Matt Bush, FISM News
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A total of 20 Republican attorneys general led by Missouri AG Andrew Bailey have joined forces to file an amicus brief against multiple LGBTQ groups that are pushing to allow sex change operations, gender reassignment surgeries, and hormone-altering drugs for children experiencing gender dysphoria.
The amicus brief, according to Fox News, is in opposition to decisions ruled in a federal lawsuit filed by the LBGTQ civil rights organization, Lambda Legal. The group challenged bans in North Carolina and West Virginia on transgender medical interventions that blocked coverage of sex change surgeries for employees and their dependents.
20 attorneys general bring legal action over 'experimental' sex changes on kids: 'Disregarding science' https://t.co/aYjmP99Pl6
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 2, 2023
While federal courts ruled in favor of removing the bans, the attorneys general argue both that the science behind the rulings was flawed and that the decisions should rest in the hands of the states rather than the federal government.
“The Court should reverse the judgments of both district courts and rule in favor of the States,” the amicus brief, filed on May 25, said. “The decisions wrongly assume that the science is settled and fully supports the routine use of puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries to treat gender dysphoria.”
According to Fox,
Transgender surgical and chemical interventions includes hormone blockers, cross-sex hormones, double mastectomies, breast implants, surgical inversion of the penis to create a neo-vagina, testical removal, facial reconstructive surgery for feminine or masculine features, removal of the uterus, removal of the ovaries, and the creation of a penis using the urethra and tissue from a forearm or thigh.
That means that Lambda Legal and other LBGTQ organizations are pushing for those types of surgeries and hormone-altering drugs to be used on children based on a psychological affliction that can be subjectively defined.
DEFINING GENDER DYSPHORIA
The Mayo Clinic defines “gender dysphoria” as, “the feeling of discomfort or distress that might occur in people whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth or sex-related physical characteristics.” The UK NHS website adds, “This sense of unease or dissatisfaction may be so intense it can lead to depression and anxiety and have a harmful impact on daily life.”
The Mayo Clinic also described the diagnostic process for gender dysphoria:
A diagnosis for gender dysphoria is included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association. The diagnosis was created to help people with gender dysphoria get access to necessary health care and effective treatment. The term focuses on discomfort as the problem, rather than identity.
It is under these diagnostic and psychiatric conditions that children are diagnosed with gender dysphoria, based on how they feel, and then are prescribed surgeries or hormone-altering drugs to help.
PERMANENT, EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENT
The amicus brief brought by the attorneys general included a review written by doctors at the Swedish Karolinska Institute, ranked as a top 15 medical school in Europe. That report called chemical treatment for gender dysphoria “experimental” and focused on the downside of treating what could be a temporary psychological issue with surgeries and medicines that could permanently affect children.
“It is not yet possible to draw any definite conclusions about the effect and safety of the treatments based on scientific evidence,” the Swedish government’s medical board said. “The risks of puberty-inhibiting and gender-affirming hormone treatment for those under 18 currently outweigh the possible benefits for the group as a whole.”
While the American Academy of Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and others have focused on the temporary nature of hormone blockers and how the need to provide care for gender dysphoria outweighs the risks. The evidence does not necessarily agree.
“Any claim that chemical or surgical intervention to treat gender dysphoria is ‘evidence-based’ … is simply wrong,” the attorneys general said. “Gender dysphoria is a serious condition, and all individuals struggling with it deserve compassionate, evidence-based care. Disregarding the science and the harms is not compassionate.”
Other states included in the brief include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.