Major HHS Report Finds Very Low Evidence Supporting Gender Treatments for Minors

The Department of Health and Human Services released a 410-page peer-reviewed report on Wednesday assessing medical practices related to pediatric gender dysphoria, following President Donald Trump’s Jan. 28 executive order directing federal agencies to ensure that institutions receiving federal funding “end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children.”

As The Blaze reported, the report reviews evidence surrounding puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures and details concerns about safety, data reliability, and long-term outcomes.

Admiral Brian Christine, assistant secretary for HHS, told Blaze News, “This is a new day in the Department of Health and Human Services. It’s a new day in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, a new day for the country. It is because of President Trump and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that this information has come out.”

The publication, titled Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: Review of Evidence and Best Practices, outlines medical risks and uncertainties associated with hormonal and surgical interventions and examines professional guidelines, ethical considerations, and what it describes as an “international retreat” from gender-affirming medical practices.

The report’s authors found the quality of evidence for long-term health and psychological outcomes to be “very low.”

The report notes concerns about infertility, sexual dysfunction, impaired bone density accrual, surgical complications, and various heart, metabolic, and psychiatric disorders.

It also states that publication bias and inadequate tracking of negative outcomes may have limited understanding of the full impact of these interventions. It concludes that U.S. medical associations “fell short of their duty” when adopting and expanding gender-affirming practices.

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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement:

“The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics peddled the lie that chemical and surgical sex-rejecting procedures could be good for children. They betrayed their oath to first do no harm, and their so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people. That is not medicine — it’s malpractice.”

The report also highlights earlier changes to minimum age recommendations made by the World Professional Association of Transgender Health.

Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for HHS under the Biden administration, had urged the organization to lower its age minimums for surgical and hormonal interventions.

Levine’s successor, Christine, told Blaze News, “There was absolutely an effort by the prior administration and, very specifically, an absolute effort by the individual who was the prior assistant secretary for health, Rachel Levine,” to continue advancing these practices.

Christine said financial incentives contributed to the expansion of gender-related medical interventions.

“It’s literally a billion-dollar industry. It creates lifelong customers.”

He also stated that gender dysphoria is “an emotional and mental condition” and said mental health treatment is essential for minors experiencing it.

“You should treat them with mental health care because we know that if you do, the majority of these kids, by the time they’re in their late teens, are very comfortable in their own skin,” he said.

Neeraja Deshpande, policy analyst for the Independent Women’s Forum, said the report “confirms once and for all what never should have been up for debate to begin with: that so-called surgical and chemical body alteration in the name of ‘gender transition’ is a medical danger to children.”

Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, told Blaze News, “The HHS report should put an end to the scourge of child mutilation masquerading as health care.”

Schilling said the report demonstrates that the “gender industrial complex relies on bad faith, bad science, and a radical ideology that places the financial interest of drug companies over those of children.”

Schilling indicated that legal exposure may increase for institutions that performed these procedures. He referenced litigation such as the lawsuit filed by detransitioner Chloe Cole against Kaiser Permanente.

Schilling also praised experts whose names appear on the report, saying, “They’re very courageous for doing this. This is a very powerful and embedded industry.”

Christine said he believes the report could have a significant effect going forward. “Yeah, we certainly hope so. We certainly believe it will be,” he said.

“Listen, our job in the administration is to protect our children, protect our citizens. Our job is to produce gold-standard science. That’s exactly what we have done. It’s exactly what we’re doing.”

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