‘This Fight Is Not Over’: Major Medical Org Rejects Transgender Surgeries For Kids

A major medical association said Tuesday that it does not support transgender surgeries on those under the age of 19, drawing praise from the Trump administration.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) released a position statement saying that the available evidence did not support genital procedures or removing the breasts of young girls who identify as boys. The society also said there was “insufficient” support for placing kids on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

“In light of recent publications reporting very low/low certainty of evidence regarding mental health outcomes, along with emerging concerns about potential long-term harms and the irreversible nature of surgical interventions in a developmentally vulnerable population, ASPS concludes there is insufficient evidence demonstrating a favorable risk-benefit ratio for the pathway of gender-related endocrine and surgical interventions in children and adolescents,” the society said in its position statement. “ASPS recommends that surgeons delay gender-related breast/chest, genital, and facial surgery until a patient is at least 19 years old.”

The position statement, in part, cited a review from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which found there was no support for transgender procedures on minors.

“These reviews have not resolved earlier uncertainties regarding treatment benefit; in some areas they have contributed to a clearer understanding of potential harms, while also highlighting limitations of the available evidence, including gaps in documenting long-term physical, psychological, and psychosocial outcomes,” the position statement said.

The Trump administration has fought hard to shield kids from transgender procedures and has looked to cut off all government funding for hospitals that perform the procedures.

“We commend the American Society of Plastic Surgeons for standing up to the overmedicalization lobby and defending sound science,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said. “By taking this stand, they are helping protect future generations of American children from irreversible harm.”

Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, the chair of Do No Harm, praised the society for its statement, saying that it was the first major medical society to disavow the procedures for kids.

“High praise to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons for taking an important step toward ending the unscientific and harmful practice of sex-rejecting procedures on minors,” he said. “The ASPS’s thoughtful, scientific, and well-reasoned statement today is a model for other medical organizations—namely the Endocrine Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and others—to follow and disavow their previous support for experimental and unscientific interventions. This fight is not over, and we will continue to protect American children by exposing any organization that spreads gender lies.”

Over two dozen states have passed laws protecting kids from transgender surgeries and life-altering cross-sex hormones. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons said it believes that “the regulation of medical care is best achieved through professional self-regulation, rather than criminal law or punitive legislative approaches.”