Planned Parenthood Offers Teens Cross-Sex Hormones at First Visit

LGBT, Transgender, ,

Phone call recordings by Live Action show Planned Parenthood facilities in multiple states are willing to prescribe cross-sex hormones to teens — sometimes at their first appointment.

Live Action reports,

Staff at seven of the 33 facilities contacted confirmed they would prescribe cross-sex hormones at the first appointment, even virtually. A video highlighting the undercover calls shows that at the Planned Parenthood in Mankato, Minnesota, staff were willing to prescribe hormones to the patient at the end of a single virtual visit. . . .

At five of the facilities, staff said the 16-year-old girl did not need proof of having undergone therapy, mental health clearance, or prior documentation as part of a mental health assessment before Planned Parenthood would prescribe cross-sex hormones.

Besides being the nation’s leading abortionist, Planned Parenthood has also become a major provider of gender-transition drugs and surgeries. Planned Parenthood’s facilities in Arkansas both advertise “gender-affirming care services” on their websites, offered in-person or via telemedicine.

While Planned Parenthood continues to promote sex-change procedures, medical experts are sounding the alarm about how dangerous these procedures can be — especially for children.

Public health officials in the U.S. and the U.K. have released stunning rebukes of the so-called “gender affirming care” Planned Parenthood and others offer.

Last year The British Medical Journal wrote that ”the advocacy and clinical practice for medical treatment of gender dysphoria [through puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery] had moved ahead of the evidence—a recipe for harm.”

These procedures can leave children sterilized and scarred for life, and doctors don’t know the long-term consequences they may have for children. That is why to date about half the states in the U.S. have passed laws protecting children from sex-change surgeries.

In 2021, Arkansas lawmakers overwhelmingly passed the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act.

The SAFE Act is a good law that prevents doctors in Arkansas from performing sex-change surgeries on children or giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

Unfortunately, the SAFE Act is tied up in court, and a federal judge in Little Rock has blocked the state from enforcing it for now. However, we believe our courts ultimately will recognize that the SAFE Act is a good law and uphold it as constitutional.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Despite Safety Concerns, THC Seltzers Becoming Popular

Marijuana, ,

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that drinks laced with THC are becoming popular.

THC is the main psychoactive substance in marijuana, and health experts warn the drug poses serious risks.

In 2018, Congress passed the federal Agriculture Improvement Act to let farmers grow cannabis plants low in THC for use in textiles like hemp rope or cloth. But manufacturers have found ways to extract and refine the little bit of THC in the plants. Doing this on a commercial scale means they can produce a lot of THC to infuse into drinks, candies, e-cigarettes, and other products.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said that federal law prohibits this type of THC in food products, but many companies are marketing these THC-infused products anyway.

Now The Wall Street Journal reports THC drinks are becoming popular, but come with serious health concerns:

There’s no limit on the amount of THC allowed in a beverage, but many states consider a standard dose to be 5 milligrams, though Colorado defines one edible dose as 10 milligrams. There are 12-ounce seltzer drinks with 30 milligrams of THC and two ounce fast-acting shots containing a whopping 100 milligrams.

Consumers seem to prefer the stronger stuff. The global THC seltzer market was valued at $344.7 million in 2023 and is projected to grow to about $2 billion by 2030. . . .

What about drinking a THC seltzer followed by, say, a beer? When you combine weed with alcohol, the effects are exponentially worse, says Matthew Hill, a neuroscientist at Hotchkiss Brain Institute at University of Calgary in Canada. 

What about the health risks overall? Drinking or eating THC has slightly less risk than smoking or vaping because you aren’t exposing your lungs to smoke, he says. 

That doesn’t make it healthy. “The health risks of THC are going to be the same no matter how you consume, because THC is THC,” Hill says.

Such risks include impaired judgment, attention span and coordination, and raising the risk of car accidents, falls, and injuries. Long-term use can also lead to significant mental-health issues and addiction. And THC can lead some people to experience short-term psychosis, anxiety and an elevated heart rate. 

And if you think drinking your THC with a meal makes it less potent, you’re wrong.

As we have pointed out, drinks with as much THC as recreational marijuana products have raised serious public health and safety concerns.

In Oregon — where marijuana is legal — the state’s Liquor and Cannabis Commission recently tested 51 samples of industrial hemp flowers as part of its “Operation Clean Leaf” initiative. All 51 hemp samples contained more THC than federal law allows.

Authorities also said the vast majority of hemp products were sold without proper age verification, and that some were tainted with pesticides. That’s part of the reason even liberal states like Oregon are taking steps to address these products.

This year, multiple bills legalizing THC-infused drinks were filed at the Arkansas Legislature.

H.B. 1578 by Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R — Knoxville), which was filed in February, specifically would have legalized drinks containing THC made from hemp in Arkansas. Under this measure, THC seltzers as strong as recreational marijuana products in other states could have been legal in Arkansas.

H.B. 1722 by Rep. Jeremiah Moore (R — Clarendon) would have legalized e-cigarettes, food, drinks, and other products containing THC. A similar bill — S.B. 455 by Sen. Josh Bryant (R — Rogers) and Rep. Justin Gonzales (R — Okolona) would have legalized THC products as well.

Fortunately, none of these bills passed this year.

All of this reminds us once again: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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HHS Issues 409-Page Reality Check Regarding Sex-Change Procedures for Kids

Transgender, ,

A new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenges the idea that children with gender dysphoria should be subjected to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-change surgeries.

Over the past few years, it has become clear that the medical “consensus” regarding transgender procedures on children has been largely manufactured by pro-LGBT groups like WPATH.

Recently, medical professionals in different countries have begun reversing course by adopting policies that protect children from these drugs and surgeries.

For example, the U.K.’s National Health Service reportedly will start advising clinics to assess children who identify as transgender for mental health problems and other conditions. The new guidelines come in the wake of the U.K.’s decision to shutter its transgender clinic and stop giving puberty blockers to children.

In 2021, a major hospital in Sweden announced that it would no longer give puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids. The hospital noted that giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children “should be regarded as experimental.”

Finland’s Council for Choices in Health Care has reached the same conclusion, writing, “In light of available evidence, gender reassignment of minors is an experimental practice.” In a comprehensive study published last year, Finnish researchers found transgender surgeries did not appear to resolve the underlying emotional and mental issues that youth with gender dysphoria faced.

The 409-page report the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released on May 1 further challenges the idea that children who disagree with their biological sex ought to be subjected to hormones and sex-change surgeries.

The HHS “Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria” report reviewed the evidence and best practices surrounding the treatment of children who struggle with their gender identity. In particular, the report focuses on issues like:  

  • Social transition  
  • Puberty-blocking drugs  
  • Cross-sex hormones
  • Transgender surgeries

The report highlights how puberty blockers are physically disruptive for children and can impact fertility, bone density, and neurological development. It also points out that long-term use of cross-sex hormones is linked to increased risk of heart attack and stroke. The report also discusses ethical problems with the way doctors subject children to these drugs and procedures.

In response to the report, the editors at The Wall Street Journal called it “a rebuke of the political and medical conformity that has developed around gender identity, including radical treatments that are opposed by parents.” The Gospel Coalition’s Joe Carter writes, “Knowing that these medical interventions lack a solid evidentiary foundation and carry serious dangers should embolden us to lovingly question the rush to put children on the path to ‘transitioning.'”

All of this underscores why Arkansas was right to pass the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act in 2021.

This good law prevents doctors in Arkansas from performing sex-change surgeries on children or giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

Reports show that since 2019, doctors in Arkansas have given dozens of children puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. Some children even have undergone sex-change surgeries. Arkansas — and other states — need to protect these children.

Unfortunately, the SAFE Act is currently tied up in court. However, given how medical evidence continues to show these procedures hurt kids, we believe our courts ultimately will uphold the SAFE Act as constitutional.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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