Biden Administration’s Shocking Transgender Agenda Is Exposed
The Biden administration has been quietly lobbying the medical community since 2021 to ease the path for life-changing transgender surgeries for children, according to newly released documents by an influential medical organization.
The New York Times first reported on consternation that grew among staffers to President Joe Biden after draft guidelines outlining the suggestions for transgender surgeries on minors were released in 2021. Among them was a recommendation that the minimum age for consent be lowered to 14, a limitation that administration officials felt could provoke a political firestorm among liberal LGBTQ advocates.
Email excerpts from the internal discussion show that staff with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health were concerned after staff with Adm. Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, a transgender, recommended they drop the age of consent completely. The cutoff was ultimately rescinded.
The Times reported on other recommendations in the 2021 guidelines, including age minimums of 14 for hormonal treatments, 15 for mastectomies, 16 for breast augmentation or facial surgeries, and 17 for genital surgeries or hysterectomies. Once the age limitations vanished from the final proposal, international experts and medical organizations expressed alarm that one of the United States’ leading medical organizations went far beyond the standard of care outlined across most of Europe where alternative therapies for minors are sought long before surgery.
The disclosure came as part of a lawsuit faced by the Biden administration in Alabama where opponents are seeking to overturn a state ban on gender-affirming care. One staff member familiar with Adm. Levine’s thinking wrote at the time, “She is confident, based on the rhetoric she is hearing in D.C., and from what we have already seen, that these specific listings of ages, under 18, will result in devastating legislation for trans care. She wonders if the specific ages can be taken out.”
Another states that Levine “was very concerned that having ages (mainly for surgery) will affect access to care for trans youth and maybe adults, too. Apparently the situation in the U.S.A. is terrible and she and the Biden administration worried that having ages in the document will make matters worse. She asked us to remove them.”
James Cantor, a psychologist and vocal opponent of gender treatments for minors, pushed the emails into the light while lobbying WPATH to criticize U.S. recommendations for being based on politics, not science. Cantor did not submit emails from Adm. Levine herself, and plaintiffs in the case are seeking to bar his testimony, arguing he lacks relevant knowledge.
Dr. Marci Bowers, a gynecologic and reconstructive surgeon who heads WPATH, rejected Cantor’s claim. “It wasn’t political, the politics were already evident,” said Dr. Bowers. “WPATH doesn’t look at politics when making a decision.”
However, staffers inside the organization were torn over whether to drop the age limitations, according to additional emails. “If our concern is with legislation (which I don’t think it should be — we should be basing this on science and expert consensus if we’re being ethical) wouldn’t including the ages be helpful?” one member wrote. “I need someone to explain to me how taking out the ages will help in the fight against the conservative anti-trans agenda.”
The Supreme Court recently agreed to take up a case on Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, setting the stage for a blockbuster ruling later this year which could determine the fate of all minors seeking surgical or hormonal treatments.
