Planned Parenthood Expands to Offer Transgender Hormones in New York City

Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC) announced Tuesday it is now offering transgender cross-sex hormones for individuals who identify as a gender that is incompatible with their biological sex.

According to a press release from PPNYC:

Gender affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is now available at health centers in Manhattan, Queens, The Bronx and Brooklyn. The expansion of GAHT, which began in 2016 at the Boro Hall health center in Brooklyn, is part of PPNYC’s larger mission to provide quality, compassionate care to more transgender and gender non-binary New Yorkers. Gender affirming hormone therapy, which includes prescriptions for testosterone, estrogen and testosterone blockers, helps affirm a patient’s gender identity, decreases gender dysphoria, and enhances a patient’s quality of life.

We started providing gender-affirming hormone therapy in 2016 at our Brooklyn health center and now, we're so thrilled to say we've expanded to Queens, The Bronx & Manhattan!

Learn more: https://t.co/yYWFKkQV6K #ThisIsHealthCare pic.twitter.com/t7S1UdPU0B

— 📢 PPNYC Action Fund (@PPNYCAction) October 28, 2019

“Everyone deserves to express their true identity,” said Laura McQuade, president and CEO of PPNYC, in a statement. “Transgender people are no different.”

McQuade said, “Our trans brothers and sisters and non-binary siblings are facing an onslaught of political attacks aimed at rolling back their fundamental human right to health care.”

She added that, by including the service of cross-sex hormones, PPNYC is contributing to “building a world free of hate and unnecessary barriers to vital care.”

However, in the UK, Charlotte Evans, a woman who “transitioned” to male but then “detransitioned” after ten years, told Sky News in October that “hundreds” of young adults who considered themselves trans are now seeking to return to the gender identity that is compatible with their biological sex.

“I think some of the common characteristics are that they tend to be around their mid-20s, they’re mostly female and mostly same-sex attracted, and often autistic as well,” Evans noted, adding that she has formed a nonprofit called The Detransition Advocacy Network.

Sky News said one anonymous 21-year-old woman, who began identifying as male at age 13, took testosterone and developed masculine characteristics such as a deep voice and facial hair. When she was about to have her breasts removed, however, she began to have second thoughts that accompanied insights into why she was putting herself through this transition.

“I didn’t think any change was going to be enough in the end and I thought it was better to work on changing how I felt about myself, than changing my body,” the woman told Sky News. “I’ve seen similarities in the way I experience gender dysphoria, in the way I experience other body image issues.”

She then made the decision to stop testosterone and accept her female gender identity.

“When I was at my gender clinic to get referred for hormones, we had a session where I went over my mental health issues and I told them about my eating disorder and they didn’t suggest that that could maybe be connected with my gender dysphoria,” she said.

Planned Parenthood says its cross-sex hormone service is available in its clinics to individuals 18 years of age or older.

“If you are under 18, we can refer you to other New York City providers who can give you hormonal care,” Planned Parenthood states on its website that provides “Transgender Hormone Therapy Basics.”

The organization refers to cross-sex hormones as “hormone care,” just as Planned Parenthood refers to abortion as “abortion care.”

In its 2016-2017 annual report, Planned Parenthood claimed the group is on the cutting edge of women’s health care services.

“We continue to drive innovations in health care delivery by leveraging new technology to get patients the care and information they need to live healthy lives and build the futures they want,” the organization stated.

“Innovations” touted by Planned Parenthood included a “gender neutral” app that helps individuals keep track of their menstrual periods and birth control, and the fact that its affiliates in 17 states now offer cross-sex hormone treatments for individuals with gender dysphoria.