‘Evidence Free’: Puberty Blocker Recommendation May Break Law, 21 AGs Warn Pediatrician Group

A group of nearly two dozen state attorneys general is warning the American Academy of Pediatrics that it may be breaking the law by continuing to recommend puberty blockers to children who are unhappy with their biological gender despite evidence the drugs cause harm.

On Tuesday, the 21 attorneys general, led by Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, sent a letter warning the Academy that it may be violating a slew of state consumer protection laws.

The group put the Academy “on notice for possible violations of state consumer protection statutes over its evidence free standards on gender dysphoria care for minors,” the attorneys general said in a statement.

“Most concerning, AAP claims that the use of puberty blockers on children is safe and reversible,” the group wrote, calling that claim “misleading and deceptive.”

The Academy’s guidance is based “more on political pressure and agendas rather than medical efficacy and sound medical judgement,” the group wrote.

The attorneys general are demanding the Academy submit specific documentation for its ongoing recommendations of the powerful drugs for gender dysphoric children.

“Telling parents and children that puberty blockers are ‘reversible’ at the very least conveys assurance that no permanent harm or change will occur,” the attorneys general wrote in their letter. “But that claim cannot be made in the face of the unstudied and ‘novel’ use of puberty blockers to treat gender dysphoria.”

“We expect you will address this matter with the same seriousness that we are, and we look forward to receiving your response soon,” the group wrote.

The Academy represents 67,000 pediatricians across the country.

Puberty blockers can affect bone growth and density and cause sexual dysfunction, voice damage, and infertility, among other issues. Cross-sex hormones, often given to children after they take puberty blockers, which can be estrogen or testosterone can cause infertility, deadly blood clots, heart attacks, increased cancer risks of the breasts and ovaries, liver dysfunction, worsening psychological illness, and other serious conditions.

In Europe, several countries including England, Finland, and Sweden have pumped the brakes on transgender medical interventions for children, including both puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

The attorneys general cites the Cass review, the landmark report commissioned by England’s National Health Service, which recommended halting the prescription of puberty blockers due to their effects on brain development and bone health.

In April, the Tavistock clinic, England’s only youth gender identity clinic, officially closed its doors after being dogged by controversy for years.

The clinic, the biggest in the world, referred thousands of children for puberty blockers. In its last years, Tavistock began to see an increasing flood of young girls with gender-related distress asking for drugs despite having other mental issues like depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and histories of abuse.

In May, a British high court upheld Britain’s ban on puberty blockers.

At least 25 U.S. states have passed restrictions on transgender surgeries and hormone treatments for minors.

The Cass review also warned that children who are referred to gender services come with high rates of abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse and parental substance abuse.