A Manhattan hospital announced that it will stop using “gender-affirming care” to treat minors suffering from gender dysphoria after the Trump administration’s efforts to end the practice.
The White House and Republican lawmakers have been working to prevent hospitals and medical professionals from prescribing puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and surgery on children who are confused about their gender identity.
From The New York Times:
A major Manhattan hospital, faced with threats of losing federal funding, has closed its prominent medical program for treating transgender youth.
The move by the hospital, NYU Langone Health, comes after the Trump administration in December proposed rules that would pull federal dollars from any hospital that provides gender transition treatments for adolescents, such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgery.
On Tuesday night, a spokesman for NYU Langone issued a statement citing “the current regulatory environment” as among the reasons the hospital had decided to discontinue its program for gender-related care for youth.
“Given the recent departure of our medical director, coupled with the current regulatory environment, we made the difficult decision to discontinue our Transgender Youth Health Program,” according to the statement, which was provided by an NYU Langone spokesman, Steve Ritea.
In an interview, the Manhattan borough president, Brad Hoylman-Sigal, said that it was his understanding that NYU Langone would no longer provide hormone treatments and other gender-related care to transgender youth.
Mr. Hoylman-Sigal said he worried that some of NYU Langone’s transgender patients would struggle to find doctors willing to continue their care.
“I’m horrified at the consequences that might result for some of these young people,” he said. “It’s crucial that they find alternative care as soon as possible, and I think it’s the responsibility of the hospitals that are ending this treatment to make those arrangements.”
The Trump administration has targeted hospitals by threatening to withhold federal funding if they use “gender-affirming care” to treat children. President Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing federal agencies to make sure any hospital or institution receiving federal funds “stop offering gender-affirming care for minors.”
The administration rescinded prior guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) supporting puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and surgery on minors.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service proposed new rules that would bar Medicare and Medicaid-certified hospitals from providing these treatments to children.
HHS characterized the rule as a response to “sex-rejecting procedures” that are “neither safe nor effective” for children.
Over the past decade progressives ideas on gender identity have dominated the medical field, claiming that “gender-affirming care” benefits children. Yet, a growing body of critical research shows that the treatments have not been proven to deliver actual mental health benefits and could expose patients to irreversible consequences — especially after they become adults.
HHS released a 400-page report concluding that the evidence supporting “gender-affirming care” is “very low” and that proponents of the practice have not proven that it reduces suicide attempts or improves overall mental health in minors.
European nations including Sweden, Finland, the United Kingdom, Norway, and others have begun moving away from the “gender-affirming” model after having used it for decades. Instead, they are relying more on psychotherapy and other methods to help children with gender dysphoria.
This is a welcome development. The government should never be empowered to use the money it takes from Americans to fund procedures that harm children instead of helping them. There is a reason why so many nations are abandoning “gender-affirming care.” The truth is that using these treatments on kids — most of whom grow out of their gender dysphoria — is not only unnecessary, it can also cause long-term harm.
Progressives have largely ignored any study showing that “gender-affirming care” is a farce. The reason why is easy to understand: These people care more about their ideology than children’s health.