The U.S. medical establishment is dismissing a prestigious science report sponsored by the British government that is very critical of transgender medical claims, according to the New York Times.
Britain’s medical system pumped the brakes on transgender procedures on minors because the much-praised Cass Report found very little scientific evidence that transing drug therapies or surgeries are the proper mode of treatment for gender dysphoria.
Unfortunately, the U.S. medical establishment is ignoring the far-reaching report and is doubling down on the left-wing political lobby supporting the transgender movement.
The report sponsored by the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) — the country’s government-run health system — was quickly adopted by the government after revealing that there is little evidence that indiscriminate puberty-blocking drug therapies and surgical solutions are efficacious over the long term for transgender patients.
The report, helmed by former president of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health Dr. Hillary Cass, was conducted over four years and implemented a systemic review of the scientific studies on transgenderism. But Cass and her researchers also met with thousands of young patients and their families, adults who had transitioned, advocacy groups, clinics, doctors, and even those who later realized transgendering was a bad idea and had detransitioned.
It is the most comprehensive study on transgenderism ever conducted. And, as even the New York Times has admitted, the chief finding was that the evidence supporting puberty-blocking drugs and other hormonal medications in kids is “remarkably weak.” Consequently, the U.K.’s NHS has stopped approving these therapies outside of clinical trials. The NHS is also pulling away from hormone treatments.
The U.K. is not the first country to turn away from transgenderism, either. Over the last year, the U.K. joined Denmark, Finland, Sweden, France, all of which have begun pulling away from the “affirmation” model of treatment wherein all a doctor needs to proceed is a patient’s stated desires to do so.
Despite the movement away from radical transgenderism in Europe, the U.S. medical establishment seems to have refused to even consider the lack of evidence that transgendering children is an advisable approach to gender dysphoria in minors. Indeed, when the Times contacted the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), they blew off the Cass report and insisted that they stand by their bowing to radical transgenderism, claiming it direct contradiction to all these studies and decisions by European medical establishments that their approach is “grounded in evidence and science.” The AAP did add that it is conducting its own research on the topic, though.
The Endocrine Society was even more direct, telling the Times that “we stand firm in our support of gender-affirming care,” which they claim is “needed and often lifesaving.”
In its interview with Dr. Cass, though, the Times also learned that not one U.S. based medical establishment or organization has contacted her and her research team to discuss her final report. It is almost as if the U.S. medical establishment does not want to hear any evidence that would run contrary to the radical transgender lobby.
Cass blasted the AAP, calling them a “left-leaning organization” and accusing it of “misleading the public” on transgenderism.
Saying she respects the AAP but disagrees with their stance on the matter, Cass added, “What some organizations are doing is doubling down on saying the evidence is good. And I think that’s where you’re misleading the public. You need to be honest about the strength of the evidence and say what you’re going to do to improve it.”
She added, “I suspect that the AAP, which is an organization that does massive good for children worldwide, and I see as a fairly left-leaning organization, is fearful of making any moves that might jeopardize trans health care right now. And I wonder whether, if they weren’t feeling under such political duress, they would be able to be more nuanced, to say that multiple truths exist in this space — that there are children who are going to need medical treatment, and that there are other children who are going to resolve their distress in different ways.”
Cass also insisted that health care should “never be politically driven.”
“It should be driven by evidence and ethics and shared decision-making with patients and listening to patients’ voices. Once it becomes politicized, then that’s seriously concerning, as you know well from the abortion situation in the United States,” she said.
It should be pointed out that the Cass report does not devalue transgender medical procedures wholesale. It only points out that there is very little evidence that forcing such procedures on children is good and effective over the long term and advisable for young patients into their adult lives.
Evidence that studies on transgendering children was recently see healthcare writer Lisa Selin Davis who posted an exchange to X from Johns Hopkins that revealed that a study commissioned by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health found little to no evidence about what transgendering does to children and adolescents in the long term.
Oh look, an email from head of a Johns Hopkins team commissioned by @wpath for systematic review of youth gender medicine. She says WPATH wouldn't let them publish the review and that "there is little/no evidence about children and adolescents." pic.twitter.com/hhg1Q1OBiX
— Lisa Selin Davis (@LisaSelinDavis) May 14, 2024
The excerpt of the email communications Davis posted also noted that WPATH was working to squelch the study. Perhaps because it is does not offer a blanket support for transing children.
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