Donald Trump Decides Healthcare Isn't For Everyone.
New Trump Executive Order Targets Transgender Youth.
We’ve made it to the end of our journey.
Successfully covering one Donald Trump executive order each day for 7 days, albeit of over 100. We made sure we did our best to highlight what considered the most egregious of the lot.
What may be surprising to some however, is despite it being core to his campaign message, the number of executive orders targeting lower grocery prices comes in at 0.
Instead featuring everything from renaming the Gulf of Mexico, to pardoning violent criminals who attacked cops.
So we figured we’d end on his new executive order targeting healthcare for transgender minors.
What Is Gender Affirming Care?
Let’s start here, because there is a lot of misconceptions about what Gender-Affirming Care (GAC) is. It is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as:
Gender-affirmative health care can include any single or combination of a number of social, psychological, behavioral or medical (including hormonal treatment or surgery) interventions designed to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity.
In non-medical terms, it’s simply the act of affirming the gender identity said person is expressing to align with. This looks different for different ages but is made up of a variety of things including:
Social Transition(Pronouns, Clothing, Hairstyle)
Puberty Blockers
Hormone Therapy Treatments
Sex Reassignment Surgery(18+)
Prior to puberty, GAC is entirely social. It is just the act of validation, the use of correct pronouns, allowing clothing that aligns with their gender identity and creating a safe space.
Once a child is of the age to begin experiencing the effects of puberty, puberty blockers can come into the discussion. This would be after weeks of therapy, and recommendation from a doctor with consent of the parent and child.
The main medication for this is gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). This medication is also the one named specifically in Trump’s executive order. However, plenty of literature regarding GnRH indicates it is safe, with any additional effects being minimal and easily reversible if treatment is stopped. It is also FDA-approved.
Data also seems to back up the benefits for trans-youth pretty well. Including a massive Harvard study of over 21,000 that compared trans and non-binary individuals who accessed GAC as a minor, compared to those who did not, and found overall mental health was better when able to be accessed earlier.
Hormone therapy is typically not done until 18, but can be started as early as 16 in some cases. It is more intensive than puberty blockers, and mostly reversible. There are fertility concerns and some other minor possible effects to be discussed and weighed against the benefits with a doctor and a parent.
Though this is no different than with any medical procedure, where the benefit is weighed against the risk.
Which is where it’s important to note, because of all the steps that come before these methods: a social transition, therapy, and typically puberty blockers as well, the de-transition rate after this stage is incredibly low.
Ever after just a social transition, only around 2.5% of trans-youth have de-transitioned within 5 years. A 2015 survey found of 28,000 trans individuals, only 8% ever de-transitioned, or 2,000. Of those, 1240 or 62% only socially de-transitioned temporarily before transitioning back. Meta-analysis of data only including those who have went through hormone therapy or surgery found less than 1% de-transitioned.
Sex Reassignment surgery is the last, optional step once the individual is an adult. Not all trans-individuals undergo surgery, but there is also plenty of data to back up the benefit of it as well.
It is what is generally used as the boogeyman by conservatives pretending this is what is happening to school-aged children, despite any guidelines in any clinic you read stating otherwise.
Typically, kids can identify gender and show signs of which they align with by the age of 3. This is a fundamental sense-of-self that should not be denied because of a parents political beliefs. The data and science are clear on the benefits it provides, to ban it is an attack on intellectualism, on healthcare, in the name of bigotry.
What Trump Did.
Donald Trump passed an executive order that prevents all forms of Gender-Affirming Care from being administered to anyone 18 or younger. Specifically listing puberty blockers and hormone therapy as “Chemical and Surgical Mutilation”.
And yes, you are not confused, this executive order classifies someone who is 18 as a minor.
Aside from this insanity, it also directs agencies to no longer rely on data from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). Which has been internationally recognized and looked-upon for information regarding transgender healthcare since 1979.
Much like his DEI executive order, this directs that federally-run insurance programs like Medicaid exclude coverage for trans-youth. It also directs the Department of Justice to pursue litigation and legislation to oppose the practice.
Institutions that research these practices will be defunded, and medical institutions that carry out these practices will face the same fate.
It also directs the Department of Human and Health Services, to-be ran by anti-vax conspiracy theorist Robert Kennedy Jr, to be who releases information pertaining to transgender healthcare.
This executive order shows, more than anything else, how Trump’s agenda is focused on attacking science that is uncomfortable to his political beliefs. On attacking institutions that don’t align with his political beliefs. All while signaling to the most extreme parts of his base.
Where anti-transgender action is taking precedence to lowering prices. Where culture is put before economy, and party put before country.
The cost of eggs might be going up, but at least Donald Trump got that trans-girl out of high school badminton.