In 2023, lawmakers in both Tennessee and Kentucky passed into state law protections for children from harmful medical experiments involving puberty blocking drugs and irreversible sexual cosmetic surgeries.
“The last decade has seen a marked international shift away from medicalized “transition”—i.e. the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures—for minors with gender dysphoria or gender incongruence in those countries that once followed this method of treatment. This shift has been prompted by rigorous assessment of the existing scientific literature on the efficacy of medicalized “transition,” which has revealed that the quality of the existing evidence (and by extension, the likelihood of benefit to patients) is very low. Significant knowledge gaps concerning the safety of these interventions have also been identified, particularly surrounding the long-term outcomes. Moreover, there is increasingly clear evidence of the harms and irreversibility of these interventions. Finally, the unexplained skyrocketing in the number of minors being referred to gender clinics, as well as the noticeable change in patient demographics, only compounds the uncertainties and the harms.” pg 2, Amicus brief filed by Independence Law Center
Tennessee lawmakers passed the Minors Protection Act to regulate drugs for children experiencing gender dysphoria. After examining the existing evidence, lawmakers found these drugs were harmful and can cause irreversible damage and sometimes fatal psychological consequences. It was also found that these drugs were experimental and unsupported by rigorous scientific evidence.
The Biden administration, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union, filed suit attempting to block this state law.
