The US medical industry got a wakeup call about its affirmative-care model of medically transitioning children. In a July 14 letter to the Wall Street Journal, 21 clinicians and researchers from nine countries, including Finland’s leading expert, Riittakerttu Kaltiala, challenged Endocrine Society President Stephen Hammes’ recent claim that more than 2,000 studies clearly demonstrate that the euphemistically-called gender-affirming care for children improves well-being and reduces suicide.
The experts’ statement contradicts Dartmouth Health’s claim that medically transitioning children reduces suicide, and calls into question their trans-or-die narrative.
Related: The Trans Suicide Myth and Blackmail Politics
Every systematic review of evidence to date, including one published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society, has found that the evidence for mental-health benefits of hormonal interventions to be of low or very low certainty. By contrast, the risks are significant and include sterility, lifelong dependence on medication, and the anguish of regret. For this reason, more and more European countries and international professional organizations now recommend psychotherapy rather than hormones and surgery as the first line of treatment for gender-dysphoric youth.
The letter emphasizes that “There is no reliable evidence to suggest that hormonal transition is an effective suicide prevention measure.”
These experts implore US medical societies “to align their recommendations with the best evidence, rather than exaggerating the benefits and minimizing the risks.” Until they do so, it’s incumbent on moms and dads to protect their children from being exploited by an industry that refuses to regulate itself.
