The Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday re-released its controversial report on gender dysphoria in children, and this time it named the previously anonymous authors and published a handful of peer review comments after the initial study had been faulted for a lack of transparency.
The new version reveals that many of the authors and reviewers have been outspoken critics of gender-affirming care, are affiliated with anti-LGBTQ+ groups, and have little-to-no experience providing clinical care for young trans people. Some have been paid to speak, consult, or testify as expert witnesses against treating children with gender-affirming care such as puberty blockers, hormones, or surgery. However, HHS also solicited reviews from major medical groups, including the American Psychiatric Association.
The updated report reaches the same conclusion as its predecessor, that the evidence for the benefits of gender-affirming care is insufficient, and interventions like hormones and surgery should be deprioritized. “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,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement.
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