Commentary

Do No Harm Expert Testifies at Congress

When it comes to transgender treatments for children and adolescents, it’s essential to separate fact from fiction. That’s what Do No Harm Senior Fellow Dr. Miriam Grossman did in testimony at Congress on June 14th. A practicing child psychiatrist, she outlined the truth that transgender activists tend to ignore, with the goal of guiding policy in the direction of protecting children.

Dr. Grossman testified before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health. She made clear from the start that this debate desperately needs an infusion of reality, not more radical activism:

“I’m here today to provide you with facts you haven’t heard. You haven’t heard them because when it comes to youth gender dysphoria (also called ‘transgenderism’), the public and most importantly parents, are, I am sad to say, consistently fed misinformation.”

Dr. Grossman then discussed 7 key truths grounded in science and evidence, directly contradicting the misinformation spread by activists:

  1. Suicide of youth with gender dysphoria is extremely rare. 
  2. Gender dysphoria is a psychiatric condition. There is no established evidence of a biological cause. Most cases resolve on their own, by young adulthood. 
  3. There is no evidence that puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender surgeries are lifesaving or medically necessary. 
  4. The U.S. is increasingly an outlier in the treatment of youth with gender dysphoria.
  5. Health authorities in the UK, Finland, Sweden and Norway now recommend exploratory psychotherapy as the first line of treatment and have severely restricted hormonal interventions, reserving them for exceptional cases. 
  6. Those countries have done systemic reviews and concluded that long term benefit from medical interventions has not been established, while the risk of harm is significant. 
  7. In US hospitals, young teens’ natural puberties are prevented. Girls as young as twelve are having mastectomies. Minors are also having genital surgeries. We have no long-term evidence of benefit of these drastic interventions in the current population.

Dr. Grossman’s full testimony is available here. Her insights will hopefully guide Congress as it considers ways to protect young Americans. One thing is certain: The status quo, dominated by transgender activists, is actively endangering more children and adolescents by the day.

In Dr. Grossman’s testimony, she references her new book Lost In Trans Nation: A Child Psychiatrist’s Guide Out of the Madness. To learn more or pre-order on Amazon, click here.