Utah Republican Party Leaders who banned access to medically recommended care for transminers have spent more than two years demanding evidence of the merits of gender-affirming hormone therapy Transgender Young people. Now they have it – and they still refuse to be upset.
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A comprehensive national commissioned report released last week shows that Gender-affirming care leads to improved mental health and lower suicide Risk for transgender minors. But instead of lifting the state’s ban, GOP lawmakers are doubling policies that have long warned doctors, supporters and families that have long been at risk.
Related: Department of Health and Human Services removes mental health reports on transgender children in Utah
Related: What is gender-affirming care?
What do you find in the report?
Over 1,000 pages ReportUniversity of Utah’s Drug Regimen Review Center and I quietly posted online Monday by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services was requested by SB 16. This is a 2023 law that banned medical care that affirms the gender of minors. At the time, Republican Gov. Spencer Cox called the law a “subtle” approach, arguing that the state needed more data. His office remains silent as it contains data.
The report avoids the claims used by Republicans to pass the ban in the first place.
“The traditional wisdom among non-experts was that there is limited data on the use of. [gender-affirming hormone therapy] In Pediatric Patients, researchers write. “However, the results of our thorough literature search led us to the opposite conclusion.” This study found over 230 major studies, including 28,056 trans adolescents. This is “far beyond” evidence that normally supports FDA approval for high-risk pediatric treatments, including gene therapy.
“The body of evidence we reveal exceeds the amount of evidence that often serves as the basis for FDA approval for many high-risk new drugs approved in the US pediatric population,” the author added.
The report highlighted that such treatments were not given to adolescent children, and that adolescent blockers and hormones are usually started only during the early or mid-adolescent period, and surgery, particularly the bottom surgery, is not recommended for minors. Additionally, this review does not recognize any serious long-term safety concerns, and treatment-related “remorse” is very rare. In fact, in 32 studies examining regret, researchers found it “virtually nonexistent.”
Utah Republicans refuse to make their own consignment review
The release of the report was met without public response from Cox and legislative leaders. Salt Lake Tribune Report.
Republican state lawmakers Katie Hall and Bridger Bollinder helped pass the law but in a joint statement completely dismissed the results. “There’s no science,” they insisted. “The risks are real and the public is with us.”
Related: Trump Administration announces the end of gender maintenance care for transgender veterans
State Senate President Stuart Adams reflected their skepticism. “Utah has enacted laws protecting the long-term health and well-being of minors, providing time to carefully examine the evolving medical landscape surrounding new and irreversible procedures for minors,” he said. Tribune.
State Senator Mike Kennedy, the bill’s lead sponsor and physician, declined to comment on the paper.
LGBTQ+ Rights Advocates say the report will dismantle justification for GOP’s ban on care
Chris Erchull, senior lawyer at Glad Law, told advocates that the conclusion of the report was simple. “We make sure that many providers and families already know. The standards of care for young transgender people benefit their overall health and well-being. All of these attempts to block access to care for transgender youth are doing harm.
But science teeth There. This review found that young people who were cared for by the age of 18 had better outcomes, particularly in terms of depression, anxiety and suicide. Hormonal treatment was associated with positive mental health and psychosocial function outcomes. “If left untreated, people with gender discomfort can experience psychological and social harm,” the report states.
Shannon Minter, Legal Director Lesbian National Centercalled Utah, “the most detailed, thorough and comprehensive review of medical evidence related to transgender healthcare.”
“This review shows that when evidence is objective, there is no serious question that this care is safe and effective and that it is medically necessary for some young people,” Minter said. Supporters. “The report makes it clear that if lawmakers are concerned about this care, they can implement guardrails to ensure that they are prescribed consistently with the standards of care.”
Minter added that the report was too late to be filed in the US Supreme Court review. United States vs Skulmettiit provides “a very useful counterpoint against the incomplete and distorted coverage of this care that controls mainstream coverage.”
“The data shows overwhelmingly that those who need this care will benefit greatly from it.”
Elchuru said the report also refutes widespread misinformation.
“One of the biggest misconceptions is that this care is easily accessible and distributed without supervision,” he said. “But this study tells us something very important. The regret rate is very low. People may hear powerful anecdotes from individuals who feel they are over-processed or misdiagnosed, and they are heartbreaking stories. But they don’t represent the big picture.
All major US medical associations, including the Endocrinology Society, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, support gender-affirming care as a proven and effective treatment.
Related: Republicans hand over “big beautiful bill” banning federally funded gender-affirming care for trans people
“The findings from this report support existing standards of care for professionals and do not support previously established bans in 27 states,” said Kellan Baker, executive director of the Whitman Walker Institute. Supporters. “If we cannot determine the results of a scientific evidence review in advance based on a political agenda, we find that existing standards of care are beneficial. I think these findings are saying they are not actually interested in science or evidence, as they contradict the overall efforts, via the total years of total bill through future aging parties.
On Thursday, Congressional Republicans passed measures banning children’s health insurance programs and federal funds to maintain gender under Medicaid. The bill also eliminates gender-affirming care coverage under essential health benefits, even for adults with private insurance, regulated under the Affordable Care Act.
If Utah lawmakers lift a moratorium, the report recommends that the health department outline strict guardrails. According to Salt Lake Tribunethese recommendations have been implemented, but political will not.
Like all medical treatments, gender-maintaining care is already supervised by professional physicians and follows best practices established by the world’s professional associations. Note that they are not quick to receive this type of care.
Now that Utah’s own evidence confirms what the trans community and health professionals have been saying all along, it’s no longer a question of whether gender-affirming care is safe. It’s whether lawmakers will recognize it as important and whether transgender youth deserve to live.
The state’s justification that the drug used is not approved by the FDA has not been specifically approved due to gender discomfort. The report highlights that in pediatric medicine, uncondemned prescriptions are legal and common, especially when the drug is already approved by adults but lacks industry incentives for further testing in young people.
The impact of the law was immediate. After the ban was enacted in early 2023, the University of Utah closed its pediatric gender clinic. The Tribune said in a national survey that same year, more than 60% of trans students in the state were considering suicide, and a quarter of students found that they had tried to do so.
Related: Utah government signs bill banning most gender-affirming care for young people
Advocates warned that this would happen when the law was enacted. “This is a devastating and dangerous violation of transgender Yutan’s rights and privacy,” says Chase Strangio. American Civil Liberties Union LGBTQ & HIV project at the time. “We will not stop protecting your autonomy and freedom until each of you has access to the care you need.”
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
