The DOE announced in a press release that previous administrations had improperly interpreted the Education Amendment of Title IX to police discrimination on “gender identity.”
School districts were using Title IX to cite administrators and teachers for such things as not using preferred pronouns.
However, Title IX, the landmark women’s rights legislation of 1972, bans discrimination based on sex, not gender identity, making such alleged violations “unnecessary and unlawful burdens.” Therefore, the Trump administration is removing Title IX investigations based on what the Left calls misgendering, and it will no longer be a factor in resolution agreements to resolve noncompliance with federal civil rights law.
This decision closely follows the publication of a registered study by Acta Paediatrica on the psychiatric morbidity of adolescents and young adults who experienced Gender Dysphoria (GD) and underwent medical Gender Reassignment (GR). The study was conducted in Finland and looked at individuals under the age of 23 from 1996-2019.
Wesley J. Smith is the chair and senior fellow at Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. He spoke with Tony Perkins on “Washington Watch” about the results of the study.
“They studied more than 2000 young people, adolescents and young adults with gender confusion that had sought what they call gender reassignment,” states Smith.
These patients were seeking either puberty blockers or surgeries to align themselves with their “gender identity,” and as Smith explains, these interventions were supposed to help better an individual’s mental health.
“But what they found — and I'll read it from the study itself rather than summarize it — much of it says, quote, ‘considerable increases in need for psychiatric treatment were seen among those adolescents who had undergone medical gender reassignment,’” reads Smith.
This was particularly noticeable in males trying to transition to female. However, the study also states under clinical implications that “regardless of gender, adolescents suffering from GD present with excessive psychiatric morbidity. Subsequent to medical GR, psychiatric treatment needs appear to increase.”
Meanwhile, those with GD who did not partake in GR saw minor psychological changes.
“In other words, the young people who received these interventions got worse, not better,” says Smith. “They also had a control group that did not receive the interventions, and the control group did much better.”
Medical GR appeared to be linked with deteriorating mental health with some individuals, prompting the need for patients to be informed of the effects before starting treatment. The study further admitted that, for some adolescents, GD is secondary issue on top of other mental health challenges after seeing an increase of severe psychiatric morbidity after contacting gender identity services.
Smith makes note of the different threats given to parents in the U.S. if they didn’t allow their child to transition. One was that particular states could take away custody of their child, or that their children would commit suicide if they didn’t undergo GR.
For example, Chloe Cole, a detransitioner, informs that her parents were told by doctors that she would kill herself if she didn’t transition. Cole, instead, says she never had such thoughts.
“Those studies, which this study also dealt with, were based on really flimsy evidence. And starting three, four or five years ago, you began to see a lot of countries pulling back on puberty blockers and surgeries — U.K., Finland, Sweden, Norway and others — because the evidence wasn't there,” Smith states.
He says there are also similar reports to the Finnish study that show this shouldn’t be the standard of medical care.
U.S. medical groups hold on tight
What's really upsetting, Smith says, is American medical establishments are holding onto gender ideology with a tight fist, and that needs to change. He emphasizes how the Biden administration was based on ideology, not science.
“I don't mean to get partisan, but you had Rachel Levine, who is one of the big HHS (Department of Health and Human services) people, who was a transgender person who pressured a very ideological medical group called WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health) to do away with all age limits on these interventions,” he said.
Critics of GR point out how academic institutions are hesitant, almost fearful, to study the issue and apply real science.
“There is a lot of pressure and peer pressure in these issues. But at least now no one can say with a straight face, this is the medical standard of care because it sure isn't right,” Smith says.
