Earlier this week, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals removed a federal court order which prohibited Florida AG, James Uthmeier, from pursuing the state's suit alleging that the American Academy of Pediatrics promoted misleading statements about "affirming care" for minors. The latest ruling paves the way for Florida to proceed with its suit, which has been stalled since a federal court in Illinois blocked enforcement. Notably, the ruling does not weigh in on the merits of the case, which remains unresolved. “Thanks to the 7th Circuit for moving quickly on a problem that should’ve never reached their court in the first place,” Uthmeier wrote on X.
A new Manhattan Institute analysis has found that in some Oregon and Vermont zip codes, 1 in 40 girls and 1 in 65 boys were diagnosed with gender dysphoria. While some zip codes have relatively small populations, it’s still worth noting the discrepancy between the expected prevalence rates, which are lower, and the prevalence rates in more progressive towns. Sapir also published several graphs showing the cumulative prevalence of dysphoria by age and sex, and incidence over time by age and sex. For more, see Sapir’s articles in City Journal and the Wall Street Journal.
Researchers from Do No Harm deal another fatal blow to the “transition-or-suicide" narrative with a new study and report that measures the “real-world effects of state restrictions on puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries, using CDC data on actual teen suicide rates.” The study, which controlled for a variety of factors, determined that there is “zero evidence that state policies led to increased suicide rates, period.” Furthermore, the researchers have made their code, methods, and results publicly accessible so interested third parties can validate the findings. You can read the full report here.
Oregon's Child Welfare Agency has removed a policy stipulating that prospective foster parents must affirm the “gender identities” and expression of LGBTQ+ identified youth, after a legal challenge and defeat in federal court. An Oregon woman sued the Oregon Department of Human Services over the policy, arguing that it violated her religious beliefs. The woman ultimately prevailed in court before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and last week, a U.S. District Judge issued a final judgment, ending the case. “ODHS is prohibited from requiring Bates to agree to use prescribed words or language, including chosen pronouns, to express views about sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression inconsistent with her religious beliefs described above as a condition of certification,” the order states.
Adjusting to both voter sentiment and the success of attack ads in the last presidential election, some Democratic leaders are moderating their approach to transgender issues. The article highlights how some Democratic leaders like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and Texas Senate candidate, James Talarico, have softened their messaging on trans issues to meet voters where they are. Newsom has publicly commented on the problem of “fairness” with boys competing in girls’ and women’s sports, while staunch LGBTQ+ supporter, Talarico, recently came out in support of a national ban on “affirming” surgeries for minors. Democrats are in a tough spot politically, with political hopefuls having to strike a balance between matching the sentiments of everyday voters while not alienating their progressive base.
Journalist Ben Ryan has curated a list of conference videos from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health in which physicians describe fraudulent billing practices related to gender medicine. Ryan is quick to note that the instances are not specifically about pediatric gender medicine, although in some cases that is implied by the professional activity and experience of the speakers. Fraudulent billing practices in gender medicine have been the subject of recent news attention after a report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and a DOJ settlement with Mount Sinai. The crux of the fraud involves physicians submitting false billing codes for trans-identified patients, often relying on alternative codes for precocious puberty, or endocrine disorder unspecified. “Then you could switch your billing code to ‘unspecified endocrine disorder,’ for example, saying that their body produces less testosterone than it should for them to feel their best... and thinking about moving towards euphoria and away from dysphoria,” one speaker said in a 2021 video.
Evidence-Based Medicine luminary, Dr. Gordon Guyatt, controversially supported a recent paper by gender medicine activist and researcher, Dr. Meredithe McNamara, where she accuses EBM of being weaponized against transgender people. As Leor Sapir points out, McNamara is a polarizing figure who frequently spreads misinformation about the science of youth gender medicine and misrepresents her own clinical experiences working with minors. While well respected in EBM, Dr. Guyatt himself is no stranger to controversy. Dr. Guyatt and a team of EBM experts at McMaster University ended their fruitful partnership with the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) after leadership at the university received a deluge of threats and criticism from transgender activists. Rather than stand behind the integrity of the systematic reviews they were commissioned to produce, McMaster caved to the pressure campaign.
The UK Parliament is seeking contributions from experts to better understand post-2023 developments in the research literature on the use of puberty blockers for the treatment of pediatric gender dysphoria, and how to evaluate and interpret the evidence available. “This call for contributions seeks to enable experts to send POST literature that is relevant to this project and to help identify those who are working on this issue. Experts may include, but are not limited to, researchers, academics, people representing stakeholder groups (such as charities and non-governmental organisations), industry representatives, and policymakers,” the announcement reads.
Joseph Figliolia
Policy Analyst
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