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Commentary By Leor Sapir

MI Responds: President Trump’s Executive Order Restricting Pediatric Transgender Medical Care

Governance, Health Gender Ideology

Leor Sapir, Manhattan Institute fellow, responds to President Trump’s executive order restricting pediatric transgender medical care:

During his campaign, President Trump vowed that he would do everything in his power to end child sex “changes” if elected. Today, he made good on that promise, by way of an executive order.

Trump’s executive order is comprehensive, strongly worded, and strategic in its instructions to the relevant agencies. The Biden administration weaponized the Department of Justice against whistleblowers and allowed the Department of Health and Human Services to fall into the hands of ideologues who put political agendas over evidence-based medicine. As the new order makes clear, the federal government will no longer provide support to the child sex “change” industry and its allies. 

We cannot allow a small minority of doctors driven by self-interest, hubris, incompetence, or ideology to bully their colleagues into silence while children get hurt. President Trump rightly acknowledges the problem of “sanctuary states”: Democratic strongholds that function as pill mills for troubled teens and provide cover for doctors who have forgotten their oath to “first, do no harm.” This is not the first time in our nation's history in which states have been split over a question of fundamental rights, necessitating federal action.

President Trump is also right to single out the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), an activist organization, as the entity most responsible for one of the worst medical scandals in American history. Just as the American Pain Society disbanded over its role in fueling the opioid epidemic, WPATH must be held accountable for the suffering it has inflicted on American families. 

Doctors are not infallible. American medicine is no stranger to scandal. If the medical profession won't regulate itself, the government has a duty to step in and protect children from predatory practices. This order is not the end of so-called “gender-affirming care,” but if well-executed, it could be the beginning of the end. 

Our kids deserve to grow up with their bodies and functions intact. Puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries undermine a child’s right to an open future. It is only a matter of time before we collectively look back and wonder, “How on earth did we ever allow this to happen?”  

Leor Sapir is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute. His most recent City Journal article, from the winter issue, explains the legal actions de-transitioners are pursuing against gender-affirming care for minors, and calls for smart and principled leadership to protect children. He's also discussed these issues on a range of broadcast platforms. Catch his recent appearance on Dr. Phil Primetime here: Leor Sapir on Dr. Phil Primetime.

To book an interview with Leor Sapir, please contact Nora Kenney at nkenney@manhattan.institute.

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