As an OB-GYN, I delivered a baby a day for more than 25 years. I never would have imagined I would have to fight harder to save children as a U.S. senator in the halls of Congress than I did in the delivery room.
Democratic leaders, including their presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, push for transgender surgeries and hormone treatments for minors. As a doctor, I always weigh the risks and benefits. These irreversible surgeries are complex, often requiring multiple operations and often resulting in long-term pain. Administering testosterone to young girls often results in permanent, irreversible changes, such as a deepened voice, increased body hair, shortened bone growth, and suppressed fertility, while also posing cardiovascular and liver risks. Testosterone therapy in biological women and estrogen therapy in biological men are linked to fertility loss, cognitive decline, and severe developmental problems.
Puberty blockers carry significant risks and should never be given without parental consent. For instance, they’ve been shown to significantly reduce bone density, leaving children more vulnerable to fractures and long-term skeletal problems.
Additionally, there is emerging evidence that prolonged blocking of puberty could impair IQ and other critical neuropsychological functions, further highlighting the urgency and importance of ending these types of irreversible surgeries on our children.
However, these well-documented health risks have not stopped the radicalized “gender-affirming care” movement from taking advantage of vulnerable children. According to Dan Metzger, an endocrinologist and member of the pro-transgender care organization World Professional Association for Transgender Health, “We’re often explaining these sorts of things to people who haven’t even had biology in high school yet.”
Metzger’s words echo what many health professionals, such as myself, understand far too well: children lack the developmental capacity to comprehend the full consequences of puberty blockers and the hormone drugs they are being told to take, let alone the long-term consequences of transgender surgeries. Yet, “doctors” such as Metzger and others recommend these drugs and surgeries anyway. That’s malpractice and goes against the oath we swore as medical doctors: above all, do no harm.
While this dangerous new “en-vogue” phenomenon is pushed on children by the Democratic Party, parents are confused and grappling with the complexity of these procedures, and they are rightfully concerned about school systems encouraging sex changes without parental consent. As one therapist recounts, many parents leave medical consultations confused and unable to explain the interventions their child is undergoing. This alarming disconnect between medical professionals, children, and parents is ethically wrong and signals dark days ahead if we do not change course.
Knowing all of the facts, risks, and long-term dangers to our children, I truly cannot believe that these scientific experiments on children have become a pillar and priority of the Democratic Party. The rush to normalize these procedures for minors by the radical Left, despite these recognized risks, is disheartening.
So, as voters head to the polls, they should remember the Democratic Party’s position on this issue. Kamala Harris in particular has personally supported taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries for convicted criminals and illegal immigrants. She has also backed policies that punish schools by taking away school lunches that don’t allow boys to compete in girls’ sports and removed Christian organizations from adoption programs if they don’t embrace their transgender policies.
At the Biden-Harris administration’s direction, Transgender Visibility Day was recognized on Easter. This administration has turned federal agencies into acting arms of the Democrat Party that no longer rely on science, biology, or common sense but instead are consumed by pushing a radical transgender agenda.
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This is not a question of political ideology, but of protecting children from irreversible physical and emotional harm and doing the right thing. Our children deserve better than to be the subjects of dangerous experimentation. The concept of experimenting on children with unsafe medical practices should be unequivocally off-limits by both political parties.
That is why, in November, we must turn the page from the far-Left Biden-Harris administration. We must protect our children and fight back against the woke agenda that is threatening our children’s safety. We must elect a leader who ensures parents have a seat at the table and are involved in the decisions happening in our schools. Former President Donald Trump has pledged to ban boys from competing in girls sports, and, as a party, Republicans are fighting to protect our children, ensuring safe and fair competition, safeguarding their privacy, and shielding them from life-altering decisions they may regret.