Urgent Request to the US Surgeon General: Protect Young People from Irreversible Medical Harm

Several children in my daughter's small middle school identify as transgender and two have already been on hormones for over 2 years, which will result in permanent sterilization. I have tried to find a therapist for my daughter to help her cope with feelings of sex dysphoria; however due to laws in place in my state, there are no therapists available who will not immediately push her towards gender transition. She was seen one time by a counselor locally for suicidal ideation, and was assessed to be a "transgender male" after a single visit of less than an hour. It is inappropriate to start children on powerful medications with life-altering effects on the basis of their own feelings alone. There is no diagnostic test to show which kids might benefit from such treatment and which will be harmed. No other treatment with such catastrophic potential side effects are given to children as a first line treatment without any controlled studies showing a benefit. Parents rely on doctors to give them reliable information and to promote treatments which are safe and effective, not push experimental treatments based on political ideology.

What happened to "First do no harm?" Why is the significantly high rate of transition-regret not taken into account? These teens are vulnerable and need someone with common sense preventing them from rushing into life-altering procedures and hormones

There is no reliable diagnostic criteria, no evidence-based treatment that demonstrate long-term improvement, and all evidence counter to affirmation surgery is silenced as bigotry rather than rationally investigated and evaluated. Stop this madness.

Our teen daughter was struggling with chronic anxiety, depression, and OCD. She suddenly became fixated on transitioning to a male identity after befriending other trans teens on social media. She quit seeing her regular therapist. Then a medical doctor prescribed her testosterone after just one visit and a note from a different therapist who had only seen our daughter one time as well. This has only exacerbated her mood and behavioral problems. She still has depression, anxiety, and OCD just like before. The physical side effects are also causing her difficulties. And there is no controlled scientific study showing the harms or benefits of such hormones. Yet no therapist, psychologist, or doctor will spend time investigating her overall mental or physical health because these medical professionals are no longer permitted to do so and instead must merely "affirm" the alternate gender identity. I urge the Surgeon General and the medical community at large to seriously investigate what is happening to kids, teens, and young adults.

Teens transitioning with no previous dysphoria is harmful and against the “do no harm” oath. Give these poor kids time to grow and mature. Don’t fall for this as being a human rights issue. These are vulnerable children making lifelong medical decisions

As a licensed therapist I find many adult client struggle to know who they are. Children as we know are often swayed by adults and their ideologies, in fact most children are. Allowing children to make adult decisions that affect them the rest of their lives seems highly irresponsible and unethical. They will have plenty of time to do this kind of decision when they’re adults.

Many young adults do not know who they are yet. Its easy for adults to manipulate children or indoctrinate them into their own agendas. It would be a crime against children to let them make be subject to an adult decision that stays with them in adult hood when they are still children

I support gender affirmation after appropriate psychiatric evaluation, as is done with adults.

went to a gender clinic which affirmed and offered to prescribe my 13 year old daughter Testosterone – on that same day! In a private consult myself with this MD, who was NOT an ENDOCRINOLOGIST, disclosed to me "their clinic is having a harder time distinguishing between 'real' and 'social influenced' trans kids". I also asked her “with no long term studies you're are giving young females an adult male hormone, how do you sleep with yourself at night”? Her reply, “it makes them SO HAPPY”

This has become such a political issue and trans activists are absolutely skewing the facts and shutting down conversation from anyone who questions their logic. I’m not a hater nor am I transphobic. As a parent, I understand what a vulnerable time the teenage years are, how brain development isn’t even complete until the mid twenties, and how dangerous it is to make decisions like hormone therapy at such a vulnerable young age. Teens aren’t truly cognizant of the long term impact of some of their choices as their brains don’t work that way yet. Our youth are vulnerable and need to be protected. I’m sad to think how we will look back at this time in our history. I think today’s teenagers in 20 or so years will be angry that those adults who knew better didn’t fight harder to protect them.

They are children for god's sake! How can they know,want or decided what they want ? They should be allowed to reach late puberty at the very least before even ANY tests and investigations are done. Ridiculous.

Please listen to these parents. They love their children and they need your help. Our country's children need your help. Our entire society needs your help to put an end to this nightmare. We need someone to stand up and put a stop to this ever growing and outrageous medical malpractice. The only reason there is not a massive outcry about children, teens and young adults being treated this way is because well funded activists have deliberately confused the issues and used misleading language and shifting definitions, so that most people have little idea what is going on, and the rest are afraid of being called bigots. Well it is not bigotry to try to protect vulnerable young people from lifelong physical harm and mental anguish. Please help.

this needs to be stopped now

As a mother and a RN I worry for these children who are receiving hormonal and surgical treatments that have not been adequately studied. More harm than good is being done here.

Stop this dangerous experiment.

How about letting kids be kids and stop playing god? This is now part of Planned Unparenthood new revenue stream from their friends in Congress.

As a child I suffered from gender dysphoria. I am so thankful that my school psychologist didn't recommend that I transition. I am so thankful that I got help and learned to love my body instead of causing it to become dysfunctional with hormones and surgery. Please stop these damaging and harmful practices. https://youtu.be/w2aIeWOkcjo

Please stop damaging these kids and give them the mental help they need.

This is the most heart wrenching experience we as parents have gone through. Our son started college in the fall of last year and four months later began hormone therapy. The Gender Clinic he went to prescribed hormones immediately without having him undergo a psychological evaluation. Prior to college our son was a normal young man with many interests and even had several girlfriends in high school. He is now angry, depressed, anxious and looks extremely frail. This madness has to STOP!!! I plead with you to take this matter seriously and end horror!

It's our moral duty to stop this nightmare.