Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine said Monday that transgender youths should be empowered to get “gender affirmation treatment”.
On MSNBC, Levine said transgender kids are facing mental health issues, bullying, and political attacks.
Treatment for trans youths should affirm their gender identity and empower them to get sex change treatments, Levine explained.
“Trans youth are vulnerable. They suffer significant harassment and bullying, sometimes in schools or their community,” Levine said. “Now they are suffering politically motivated attacks through state actions against these vulnerable transgender youth”.
“So we really want to base our treatment and to affirm and to support and empower these youths not to limit their participation in activities in sports and even limit their ability to get gender affirmation treatment in their state,” Levine told host Andrea Mitchell.
In June, Levine endorsed Biden’s executive order expanding access to sex change treatments for children, claiming there is no debate within the medical community about whether transgender children should receive such treatments.
“Gender affirmation treatments” can include socially transitioning to the opposite sex, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries, reported the Daily Caller.
Levine’s comments were immediately met with criticism on Twitter. “Unserious regime,” said Newsweek opinion editor Josh Hammer.
Sen. Roger Marshall tweeted “80% of children outgrow gender dysphoria. Under the Biden Admin’s ‘gender care’ policies, these children may suffer irreversible harm. ‘Gender-affirming care’ is child abuse”.
Levine and Mitchell also discussed Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, with Levine calling the state “restrictive” for trans youth.
“The studies show from the Trevor Project that all it takes is one supportive adult to make all the difference for an LGBTQ, transgender youth in terms of their risk of depression and suicide. One supportive adult. That often is a teacher or a school personnel and the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill is very damaging to their health,” Levine said.