Yesterday, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) announced it no longer supported "gender-affirming surgeries" for children under 18 years old. It marked the first major medical organization to shift policy around "gender-affirming care," and many noted it only happened in the wake of a $2 million malpractice lawsuit that was won by detransitioner Fox Varian, who underwent a mastectomy as a teenager. Varian sued her psychologist and the doctor who removed her breasts.
Now the American Medical Association (AMA) said it agrees with the ASPS about the surgeries.
The American Medical Association agrees with the ASPS about surgeries.
— Leor Sapir (@LeorSapir) February 4, 2026
If the AMA was wrong about surgeries, could it also have been wrong about hormones? pic.twitter.com/r79xtvP1r0
In a statement to National Review, the AMA said that "the evidence for gender-affirming surgical intervention in minors is insufficient for us to make a definitive statement...the AMA agrees with ASPS that surgical interventions in minors should be generally deferred to adulthood."
But the AMA cannot get off that easily. They were one of the biggest and most vocal proponents of so-called "gender-affirming care" just a few years ago.
In 2021, they said they opposed restrictions on "transgender medical care," writing on its website:
The American Medical Association (AMA) today strengthened its established position opposing the governmental intrusion into the practice of medicine that is detrimental to the health of transgender and gender-diverse children and adults.
Legislatures in 20 states this year proposed banning physicians and other health care professionals from providing medically necessary gender-affirming care to transgender and gender-diverse youth. In response to this legislative trend, physicians and medical students at the AMA’s House of Delegates meeting voted to meaningfully expand the organization’s strong opposition to undue restrictions on medical care to populations that have been politicized in state legislatures.
Recommended
"The AMA opposes the dangerous intrusion of government into the practice of medicine and the criminalization of health care decision-making,” said AMA Board Member Michael Suk at the time. “Gender-affirming care is medically-necessary, evidence-based care that improves the physical and mental health of transgender and gender-diverse people.”
The AMA was among the leading groups opposing laws trying to restrict “gender-affirming” surgeries for minors a few years ago. The press would regularly cite them to create an impression of expert consensus on this issue.
— AG (@AGHamilton29) February 4, 2026
The current shift isn’t based on any significant change… https://t.co/SMqD7nlF8L pic.twitter.com/VU65AiRBQa
"The current shift isn’t based on any significant change in the data available," AG Hamilton wrote. "Speaks volumes about how previous recommendations that affected countless lives were based on politics instead of sound evidence/science."
In 2022, the AMA and other healthcare groups sought to challenge a Florida rule that blocked Medicaid from covering "gender-affirming treatments' for trans individuals. In a brief filed with the court, they said the rule would "irreparably harm" trans individuals. They also opposed an Arkansas law that banned "gender-affirming care" for minors, saying such care is "safe" if properly administered.
The AMA also repeatedly made the claim that "gender-affirming care" reduced suicidality in trans youth. In fact, Chase Strangio, a lawyer for the ACLU, admitted before the Supreme Court that there was no evidence to support the notion that "gender-affirming care" reduces suicide rates. How many parents were browbeaten into transitioning their kids, being told their choice was a "living daughter or a dead son"? Jonni Skinner's mother is one of them.
This shift is not driven by morality or science. It is a response to a massive malpractice lawsuit against "gender-affirming care" and a shift in the political culture. Absent those lawsuits, and the current administration, the AMA would not be changing its stance.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member