THE TELEGRAPH/ Benedict Smith-
Officials in Joe Biden’s administration pushed to remove age limits from transgender surgeries, according to reports.
Staff for Admiral Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health and a transgender woman, urged a medical organisation to abandon recommended age limits – and apparently succeeded.
Officials feared that a minimum age could fuel political opposition to teenage transgender surgeries, The New York Times reports. The topic is hugely controversial because it involves adolescents making irreversible changes to their bodies.
Critics said it showed that the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) was making decisions based on political, rather than medical, considerations.
The organisation claims to have advised governments around the world on transgender healthcare, and its guidelines have influenced NHS treatments.
Its draft guidelines, released in 2021, recommended lowering the age minimums to 14 for hormonal treatments, 15 for mastectomies, 16 for breast augmentation or facial surgeries, and 17 for genital surgeries or hysterectomies.
Emails part of federal lawsuit
However, the proposed limits were eliminated in the final document, prompting concern within the organisation and among other experts.
Emails from an unnamed member of WPATH, filed as part of a federal lawsuit, show that Sarah Boateng – then Adml Levine’s chief of staff – raised concerns about the impact on trans surgeries.
“She is confident, based on the rhetoric she is hearing in DC, and from what we have already seen, that these specific listings of ages, under 18, will result in devastating legislation for trans care,” the individual said. “She wonders if the specific ages can be taken out.” Continue reading…
