By Ginika Igboke
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other federal officials announced new measures on Dec. 18 aimed at reducing breast removal surgeries and other procedures they described as “sex-rejecting” treatments for children.
Kennedy signed a declaration stating that such procedures are neither safe nor effective for minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria, which he described as confusion over gender identity. The declaration asserts that these interventions fail to meet professionally recognized standards of care and that medical entities performing them are not in compliance with those standards.
“This declaration is a clear directive to providers to follow the science, and the overwhelming body of evidence these procedures hurt, not help, children,” Kennedy said at a press conference in Washington.
Kennedy cited a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report that reviewed treatments for gender dysphoria and found that many carry significant risks, including infertility and loss of bone density. The report recommended psychotherapy as an alternative approach.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) also issued two new rules. One prohibits hospitals that participate in Medicare and Medicaid from performing the procedures, while the other bars the use of federal funds to pay for them. Dr. Mehmet Oz, an HHS administrator, said at the briefing that 53 percent of children are covered by federal insurance programs.
“We’re not going to let taxpayer money go to hurt these children,” Oz said.
Oz also noted that institutions can generate substantial revenue from the procedures, citing a 2022 study that estimated the cost of a vaginoplasty at about $60,000 and a comparable procedure to construct a penis at approximately $148,540.
In addition, HHS said it is moving to reverse efforts by the previous administration to classify gender dysphoria as a disability under federal law. The department plans to issue a proposed rule clarifying that policies limiting these procedures do not violate federal non-discrimination requirements tied to funding.
Federal officials said treatments currently used for children with gender dysphoria include puberty-blocking drugs and cross-sex hormones. In a letter sent this week, Dr. Brian Christine, an HHS official, told families and providers that current evidence does not support the safety or effectiveness of those treatments for children.
The Food and Drug Administration, another HHS division, has also sent warning letters to 12 manufacturers of chest binders—garments used to flatten the breasts of females who identify as another gender. The FDA said marketing chest binders to children as a treatment for gender dysphoria violates regulatory standards and warned that continued noncompliance could lead to enforcement actions.
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, chairman of the group Do No Harm, welcomed the new measures, calling the Medicare and Medicaid restrictions “common sense, evidence-based, and morally imperative.”
“This is just the beginning, but it marks a major step toward delivering a crippling blow to the child transgender industry,” he said.
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