New Study Shows That Giving Puberty Blockers and Cross-Sex Hormones to Kids May Be Rooted In Junk Science

Transgender,

A new study published in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy shows that giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children with gender dysphoria may actually be based on junk science.

A set of studies released some years ago claimed to find children with gender dysphoria responded well to puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

Those studies — sometimes called “the Dutch studies” — found that sex-reassignment helped alleviate gender dysphoria and improved mental health. Because of the Dutch studies, doctors and clinics in Europe and the U.S. adopted a model of giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children who disagreed with their biological sex.

New research published this month calls the Dutch studies into question, and reveals the Dutch studies suffered from serious flaws — meaning that doctors and and clinics that give puberty blockers to children may be operating based on junk science.

Researchers analyzing the Dutch studies found “methodological biases undermine the research.”

First, the Dutch studies suffered from selection bias. The studies “[r]eported only the best-case scenarios at each stage of treatment: puberty blockers, cross-sex-hormones, and surgery. Those [children] who did not fare as well, or experienced problems, were not included in the research results.”

Some commentators have compared this to pharmaceutical companies ignoring harmful side-effects when testing a new drug.

The Dutch studies also asked patients opposite sets of questions before and after going through sex-reassignment. Changing the wording of the questions and how the answers were analyzed virtually guaranteed that the study would show improvements for patients who underwent sex-reassignment.

After analyzing these flaws and others, researchers found that the Dutch studies are not the “gold standard” some people think they are when it comes to how doctors treat kids suffering from gender dysphoria.

Over the past two years several gender clinics in Europe have abandoned the Dutch protocol of giving children puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to help them transition from one sex to the other.

In 2021 a major hospital in Sweden announced that it would no longer administer puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children.

The U.K.’s National Health Services recently closed its Tavistock gender clinic that gave puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children for many years.

The Tavistock facility faces the possibility of lawsuits from upwards of 1,000 families whose children were subjected to sex-reassignment despite an obvious lack of scientific evidence in favor of the procedures and inadequate mental health screenings for children with gender dysphoria.

A gender-identity clinic in Scotland faces similar legal troubles from former patients who say they were rushed into sex-change procedures.

Last July the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finally added a warning label to puberty blockers after biological girls developed symptoms of tumor-like masses in the brain.

In other words, contrary to what many LGBT activists claim, the science surrounding sex-reassignment for children and teenagers is far from “settled.”

In fact many experts agree that giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children is experimental, at best.

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

The SAFE Act is a good law that protects children in Arkansas from cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers, and sex-reassignment surgeries.

However, the law has been tied up in court since the summer of 2021. We expect a decision over its constitutionality in the coming months.

Testimony in the trial over the SAFE Act underscored several key points about gender dysphoria, including:

  • The science surrounding gender identity remain in flux.
  • The demographics of transgender youth is changing in ways that scientists do not yet understand.
  • Randomized clinical trials do not support the adolescent gender transition processes that many doctors in America use.

Our state must protect children from puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-change surgeries. Arkansas’ SAFE Act does exactly that. Scientific research increasingly shows lawmakers were right to pass the SAFE Act in 2021. We believe our federal courts ultimately will uphold this good law.

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Trial Over Arkansas’ Ten Commandments Monument to Move Forward Sometime After August 31

Ten Commandments Monument

Earlier this month U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker issued an order outlining the schedule for a lawsuit over Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments.

Judge Baker’s scheduling order indicates that a trial date in the case will be set sometime after August 31 of this year.

The Arkansas Legislature passed a measure in 2015 authorizing a privately-funded monument of the Ten Commandments on the State Capitol Building grounds.

The authorized monument is identical to one ruled constitutional at the capitol building in Texas.

Shortly after the monument was unveiled, atheist groups and the Satanic Temple joined a lawsuit to have it removed.

The case originally was set to go to trial in July of 2020, but the trial was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lawsuit has remained in limbo ever since, and Judge Baker has twice been asked to set a schedule for resolving it.

Based on Judge Baker’s scheduling order, it is unclear whether or not Judge Baker will rule in the case before the end of this year.

As we have said many times, there shouldn’t be anything controversial about a monument honoring the significance of the Ten Commandments.

Historians have long recognized the Ten Commandments as one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and they have helped shape the laws in countries around the world.

Arkansas’ monument simply honors that legacy.

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Looking Back at the Third Week of the Arkansas Legislature

Legislation, Legislature

The Arkansas Legislature just finished its third week of the 2023 session. Here’s a quick look back at what happened.

Monday

  • Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle) and Sen. Ben Gilmore (R – Crossett) filed H.J.R. 1001 amending the state constitution concerning salaries for elected officials.

Tuesday

  • The Arkansas House of Representatives passed H.B. 1098 expanding Arkansas’ Safe Haven law that lets a woman anonymously surrender her newborn.
  • H.B. 1024 that could expand public drinking in “entertainment districts” in Arkansas failed to pass in the Senate City, County, and Local Affairs Committee.
  • The Arkansas Senate overwhelmingly passed S.B. 43 protecting children from drag shows.

Wednesday

  • Rep. Wade Andrews (R – Camden) and Sen. Steve Crowell (R – Magnolia) filed H.B. 1255 prohibiting China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia from purchasing property in Arkansas.

Thursday

Good Bills Passed

H.C.R. 1005 (Religious Freedom): This good measure by Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) declares January 16, 2023, “Religious Freedom Day” in Arkansas. Read The Measure Here.

Good Bills Filed So Far

S.B. 43 (Decency): This good bill by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) prohibits drag performances on public property or in view of children. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1156 (Privacy): This bill by Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R – Jonesboro) addresses privacy in public school locker rooms, showers, restrooms, changing areas, and similar facilities by requiring public schools to designate these facilities for “male” or “female” use. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 66 (Pornography): This good bill by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) requires pornographic websites to use a government-issued ID or a commercially available age verification method to protect children from pornography. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 81 (Obscenity): This good bill by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R – Russellville) and Rep. Justin Gonzales (R – Okolona) prohibits giving or sending a child harmful sexual material that contains nudity or sexual activity. The bill also eliminates exemptions for libraries and schools in the state’s obscenity statute, and it creates a civil cause of action Arkansans can use if the state, a city, or a county distributes obscene material. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1098 (Pro-Life): This good bill by Rep. Julie Mayberry (R – Hensley) and Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) permits Safe Haven Baby Boxes at volunteer fire stations in Arkansas. See How Your Representative Voted. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1006 (Abortion): This good bill by Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R — Knoxville) would require an employer that covers abortions or travel expenses related to abortions to also provide 16 weeks of paid maternity leave to employees in Arkansas. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1148 (Family): This good bill by Rep. DeAnn Vaught (R – Horatio) and Sen. Kim Hammer (R – Benton) provides an income tax credit of up to $1,000 for money spent on diapers, baby formula, baby wipes, and prepackaged baby food. Read The Bill Here.

Bad Bills Filed So Far

H.B. 1024 (Public Drinking): This bill by Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle) and Sen. Matt McKee (R – Pearcy) would let cities and towns that do not collect advertising and promotion taxes on hotels and restaurants establish entertainment districts where public drinking is legal. This would let communities authorize public drinking in entertainment districts even if the community does not cater toward hospitality and tourism. That has the potential to expand public drinking in Arkansas. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1174 (Fetal Homicide and Wrongful Death): This bill by Rep. Richard Womack (R – Arkadelphia) and Sen. Matt McKee (R – Pearcy) changes Arkansas’ fetal homicide law and wrongful death statute. Among other things, the bill makes it possible to prosecute or sue a woman for the death of her unborn child. It is unclear how a court might interpret and enforce this bill in light of Arkansas’ laws prohibiting abortion. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1204 (Nonpublic School Testing): This bill by Rep. Jim Wooten (R – Beebe) requires nonpublic schools that receive any form of state funding to assess their students with a standardized test. Read The Bill Here.

Other Legislation to Watch

S.B. 4 (National Security): This bill by Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R — Branch) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville) restricts access to TikTok on computers, tablets, phones, and other devices owned by the State of Arkansas. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1255 (National Security): This bill by Rep. Wade Andrews (R – Camden) and Sen. Steve Crowell (R – Magnolia) prohibits corporations and governmental entities from China, Iran, North Korea, or Russia from purchasing property in Arkansas. Read The Bill Here.

H.J.R. 1001 (Salaries for Elected Offices): This proposed constitutional amendment by Rep. David Ray (R – Maumelle) and Sen. Ben Gilmore (R – Crossett) would let the General Assembly set salaries for various elected offices in the state. Read The Measure Here.

S.B. 113 (Contraception): This bill by Sen. Breanne Davis (R – Russellville) and Rep. Deann Vaught (R – Horatio) requires Medicaid to reimburse healthcare providers for long-acting, reversible contraception immediately and during postpartum. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1161 (Student Maternity and Paternity Leave): This bill by Rep. Ashley Hudson (R – Little Rock) provides prenatal and postnatal leave for public school students. Read The Bill Here.

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