(The Daily Signal) — Prominent LGBTQ organizations that push so-called gender-affirming care for children have yet to weigh in on the news this week that England is banning puberty blockers as treatment for children experiencing gender dysphoria.
England’s National Health Service declared that there is not enough evidence of “safety and clinical effectiveness” for children and young people to take puberty blockers to treat gender dysphoria.
“Puberty blockers (gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues) are not available to children and young people for gender incongruence or gender dysphoria because there is not enough evidence of safety and clinical effectiveness,” the NHS notes on its site.
The announcement is a major development in the battle over gender ideology and its effects on children. Proponents of protecting children from irreversible surgeries have praised England’s decision and urged the United States to follow England’s example.
Curiously enough, some of the top organizations that push “gender-affirming care” — the leftist euphemism used to describe transgender surgeries, hormones, and puberty blockers — have not said anything at all.
The American Civil Liberties Union is one of the most vocal pro-transgender organizations in the country. The ACLU has repeatedly sued over state laws protecting young people from irreversible transgender sex-change attempts.
BREAKING: We're suing Texas over their ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
— ACLU (@ACLU) July 13, 2023
“We’ll never stop fighting for trans youth and their families to get the medical care they need,” the ACLU promised in one September tweet, referencing Tennessee’s laws protecting children. Like many other liberal and left-wing organizations, the ACLU refers to transgender surgeries, hormones, and puberty blockers as “gender-affirming care.”
The ACLU did not respond to requests for comment from The Daily Signal. The organization does not appear to have weighed in on the matter through news releases or social media.
GLAAD, formerly known as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, has similarly poured resources and time into promoting gender transitions and “gender-affirming care” for young people and children.
In January, the group released a fact sheet on what it called “evidence-based health care” for people who identify as transgender, including youth.
“Transition-related health care for transgender people and youth is supported by every major medical association and leading health authority,” GLAAD claimed. “Efforts to ban and criminalize this care are not based in medical or scientific expertise, and frequently spread misinformation about what the care is.”
Every major medical association supports gender-affirming care for trans youth. Gender-affirming care is safe and lifesaving. Read more from the medical experts.https://t.co/dG8lRKs7l8
— GLAAD (@glaad) February 1, 2023
GLAAD has gone so far as to issue a mandate that reporters “have an obligation” to include statements from health organizations that support allowing youth to access transgender surgeries, hormones, and puberty blockers, which GLAAD calls “safe and lifesaving.”
In fact, GLAAD even launched an entire campaign against The New York Times for covering the much-suppressed stories of detransitioners. GLAAD called the Times’ coverage “irresponsible” and “biased,” claiming it was dangerous for youth who identify as LGBTQ.
We’ve had enough. We’ve joined over 100 organizations and leaders to demand that @nytimes stop printing inaccurate and harmful misinformation about transgender people and issues. Today we are outside of the Times building to send a clear message. https://t.co/IkQocpsG5q pic.twitter.com/bBVnFoqOjD
— GLAAD (@glaad) February 15, 2023
GLAAD also did not respond to requests for comment from The Daily Signal for this story. As with the ACLU, the organization does not appear to have weighed in on the matter through news releases or social media.
News of the NHS decision broke on Tuesday, Detrans Awareness Day, a day on which detransitioners share their stories of transition regret, warning others to avoid falling into the medical and therapeutic manipulations they experienced. Detransitioners are individuals who tried to transition to the other gender before ultimately realizing that that’s impossible.
“I am in full support of what the United Kingdom is doing now,” detransitioner Abel Garcia told The Daily Signal on Wednesday. “I agree that we need to keep children safe, and I’m glad to hear that children in the United Kingdom are able to live healthy lives, at least through the stages of human puberty — which is a human right.”
Detransitioner Prisha Mosley similarly praised the news.
“It’s an incredible step in the right direction,” she told The Daily Signal. “It shows that politicians have finally been listening to what experts and detransitioners have been saying for years.”
Mary Margaret Olohan
Mary Margaret Olohan is a reporter for The Daily Signal.
