The Department of Health and Human Services’ Report on the Treatment of Gender Dysphoria and Why You Should Care

By Armando Simón

So many things occurred in the past month that went against the contrary to leftist totalitarianism and, therefore, were suppressed as usual by the leftist media hivemind. One of these was a publication by the Department of Health and Human Services, titled Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria. It is, essentially, the shorter American version of the UK’s Cass Review, the latter sparking reform in the UK over the rampant malpractice of pediatric “gender-affirming” procedures. Both are well worth a read.

The American report echoed the findings of the British report. Objective, reliable research on the benefit or harm of “transitioning,” or lack of it, is lacking. What there is is fraught with methodological flaws. There is a lackadaisical approach to recommending changing genders by authorities.

Since there is a good chance that you overlooked both reports, let me cite just a few passages from the American version:

• Existing systematic reviews of evidence, including several that have informed health authorities in Europe, were assessed for methodological quality. The umbrella review found that the overall quality of evidence concerning the effects of any intervention on psychological outcomes, quality of life, regret, or long-term health, is very low. This indicates that the beneficial effects reported in the literature are likely to differ substantially from the true effects of the interventions.
• Existing systematic reviews of evidence, including several that have informed health authorities in Europe, were assessed for methodological quality. The umbrella review found that the overall quality of evidence concerning the effects of any intervention on psychological outcomes, quality of life, regret, or long-term health, is very low. This indicates that the beneficial effects reported in the literature are likely to differ substantially from the true effects of the interventions.
• The “gender-affirming” model of care, as practiced in U.S. clinics, is characterized by a child-led process in which comprehensive mental health assessments are often minimized or omitted, and the patient’s “embodiment goals” serve as the primary guide for treatment decisions. In some of the nation’s leading pediatric gender clinics, assessments are conducted in a single session lasting two hours.
• Psychotherapy is a noninvasive alternative to endocrine and surgical interventions for the treatment of pediatric gender dysphoria. Systematic reviews of evidence have found no evidence of adverse effects of psychotherapy in this context.
• There is evidence that some medical and mental health associations have suppressed dissent and stifled debate about this issue among their members.
• The voices of whistleblowers and detransitioners have played a critical role in drawing public attention to the risks and harms associated with pediatric medical transition. Their concerns have been discounted, dismissed, or ignored by prominent advocates and practitioners of pediatric medical transition.

Absent from both reports is a condemnation of WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health), which I consider to be the main villain on this topic. Through videos and whistleblowers’ internal memos, it has been shown to be a center of malpractice quackery urging the sexual mutilation of children referred to them. Regardless of the evidence against their practices, they continue at a frenetic pace. Such is the nature of all fanatics. They are relentless, dismissal of reality or common decency.

The sexual mutilation of children is wrong. Period.

Armando Simón is a retired psychologist, author of The Book of Many Books.