Submitted
Senator Mike Braun pressed Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on his Department’s recommendations for “Gender Affirming Care” drugs and surgeries for adolescents.
Braun
The Health Resource guide from the Department of Health and Human Services says that, “for transgender and nonbinary children and adolescents, early gender-affirming care is crucial to overall health and well-being.”
The guide goes on to define the term “gender affirming care” as including social affirmation, but also puberty blocking drugs, “partially” irreversible testosterone/estrogen hormone therapy, and completely irreversible “gender-affirming surgeries” such as double mastectomies and genital surgery on a “case by case” basis for adolescents.
Senator Braun asked Secretary Becerra under what “case by case” conditions a sex change surgery would be appropriate for a minor, and whether the Secretary understood that puberty blockers and hormone therapy are not FDA approved for the purpose of gender transition which the Department is recommending.
“I think the government shouldn’t be pushing kids toward irreversible sex change therapy,” Sen. Braun said. “We’re moving into territory we’ve never been in as a government. These kids are having a hard time and we should be focusing more on mental health and not surgeries for kids that are totally irreversible. You’re promoting things that are out of sync with most of America and I think it would be wise to back up a little bit.”