As the political debate over health care for transgender youth has intensified across the U.S., elected officials and advocates who oppose gender-affirming medical procedures for minors have often said parents are not acting in their children’s best interest when they seek such treatment. Major medical associations say the treatments are safe and warn of grave mental health consequences for children forced to wait to access puberty-blocking drugs, hormones and, in rare cases, surgeries.
As the political debate over health care for transgender youth has intensified across the U.S., elected officials and advocates who oppose gender-affirming medical procedures for minors have often said parents are not acting in their children’s best interest when they seek such treatment. Major medical associations say the treatments are safe and warn of grave mental health consequences for children forced to wait to access puberty-blocking drugs, hormones and, in rare cases, surgeries.