HHS Advises Treatment Options for Minors Experiencing Gender Dysphoria

May 1, 2025 TruthUSA

The government’s latest report indicates that procedures and medications “carry risk of significant harms,” including infertility.

Children who identify as a different gender should receive therapy for gender dysphoria (GD), according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on May 1.

“Psychotherapy provides a non-invasive alternative to endocrine and surgical interventions for treating pediatric gender dysphoria. Systematic reviews have shown no evidence of adverse effects associated with psychotherapy in this context,” stated a 409-page report from HHS noted.

The report emphasized that “psychotherapy for adolescents with GD is a suitable intervention, aimed at helping patients gain self-understanding, cope with emotional vulnerability, and develop practical strategies for managing distress.”

Additionally, the report mentioned that procedures and medications used in transgender treatments and surgeries “pose risks of significant harms,” including infertility, decreased bone density, and heart disease.

Some medical procedures include breast removal, while medications encompass cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers.

“The evidence supporting the benefits of pediatric medical transition is highly uncertain, whereas the risks of harm are more apparent. Healthcare providers should refrain from offering medical interventions that entail unnecessary and disproportionate risks of harm, even if such procedures are favored or requested by patients,” the report asserted. “Not doing so increases the potential for iatrogenic harm and reduces medicine to a consumeristic approach, endangering the integrity of the profession and undermining trust in medical authority.”

HHS stated that the report aims to provide accurate and up-to-date information on treating gender dysphoria in children. It was commissioned following President Donald Trump’s order in January that declared that U.S. policy would not “fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another.”

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, stated, “Our responsibility is to safeguard our nation’s children—not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” adding, “we must adhere to the gold standard of science, not the agendas of activists.”

The report acknowledged that several U.S. medical organizations back the idea of children receiving cross-sex hormones and other forms of “gender-affirming care,” and that the World Professional Association for Transgender Health standards, adopted by various U.S. facilities, advocate for interventions as early as age 8 and procedures before reaching adulthood.

Conversely, several countries have restricted or banned such medications and procedures, including the United Kingdom, due to concerns about their effects. Furthermore, twenty-seven U.S. states have enacted laws limiting access to these medications for youth experiencing gender dysphoria, according to KFF.

During the Biden administration, officials consistently encouraged youth access to cross-sex hormones and medical procedures, notably Dr. Rachel Levine, who identifies as transgender and served as the assistant secretary for health at HHS.

HHS mentioned that contributors to the report comprised medical professionals, medical ethicists, and methodologists. Officials asserted that contributors were selected for their commitment to scientific principles and their diverse political viewpoints.

“Chapters of this review underwent peer review prior to publication, and a post-publication peer review will commence soon, involving stakeholders with various perspectives,” HHS commented. “The identities of the contributors will not be disclosed initially to preserve the integrity of this process.”

The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization focusing on suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth, stated in a Facebook post that the report “downplays the validity of transgender health care.”

“Our research indicates that trans and nonbinary youth who have the opportunity to live as their authentic selves through medical care are significantly less likely to attempt suicide,” it remarked.

Dr. Michael Artigues, president of the American College of Pediatricians, told The Epoch Times in an emailed comment that the report “validates our warnings since 2011—transgender interventions on minors, such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries, result in irreversible harm.”

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