Transgender Medical Group: We ‘Stand Behind’ Use of ‘Puberty Blockers,’ ‘Gender-Affirming Hormones’ for ‘Gender Diverse Youth’

Two physician-run organizations issued a joint statement Tuesday declaring their support for obstructing the sexual maturation of what they deem “transgender” and “gender diverse” children with “puberty blocking” hormone interventions.

The organizations stated the prepubescent children — deemed “transgender” or “gender diverse” according to their unspecified criteria — should be administered sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone “when indicated.” They describe such hormonal treatments as “gender-affirming hormone medications.”

The United States Professional Association for Transgender Health (USPATH) and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) declared:

The United States Professional Association for Transgender Health (USPATH) and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) stand behind the appropriate care of transgender and gender diverse youth, which includes, when indicated, the use of “puberty blockers” such as gonadotropin releasing hormone analogs and other medications to delay puberty, and, when indicated, the use of gender- affirming hormones such as estrogen or testosterone. Guidelines for the assessment of transgender and gender diverse youth, as well as for the use of pubertal delay and gender affirming hormone medications have been published by reputable professional bodies, including the Endocrine Society, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, and the American Psychiatric Association.

USPATH and WPATH support scientific discussions on the use of pubertal delay and hormone therapy for transgender and gender diverse youth. We believe that such discussions should occur among experts and stakeholders in this area, based on scientific evidence, and in fora such as peer reviewed journals or scientific conferences, and among colleagues and experts in the assessment and care of transgender and gender diverse youth. USPATH and WPATH oppose the use of the lay press, either impartial or of any political slant or viewpoint, as a forum for the scientific debate of these issues, or the politicization of these issues in any way. Furthermore, individual decisions about gender-affirming interventions and treatments for transgender and gender diverse youth should be made only among the patient, their parent(s) or guardian(s), their medical and mental health provider(s), and any other identified stakeholders on a case-by-case basis, and opposes any attempts to dictate or restrict, by statute, judiciary, or otherwise, access to such treatment when recommended according to accepted standards and guidelines.

“Scientific discussions” regarding hormone treatments to interrupt pubescence in children should be reserved for “experts and statekholders in this area,” according to the two “transgender health” organizations. The “lay press,” they added, is not the a proper forum for such gender discussions.

Dr. Erica Anderson, president of USPATH and a clinical psychologist, describes himself as a “transgender woman.” Dr. Marci Bowers, president-elect of WPATH and a surgeon practising “gender affirmation surgery,” described himself as “a woman with a transgender history.”