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The sweeping policy shift announced Tuesday to end Medicaid funding for youth sex-change treatments is being hailed by at least one veteran pediatrician, who argued that the procedures were never “compassionate” approaches for children facing gender dysphoria.
In an interview with Digital, Dr. Quentin Van Meter, the immediate past president of the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds), reflected on the new restrictions issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
“I’m really congratulating HHS and CMS for… taking the step to block the medical and surgical interventions or funding for those in those healthcare systems… primarily because it’s not an appropriate kind of intervention,” Van Meter said.
Despite claims that children will be left to suffer under the policy change, Van Meter, a pediatric endocrinologist, asserted that government intervention is not meant to strip them of the care they need, arguing instead for ongoing mental health treatment to address the underlying issues driving their distress.
MEDICAID ENDS FUNDING FOR CHILD SEX-CHANGE PROCEDURES AS TRUMP ADMIN SLAMS ‘EXPERIMENTAL’ TREATMENTS
Dr. Quentin Van Meter has commended the Trump administration’s handling of transgender youth policies by blocking funding for medical and surgical sex changes. ( Digital; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images, File)
“This is not denial of care. This is not lack of compassion. This is not denial that these patients exist, as we are told that we are doing this,” he added. “This is actually very compassionate, very appropriate, and has been scientifically proven to be of benefit to these children.”
Van Meter, who has 42 years of experience in the field dating back to his fellowship at Johns Hopkins in the late 1970s, further argued that “puberty is not a disease” and that interventions intended to alter its course under sex-change procedures can instead exacerbate the mental health problems children are facing.
Tuesday’s policy shift also comes against the backdrop of what Van Meter described as a collapsing medical framework behind the youth transgender movement, citing mounting evidence and a series of disturbing findings.
This includes a federally funded study researchers allegedly tried to bury after multiple transitioning children reportedly died by suicide, federal allegations challenging a prominent transgender medical authority, the shocking rise in potentially thousands of detransitioners, and the irreversible damage caused by sex changes, including sterilization.
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Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, and Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz attend an event at HHS headquarters in Washington, D.C. (Kylie Cooper/Reuters, File)
One of the examples Van Meter pointed to dates back to 2015, when the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded a five-year study to examine the outcomes of sex-change hormones in children. By the second year, three participants had died by suicide.
Not only did researchers fail to immediately halt the study after the first death, they also attempted to bury the results by refusing to publish the data, according to Van Meter. The study’s chief investigators reportedly had a significant conflict of interest, having been “very proactive in the transgender arena” and often asserting that “these treatments are very beneficial and should be continued.”
The multimillion-dollar study, titled “The Impact of Early Medical Treatment in Transgender Youth,” was later scrutinized by a GOP-led Senate committee in 2024. The committee accused the researchers involved of having “intentionally withheld scientific data from the American public showing that puberty blockers do not improve the mental health of children.”
The Republican lawmakers involved added that the study also found 11 participants with suicidal thoughts.
DETRANSITIONER CHLOE COLE SHARES COMPLICATIONS AFTER GENDER PROCEDURES: ‘I AM GRIEVING’
Chloe Cole, who detransitioned after medical procedures, warns others to wait and seek family support before transitioning. ( Digital, File)
Separately, a major transgender medical authority known for spearheading the pediatric sex-change guidelines that major medical groups relied on, has been accused of promoting ideological opinion instead of evidence-based medicine.
The criticism centers on the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which is being challenged in a Texas court case involving the Federal Trade Commission.
“None of this is a standard of care, none of it is rigorous. It’s just their specific opinion based on their ideology,” Van Meter said.
Van Meter added that there has been a significant increase in the number of people seeking to detransition, citing online support resources that reportedly receive an estimated 600 to 700 hits per month from patients seeking help.
During a conference last March, Van Meter said he encountered roughly 85 individuals from around the world who wanted to detransition, indicating that “there clearly is a population for which this has been a detriment.”
HHS OFFICIAL WARNS OF IRREVERSIBLE RISKS AS TRUMP ADMIN RESTRICTS FUNDING FOR YOUTH GENDER PROCEDURES
However, detransitioning is reportedly a highly complex process that involves reconstructive surgeries, gradual medication weaning and extensive mental health support.
Sex-change treatments can ultimately result in severe and irreversible physical harms, Van Meter said.
Pediatric interventions can result in permanent sterilization, profound sexual dysfunction, permanently diminished bone density, impaired brain development, a heightened risk of early dementia and lifelong health conditions requiring continuous medical management.
The desire to undergo sex-change procedures can often emerge among vulnerable children “when their life is falling apart,” as they seek an escape from underlying problems such as divorced parents, parental incarceration, alcoholism, drug abuse or the death of a family member, Van Meter said.
Impressionable children may then encounter online communities that frame undergoing a sex change as a cure-all or claim that their gender is the root of their problems.
FTC ALLEGES INFLUENTIAL TRANSGENDER HEALTH ORGANIZATION MISLED PARENTS ABOUT SAFETY OF YOUTH TREATMENTS
Dr. Van Meter says sex-change treatments and surgeries can result in severe and irreversible physical harms. (iStock)
Beyond the need for better mental health access for children, Van Meter said more should be changed systemically across transgender policies.
Van Meter proposed cutting federal funding from medical schools that promote research into sex-change treatments or teach such procedures as the standard of care in their curricula.
He said doctors and pediatricians often uncritically promote transitions because they can easily be labeled a “bigot” or “hater” otherwise.
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Health care workers who disagree are also denied a voice in medical literature, academic departments and professional associations, he said.
Additionally, he added, the statute of limitations should be extended to give detransitioners ample time to sue healthcare providers for facilitating such treatments, while clinics should be audited for scientific transparency.
