House Republicans are investigating whether the Harris-Biden administration “inappropriately” pressured an international group of medical experts to do away with age-limit guidelines for transgender procedures – including gender-changing surgery for minors.
“The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating allegations of political interference by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in third-party medical organization recommendations,” Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), the chairwoman of the committee’s healthcare and financial services panel, informed HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra on Tuesday.
“We are concerned that HHS officials, acting in their official capacity, inappropriately applied pressure for changes to international pediatric medical standards,” the congresswoman wrote in a letter to Becerra.
McClain’s letter is in reference to a June report in the New York Times alleging that Adm. Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, urged the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) to remove age limit recommendations for transgender surgical procedures over concerns that it could limit access to the operations in the US.
Prior to Levine’s pressure campaign – demonstrated in email excerpts between WPATH members included in an Alabama court filing – the international medical group’s guidance recommended age minimums of 14 for hormone treatment, 15 for mastectomies, 16 for breast augmentation and 17 for genital surgeries.
However, WPATH’s eighth edition of its standards of care, released in September 2022, had no age minimums for transgender procedures, according to the New York Times.
“We sent the document to Admiral Levine … She like[s] the SOC-8 very much but she was very concerned that having ages (mainly for surgery) will affect access to health care for trans youth and maybe adults too,” a WPATH member wrote in one internal email released by psychologist Dr. James Cantor as part of litigation challenging an Alabama law outlawing certain gender transition-related treatments and procedures.
“Apparently the situation in the USA is terrible and [Levine] and the Biden administration worried that having ages in the document will make matters worse,” the health group member continued.
“She asked us to remove them,” the email continued, referring to Levine who identifies as a transgender woman.
In another excerpt, a WPATH member recounts a conversation Levine’s chief of staff, Sarah Boateng, and notes that “She wonders if the specific ages can be taken out” on the proposed guidelines.
“[W]e heard your [Levine’s] comments regarding the minimal age criteria for transgender healthcare adolescents; the potential negative outcome of these minimal ages as recommendations in the US …. Consequently, we have changes to the SOC 8 in this respect,” another email from a WPATH member, apparently sent to Levine, stated.
McClain requested all documents and communications between Levine and her staff with WPATH and a number of other medical groups related to transgender medical procedures as part of her panel’s investigation.
“The Biden Administration’s advocacy for expanding the pool of vulnerable children subjected to life-altering procedures they may later regret is reprehensible,” McClain argued. “Emails indicating that this advocacy was done for political advantage – possibly to satisfy extremist elements of its base – is even more outrageous.”
A White House spokesperson told The Post in June that the Harris-Biden administration “does not support surgery for minors,” when asked about the WPATH emails.
McClain demanded that HHS comply with her documents request by Sept. 10.
