Articles and Videos – Page 40

Study Shows Mental Health Problems Surge Among Adolescents Subjected to Sex-Reassignment

Apr 13, 2026Jerry CoxTransgenderLGBT, SAFE Act, Transgender

Above: Supporters of Arkansas’ 2021 SAFE Act protecting children from sex-reassignment testify in the House Public Health Committee. The SAFE Act passed with strong support in the Arkansas Legislature and was upheld in federal court last year.

A recent medical study out of Finland shows adolescents subjected to sex-reassignment face much higher risk of mental illness.

Over the past 20 years, the number of children who identify as transgender has skyrocketed — especially among biological girls.

A set of studies released some years ago — sometimes called “the Dutch studies” — claimed children with gender dysphoria responded well to puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, and that sex-reassignment helped improve their mental health.

Because of the Dutch studies, doctors and clinics in Europe and the U.S. started giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children who disagreed with their biological sex.

But since then, public health experts and policymakers in the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, Finland, and other nations have found that science simply does not support these “gender transitions” for kids.

A new study published in Acta Paediatrica shows the kind of sex-reassignment that pro-LGBT activists have promoted for years actually makes adolescents’ mental health problems much worse.

The study examined nearly 2,100 individuals from 1996 to 2019. Researchers found:

Adolescents who underwent sex-reassignment were more likely to need psychiatric treatment in the years afterward.
Adolescents referred for sex-reassignment faced higher risks of mental illness.
Mental illness appeared to be particularly high among adolescents referred for sex-reassignment during the “recent surge in referrals.”

Unfortunately, this study’s findings are not surprising. Sex-reassignment drugs and surgeries carry serious risks — including infertility, sexual dysfunction, worse bone density, and cardiovascular problems.

Whistleblowers have come forward testifying about how they were rushed through gender transitions as children without understanding the procedures’ risks, consequences, or alternatives.

Today we know pro-LGBT activists and medical organizations have been citing each other’s work in a circular pattern, manufacturing a fake consensus about performing sex-change surgeries on kids.

In 2021, Arkansas’ lawmakers passed the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act. This good law generally prohibits doctors from performing sex-change procedures on children or giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

A federal court upheld the SAFE Act last year — meaning it is protecting children in Arkansas at this very moment.

Arkansas was the first state in America to enact a law like the SAFE Act, but since 2021 lawmakers in more than half the country have passed similar legislation.

Medical research has shown time and again that Arkansas’ lawmakers were right to pass the SAFE Act. Arkansans can be proud that their state has done so much to protect children from these dangerous sex-change procedures.

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

Two Measures Filed to Restrict Homeschoolers Under EFA Program

Apr 13, 2026Jerry CoxHome SchoolArkansas Legislature, Home School, LEARNS, Update

Last week, two bad resolutions authorizing introduction of non-budget measures were filed at the Arkansas Legislature.

The General Assembly convened on Wednesday for its 2026 budget session, and lawmakers are currently reviewing appropriations for the coming fiscal year. During the budget session, legislators can file non-appropriation measures, but those measures cannot be brought up for consideration without a two-thirds vote of the Arkansas House and Senate.

Two identical non-appropriation measures — H.R. 1008 and S.R. 16 — have been filed to restrict homeschoolers participating in the Educational Freedom Account (EFA) program.

Lawmakers created the EFA program in 2023, making it possible for Arkansas students to use public funds to pay for an education at a public or private school or at home. Thousands of students have taken advantage of school choice in Arkansas under this program, and many homeschool families have benefited from it.

H.R. 1008 and S.R. 16 would significantly reduce EFA funding for homeschoolers and implement mandatory assessment scores for students participating in the EFA program.

It’s worth pointing out that lawmakers have rejected homeschool testing legislation in the past.

The State of Arkansas used to require homeschoolers to take a state-mandated test. In 2009, Arkansas’ homeschoolers performed better on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills than 61% – 80% of the students who took that test, nationwide.

According to the 2013-2014 Home School Report from the Arkansas Department of Education, in 2014 homeschoolers in grades 3 – 9 scored anywhere from the 51st percentile to the 65th percentile on that same test.

In fact, homeschoolers in Arkansas performed so well on standardized tests that the Arkansas Legislature finally ended state-mandated homeschool testing in 2015.

H.R. 1008 and S.R. 16 cannot be brought up for consideration without a two-thirds vote of the Arkansas House and Arkansas Senate, and there does not seem to be much interest in these measures among lawmakers at this time.

Family Council and its homeschool division, the Education Alliance, plan to continue monitoring this legislation at the Capitol.

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

From Homeschool Rules to Abortion Drugs in Court, Here’s a Look Back at the Week’s Top Stories

Apr 10, 2026Jerry CoxCurrent EventsUpdate, Weekly Rewind

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Here’s a quick recap of the week’s top stories from Family Council and our friends:

From Family Council

📃 Family Council, Education Alliance Ask Arkansas Board of Education to Rethink EFA Restrictions on Team Sports: On Monday, Family Council and its homeschool division, the Education Alliance, submitted public comments expressing concerns over new rules governing Educational Freedom Account spending on athletics. Keep Reading.

⚖️ Family Council Joins Brief Defending States’ Authority to Protect Life: The State of Missouri has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the FDA’s mail-order abortion drug protocols. Last week, Family Council joined an amicus brief led by Advancing American Freedom in that lawsuit. Keep Reading.

💉 Latest Oregon Report Shows Sobering Statistics on Assisted Suicide: The state’s 2025 reports show that a record 637 lethal prescriptions for assisted suicide were written last year. Keep Reading.

❔ Is Transgender Ideology “In Retreat”? Pollsters at Gallup have found most Americans now say it is “morally wrong” to change genders. Most believe that drivers’ licenses should list biological sex instead of gender identity. And most do not think men should compete against women in women’s sports. Keep Reading.

🥼 American Medical Association Says It Still Supports Sex-Change Procedures for Children: In February, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons announced it now recommends delaying sex-rejecting surgeries for children until at least age 19, and at the time many media outlets reported that the American Medical Association also believed these procedures were inappropriate for kids. But in its March newsletter, the AMA board clarified that those media reports were wrong. Its policy on sex-change surgeries actually has not changed. Keep Reading.

📜 U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Colorado’s “Conversion Therapy” Ban: In an 8-1 opinion delivered last Tuesday, the Court held that Colorado’s law against so-called “conversion therapy” violates the First Amendment. Keep Reading.

💬 This Supreme Court Ruling Has Major Implications for Free Speech: In a video interview with Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins, ADF senior counsel Jake Warner said, “Colorado has been no respecter of the First Amendment. ADF has litigated multiple cases, including up to the U.S. Supreme Court against the state of Colorado in its effort to censor ideas that it disagrees with.” Keep Reading.

⚖️ These Two U.S. Supreme Court Cases Could Affect Arkansas Law: Between now and the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue decisions in two court cases that could affect whether states like Arkansas are free to preserve fairness in women’s athletic programs. Keep Reading.