By Beth Ann Rosica
Earlier this month, an independent review of gender identity services for children and young people — known as the Cass Review after its lead author, Hilary Cass — was published in Britain. The review is groundbreaking and may revolutionize the treatment for children and adolescents. It has already changed policies and practices in multiple European countries.
The 350-page report demonstrates a scholarly research methodology and also a compassionate approach for those seeking treatment and support. The review is accessible to not only clinicians and physicians, but also to lay people. The author went to great lengths to weave in the “lived experiences” of young people who are often desperately seeking medical treatment.
Why It Matters. “Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is the largest local provider of pediatric services to children. Their Gender and Sexuality Development Clinic ‘offers psychosocial and medical support for gender variant, gender expansive, and transgender children and youth up to age 21 and their families.’
"I requested comments four separate times from CHOP and the clinic co-founders regarding their thoughts about the review, the clinic’s annual budget, the number of gender reassignment surgeries performed, and the percentage of patients prescribed puberty blockers or hormones. None of the requests were returned with the exception of an out-of-office automatic response from Dr. Dowshen.”
Quotable. “The bottom line is that we simply do not have enough information nor research to support the current practice of prescribing puberty blockers or hormones to children. Absent a robust clinical trial, local pediatric facilities should discontinue this practice and Medicaid should stop paying for it.
Standing up for children and following science even when it is unpopular should not be political. Both sides of the debate have weaponized this vulnerable population to advance their own agendas. It is now time to simply do what is right and follow the recommendations in the Cass Review to ensure the best possible outcomes for these young people.”
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