A coalition of 20 state attorneys general and one state legislature has warned the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that it could fac...
A coalition of 20 state attorneys general and one state legislature has warned the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that it could face legal action if it continues to advocate for medical and surgical treatments for minors experiencing gender dysphoria.
AAP, the largest pediatric organization in the United States, published an article in December last year claiming that laws prohibiting transgender procedures for children with gender dysphoria constitute "state-sanctioned medical neglect and emotional abuse."
The article, written by Emily George, Emily C.B. Brown and Rachel Silliman Cohen, claimed that withholding so-called gender-affirming care, including surgeries and hormone treatments, is tantamount to child maltreatment. (
However, the coalition of attorneys general argued that the guidelines put forward by the AAP are only based on "evidence-free standards," particularly about the safety and reversibility of puberty blockers.
The attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia, as well as the Arizona Legislature, addressed outgoing AAP President Benjamin Hoffman and incoming president Susan Kressley. They warned the AAP of the potential risks of puberty blockerswhen followed by cross-sex hormone treatments.
"When used to suppress hormones below normal ranges during or before puberty, puberty blockers: (1) may interfere with neurocognitive development; (2) compromise bone density and may negatively affect metabolic health and weight; and (3) block normal pubertal experience and experimentation," the coalition wrote. "And when puberty blocker use is followed directly by cross-sex hormone use, which is often the case, infertility and sterility is a known consequence, at least for those who began puberty blockers in early puberty."
"Telling parents and children that puberty blockers are 'reversible' at the very least conveys assurance that no permanent harm or change will occur," continued the letter. "But that claim cannot be made in the face of the unstudied and 'novel' use of puberty blockers."
The AAP has been given until Oct. 18 to respond to the information requests regarding its decision-making process on gender-affirming treatments.
Another expert debunks AAP claims that gender-affirming care "does not cause harm"
Kathleen McDeavitt, an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, also debunked the claims of AAP.
In January, McDeavitt published an article pointing out that assertions suggesting gender-affirming care "does not cause harm" and "decreases many negative health outcomes, including rates of depression," are not backed by "relevant citations."
"Although youth GAC has the support of the professional medical community in the United States, that does not mean there is no risk of harm," McDeavitt wrote in response to the AAP claims. "Systematic reviews have found the quality of evidence in this field is low, meaning the literature does not actually show, with any reasonable degree of certainty, that youth GAC decreases rates of negative mental health outcomes."
McDeavitt cited research where hormonal treatments in transgender youth did not significantly improve depression outcomes, adding that depression worsened post-treatment in some cases. She also highlighted cases in which participants in gender-affirming care research tragically took their own lives before studies concluded.
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