Debate Over Gender Transition Treatments for Minors

The treatment of gender dysphoria in minors should focus on mental health counseling and care, rather than hormone blockers or surgeries, according to Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, Adm. Brian Christine. Christine, a urologist and public health official, supports a new rule by the Trump administration. This rule restricts Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from funding puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries for minors with gender dysphoria.

“Gender dysphoria is a real condition affecting some children,” Christine told Fox News Digital. In recent years, he added, the diagnosis has increased at rates not explained by epidemiology alone. Christine believes many minors can overcome gender dysphoria with competent, compassionate counseling.

“What you don’t want to do is carry out treatments that involve castrating chemicals, cross-sex hormones, or surgeries to permanently change their bodies,” he said.

The new rule ends Medicaid and CHIP support for pediatric gender treatments but does not outlaw them. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz emphasized that the rule is a measure to protect children from irreversible harm while saving taxpayer money.

The debate continues, with President Donald Trump denouncing gender transition surgeries and hormone provisions for minors as “barbaric,” stating federal funds should not support such practices.

Christine distinguishes between “gender-affirming care,” which includes medical treatments, and what he calls “corrective care,” a focus on moving past gender dysphoria without invasive procedures. He stressed the lack of scientific support for “sex-rejecting” procedures on minors.

Across the United States, twenty-seven states have enacted rules limiting “gender-affirming care” for minors. The rule, effective October 13, allows for a six-month period to taper off hormone therapy for minors already receiving treatment.

Christine noted the rapid increase in minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria, attributing much of it to ideological influences. This shift, he said, marks a departure from the historically small percentage of cases seen mainly in adult males.