Lawsuit Seeks Data Behind Taxpayer-Funded Study That Undercuts Support For Puberty Blockers

Today, the American Accountability Foundation (AAF) filed a lawsuit seeking data from a taxpayer-funded study on the efficacy of puberty blockers to treat children with gender dysphoria.

The study was funded by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant and helmed by Dr. Johanna OIson-Kennedy, who formerly led the pediatric gender clinic at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (which until recently was a prolific provider of child sex change interventions).

However, according to a New York Times report, Dr. Olson-Kennedy had initially refused to publish the results of the study as it found that “puberty blockers did not lead to mental health improvements” in children.

The Times reported that Dr. Olson-Kennedy’s decision was due to fears that the results could undermine the argument for “gender-affirming care.” 

That same month, AAF submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the NIH for the study’s underlying data, but received a response that was incomplete and rife with redactions. 

“Though the NIH sent a response and produced some records in November 2024, NIH’s production appeared incomplete, as it didn’t include Dr. Olson-Kennedy’s data and contained redactions throughout,” the suit states. “NIH’s response also appeared incomplete and insufficient because it didn’t justify any of the redactions, nor did it explain how the search was conducted to find responsive records pertaining to the data set.”

Subsequent efforts to obtain the data through the FOIA process were similarly stymied. 

As a result, AAF filed its lawsuit against the NIH and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), alleging that the bureaucrats are improperly withholding the data.

“For over a year, HHS has been hiding a bombshell study that confirms what we’ve known all along: transgender therapy is a failure,” American Accountability Foundation President Tom Jones told The Daily Wire. “The lead researcher herself admitted that the findings challenge the effectiveness of these drugs. HHS bureaucrats are playing woke political games, ignoring science and common sense.”

The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief in the form of a court order requiring the defendants to produce the data in question.

A preprint of the study was finally released earlier this year, finding that children’s depression symptoms and emotional health “did not change significantly over 24 months” of being on puberty blockers.

Do No Harm applauds AAF for fighting to expose this important data and pull back the curtain on the harms of sex-rejecting interventions. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and Do No Harm supports this effort for transparency.