Recently unsealed court documents reveal that health officials within the Biden administration successfully lobbied an international transgender health organization to eliminate age limits from its guidelines on surgical procedures for transgender adolescents.
According to reports from The New York Times, the Department of Health and Human Services, under the leadership of Rachel Levine, Assistant Secretary for Health, exerted pressure on the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) to revise its guidelines. Initially drafted in 2021, the guidelines proposed specific age thresholds for various surgical procedures such as genital surgeries, breast augmentation, and hormonal treatments for minors. However, the finalized 2022 guidelines released by WPATH omitted any mention of age restrictions.
Court documents, made public as part of a federal lawsuit challenging Alabama’s ban on transgender surgeries for minors, include excerpts from emails within WPATH’s advisory group. These emails indicate that discussions with Sarah Boateng, then-chief of staff to Levine, focused on concerns that specifying ages could lead to restrictive legislation targeting transgender healthcare.
“In the U.S.A., the situation is terrible,” one email quoted Boateng as saying. “Having ages in the document will make matters worse.”
Critics of adolescent transgender procedures, such as psychologist James Cantor, referenced these emails in his report submitted as evidence in support of Alabama’s legal challenge. Cantor argues that political considerations influenced WPATH’s decision-making process, potentially overriding scientific considerations.
The issue of transgender medical care for minors has become contentious amid cultural and political debates in the United States. Over a dozen states have implemented bans on surgical procedures and hormonal therapies for transgender youth. Conversely, some states have enacted laws to protect medical providers who offer such treatments, creating a stark divide on the issue across the country.
Levine’s office did not provide comment.
The ongoing legal challenges and policy debates surrounding transgender healthcare underscore the complex intersection of medical practice, legal rights, and public policy in the United States.
