical organization to question the consensus among medical groups regarding gender-affirming care for minors. Outside the US, other countries have carefully reviewed the science and found little evidence to support these medical interventions for children. Norway has deemed puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for children "experimental" and recommended restricting these treatments to research settings. The UK, Sweden, Finland, and Scotland have limited the use of these medications, acknowledging the rising reports of youth detransition and concluding that the risks outweigh the benefits. They all recommend psychological care as the first line of treatment for minors.

The option to delay puberty and offer hormones or surgeries to children experiencing gender dysphoria has only been available in the U.S. for roughly a decade. We still lack comprehensive data on long-term outcomes for youth. While questioning these medical interventions for minors is often seen as an attack on trans people, the serious risks associated with these interventions are clearly cause for concern. Even those who publicly promote this kind of medicine question its ethics behind closed doors.

In fact, the psychologist who popularized the use of puberty blockers in children to treat gender dysphoria eventually became doubtful about the long-term impact of pubertal suppression, questioning how it might influence brain development.  Young women taking Lupron to suppress puberty have reported severe side effects, including seizures, depression, loss of bone density, chronic pain, and other neurological and psychiatric complications. According to PBS NewsHour, over 10,000 adverse event reports submitted to the FDA detail the significant risks and challenges faced by women who have used this drug. Leaked emails revealed that the FDA admitted that puberty blockers can increase risk of suicidal ideation and depression in pediatric patients, yet still recommended their approval for transgender medical procedures for children.

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) is a widely cited professional organization devoted to recommending standards of care for transgender people. In public, they advocate for the use of puberty-blocking medication and hormone therapy for young people. Yet when hundreds of messages were leaked from an internal WPATH forum of doctors and mental health workers discussing their patients, a different discussion was taking place.

A leaked WPATH panel consisted of experts discussing how patients are often too young to fully understand the consequences of these medications. Doctors discussed the possibility that teenage patients were getting liver cancer as the result of taking hormones. WPATH president and respected gender surgeon Dr. Marcia Bowers admitted that she hasn't heard of anyone able to achieve orgasm when blocked at Tanner 2, which is the beginning of puberty and can be as young as nine in girls. Dr. Bowers has now publically recommended against early puberty blockade, citing permanent sexual dysfunction in children whose puberty was blocked early.

We’re often told that trans kids face higher suicide rates and that immediate medical intervention is the only way to prevent more suicides. Yet what’s rarely discussed is the overwhelming prevalence of comorbidities in kids with gender dysphoria that also drive suicide ideation—including autism, depression, anxiety, trauma, eating disorders, and more. With almost 50% of US children having experienced a mental disorder, how can we conclusively say it’s gender dysphoria alone that puts them at risk? The fears fueling the rush to place kids on puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries are deeply human—but they’re also shaped by a misrepresentation of the issue. Simplifying the problem to a single cause denies these children the nuanced care they deserve and plays on our worst fears.

Following the UK’s ban on puberty blockers, data from the world’s largest transgender youth clinic in the country revealed three suicides out of 15,000 patients, equating to 0.03%. The study emphasized that it wasn’t clear if other confounding mental health factors also contributed to the outcome, and the patients who died were at various stages of the care system—suggesting no consistent link to any specific aspect of care. Yet what was clear is that restriction of puberty blocking medication did not increase suicide rates. In the conclusion, the study states:

The fact that deaths were so rare should provide some reassurance to transgender youth and their families, though of course this does not detract from the distress caused by self-harming behaviors that are non-fatal. It is irresponsible to exaggerate the prevalence of suicide. Aside from anything else, this trope might exacerbate the vulnerability of transgender adolescents.

The first US-funded multi-million dollar study to examine long term impacts of transgender medical treatments for youth also found no improvement in mental health outcomes after tracking children on puberty blockers for two years. Instead of publishing this data, the study remains unpublished for political reasons, fearing the data could be “weaponized” and used to fuel further bans on youth gender treatments.

Children experiencing gender dysphoria require specialized care. But that’s very different from enabling minors in a vulnerable state of mind to irreversibly alter their bodies with the latest in medical and pharmaceutical science. A study of 10 pediatric gender clinics there found that half do not require psychological assessment before initiating puberty blockers or hormones. The New York Times reports that 80% of childhood gender dysphoria resolves by puberty, citing a study conducted by a psychiatrist who opened one of the first pediatric gender clinics in Finland but now questions the use of puberty blockers and hormones for youth. Our Mindful News Brief further dives into this.

Medical professionals are afraid to express their opinions on gender-affirming care due to concerns over career damage and online abuse. Efforts by the trans community, medical system, and the media to silence detransitioners and stifle open discussion about what’s happening in the field are deeply troubling. This not only harms detransitioned individuals by invalidating their lived experiences in a way that mirrors the very issues gender-affirming care aims to address, but it also undermines trust in the objectivity of this field.

Transgender medicine for minors is worth billions to Big Pharma. Transgender people also require lifelong hormone treatments, making them ideal customers for drug companies. Hospitals, doctors, and various specialty service providers all rake in millions from the trade as well. Tune into our 25-minute video for much more.

Our youth are facing growing challenges in navigating today’s world. We need to normalize conversations that address the complexity of this issue, both within the LGBTQ+ community and both sides of the political aisle. We can't shift the chaos we're in until we name it clearly. Disturbing information can paradoxically remind us of the greater good. It is the courage of the people and the love for the common good that bring hard topics to light—fueling open dialogue and constructive action.

With faith in a transforming world,
Amber Yang for WantToKnow.info