This week, a child psychiatrist testified before Congress against medical transgender hormone therapies for kids, issuing a harsh rebuke to medical professionals who advocate for the radical interventions.
The House Committee on Energy and Health heard testimony from a board-certified child psychiatrist Doctor Miriam Grossman this week.
According to Grossman, there is no proof that cross-sex hormones or hormones that prevent puberty are life-saving or medically required. She asserted that youngsters who are given these hormone regimens run a serious danger of injury.
Grossman informed the panel that there was “no proof of a long-term benefit, however, there is proof of harm.”
Contrary to what some medical professionals assert, there is presently no medical requirement for transgender hormone therapies for youngsters, according to Grossman.
“There is an argument. There’s a heated discussion,” she stated. “Such a risky experiment shouldn’t be funded with our priceless tax dollars,”
In addition to being a senior fellow at Do No Harm, an organization of physicians and others striving to safeguard healthcare from political ideology, Grossman says she has been caring for patients for 45 years.
In addition, Grossman criticized gender ideology in general throughout her remarks.
“Sex isn’t determined at birth. Sex is established during conception and, if not earlier, is recognized at birth,” according to the speaker. “There is no scientific basis at all for the assertion that sex is determined at birth. People are misled by its terminology, especially youngsters, into believing that the terms male and female are arbitrary and subject to change.”
Contrary to what transgender advocates had predicted, Grossman highlighted that an increasing number of nations have banned transgender medical procedures for youngsters, and she added that there has been “no surge of suicides or additional mental-health catastrophes” as a result of these bans.
Puberty-blocking medications and hormones for transgender youngsters are no longer prescribed in Finland, Sweden, or Norway. Following the development of osteoporosis and spinal fractures in a 14-year-old girl on puberty inhibitors, Sweden imposed limits.
While France has advised care when prescribing puberty blockers, the National Health Service of England has also placed restrictions on them.
According to these nations, “boys do not need to grow breasts, girls do not need to worry about having their periods stopped, voices lowered, and children do not need to have their growth and development interrupted,” according to Grossman. “Psychotherapy is the treatment they need.”
Conservatives have raised concerns about child hormone therapy and medical operations for transgender people.
Cross-sex hormones and puberty inhibitors can carry significant health hazards. Puberty inhibitors can impair bone density and development, harm the voice, and result in infertility, among other problems. Cross-sex hormones can aggravate psychiatric illnesses, raise the chance of breast and ovarian cancer, and cause fatal blood clots, heart attacks, liver failure, and other dangerous disorders.
