President Trump relies on junk science, bans affirming care for anyone under 19
trump has now tried to restrict affirming care for both youth and incarcerated people
American President Donald Trump continued his baseless campaign of systemic discrimination against transgender people with another executive order titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.” The alleged mutilation? Gender affirming care.
This extensive mandate orders executive agencies to withdraw any policy that relies on the standards of care set by World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). Further, Trump asks the Secretary of Health and Human Services (as of this writing, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and his brain worm are the nominee for this position) within 90 days on the best practices for treating children1 with “identity-based confusion.” The secretary will also be responsible for taking further action to implement this order.
Additionally, the executive action directs the Attorney General (nominee as of this writing: Pam Bondi) to prioritize prosecutions of “genital mutilation” (i.e. affirming care), investigations of “any entity that may be misleading the public about long-term side effects of chemical and surgical mutilation,” and ensure that parents cannot lose custody of their child for prohibiting a life-saving gender transition.
This order is pure evil. If deemed constitutional2, it will result in deaths. But, Trump doesn’t care because his ultimate goal is to eliminate routes of transition for all trans people. He has now moved to do this for both youth and incarcerated people.
This new order also opens the door to continue restrict affirming care for more populations due to its vague language. For example, the order asks agencies to remove all policies relying on WPATH guidance without distinguishing standards of care for children or for adults.
Trump claims that WPATH “lacks scientific integrity,” but this is just a far-right talking point. In reality, WPATH is a transnational consortium of experts on gender affirming care, and their most recent standards of care were crafted by 119 of these leading scientists.
WPATH guidance prioritizes access to puberty blockers for trans adolescents beginning at the onset of puberty. Puberty blockers are 100% reversible. Affirming surgeries are rare for trans youth are rare as WPATH recommends a comprehensive conversation with the trans person, their parents, and doctors from a variety of medical fields.
Trans youth will always exist, and they deserve transition. Youth have remarkable insight into their own identities from a young age, and they aren’t confused if they identify as trans. Suggestions to the contrary are just pure sanism.
Somewhat illogically, the order defines children as anyone under the age of 19.
This order is very likely to be halted in the court system. However, the Supreme Court is set to release its opinion in United States v. Skrmetti in late June. Their decision in Skrmetti will (likely) indirectly determine the constitutionality of Trump’s ban.
my guess for the 19 and under is
1. getting a start on restriction for those who aren’t minors
2. being able to say more surgeries are done on “children” than are actually performed on kids (minors) bc “children” here isn’t just minors
Yeah sure Dump knows anything about anything. Others are telling him what to do. It goes like this, “ sir would you sign here and here and here ad infinitum