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GOP lawmakers: DoD docs advocating for chemical castration of trans minors
The GOP representatives on the newly created Family Caucus and Republican lawmakers have written a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin accusing Pentagon doctors of advocating for “chemical castration” of military-connected transgender minors.
The letter stated that the representatives were “shocked to read a report that the Department of Defense medical providers are advocating for ‘puberty suppression and affirming hormones,’ which amounts to chemical castration, for children as young as seven years old.” The authors of the letter said that if the Department of Defense advocates for the chemical castration of 7-year-old children, it would lose its moral standing in the world. The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">GOP lawmakers accuse Pentagon doctors of advocating 'chemical castration' of military-connected trans minors <a href="https://t.co/FJQyRQivLz">https://t.co/FJQyRQivLz</a></p>— Fox News (@FoxNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1640919233717579776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 29, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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The letter follows another from Sen. Marco Rubio, who said that there is almost no safety data associated with the use of these so-called treatments in minors.
The accusations have come amid a contentious debate over the treatment of transgender individuals within the military and were made during a House Armed Services Committee hearing, where several GOP lawmakers expressed concern over the use of hormone therapy for transgender minors stating that it was was harmful and unnecessary.
Fox News Digital reported that the only pathway for children of military members who present with gender dysphoria symptoms is to immediately move towards “gender-affirming health care, such as puberty suppression and affirming hormones.” The doctors who wrote the report said that on the basis of “human rights,” “youths… have an inherent ability and right to consent to gender-affirming therapy.” They claimed that even 7-year-olds can make their own medical decisions. The authors demanded that the military train all of its providers on their ideas on gender medical interventions for minors.
The accusations come at a time when the military’s policies towards transgender individuals are being closely scrutinized. In 2019, the Trump administration implemented a policy banning transgender individuals from serving in the military, a move that was met with widespread criticism from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups. The policy was later reversed by President Biden, who signed an executive order in January of 2021 allowing transgender individuals to serve openly in the military. However, the issue of transgender healthcare within the military has remained a contentious issue, with many Republican lawmakers expressing opposition to the use of taxpayer dollars to fund hormone therapy and other treatments.
The Department of Defense responded by saying that it does not support rushing anyone into taking drugs and that medical decisions are made in consultation between a minor and their guardians. The DoD providers blasted clinicians who pause before changing a minor’s gender to see if they would grow out of the dysphoria, calling it “unethical.” The health providers demanded the DoD publicly declare that it supported a “gender-affirmative position” and convince military members about the “evidence-based medical care” of changing a minor’s gender. The DoD should provide legal services to help skirt recent laws banning “gender-affirming care” for minors.
It remains to be seen how lawmakers and advocates will respond to the accusations made by GOP lawmakers.
