In 2018, the American Academy of Pediatrics took a firm stance in supporting that youth who are transgender and gender diverse "have access to comprehensive, gender-affirming, and developmentally appropriate health care." Now, nearly five years later, the medical group, which represents 67,000 US physicians, is re-upping that position, though it's also calling for a "systematic review" of research on how individuals who receive such treatment fare—an in-depth process deemed "the gold standard for evaluating medical research," per the New York Times.
The paper reports that all 16 members of the AAP's board voted Thursday to reaffirm the 2018 guidelines. "The board has confidence that the existing evidence is such that the current policy is appropriate," says AAP CEO Mark Del Monte. "At the same time, the board recognized that additional detail would be helpful here." The Wall Street Journal notes that while it's not clear what the review will encompass, it's "expected to include an evaluation of medical interventions such as puberty blockers and hormones." The AAP's statement comes against a backdrop of GOP-driven bans against gender-affirming care, which can also include therapy and, in rare cases involving youth, surgery.
Critics argue that children and teens aren't able to consent to such treatments, which they call experimental. The AP notes that at least 21 states now have laws in place to restrict or ban gender-affirming medical care for minors who are transgender, although "most of those states face lawsuits," and some judges have even temporarily blocked the bans or stricken them down entirely, deeming them unconstitutional. Early evidence has indicated that gender-affirming care can be beneficial to trans teens who suffer from anxiety and depression, and the AAP says such roadblocks to gender-affirming care amount to a "dangerous intrusion" by the government "into complex medical decisions between doctors and families," per the Times.
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The American Medical Association and other major medical groups have also decried the bans against care. However, in Europe, five nations, including the UK and Sweden, have urged more caution on using puberty blockers and other medical treatments after their own systematic evidence reviews, the Journal notes. Del Monte says that after its research review, which will be carried out by an external organization, is complete, the AAP will likely update its recommendations on this kind of care, as well as issue more clinical guidance for doctors in the field, per the Times. (More American Academy of Pediatrics stories.)
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