I have long believed that the threat of lawsuits will prove to be a very effective means of preventing gender-dysphoric children from being subjected to body-modifying procedures such as puberty blocking and mastectomies — even in blue states that pass laws favoring “gender-affirming care.” But it helps speed up that process if the law specifically opens the door to that possibility.
Now, thanks to Missouri’s new statute authorizing people who received “gender-affirming” interventions as minors to sue their doctors for damages, the Washington University Transgender Center is going out of the puberty-blocking business. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch story:
The announcement closes a chapter in a monthslong fight by conservative Republicans in Jefferson City to end puberty blockers and hormone treatment, which health providers describe as a component of gender-affirming care for minors.
“We are disheartened to have to take this step. However, Missouri’s newly enacted law regarding transgender care has created a new legal claim for patients who received these medications as minors,” Washington University said.
Officials said the claim creates “unsustainable liability for health care professionals and makes it untenable for us to continue to provide comprehensive transgender care for minor patients without subjecting the university and our providers to an unacceptable level of liability.”
The University of Missouri Health Care has issued a similar announcement.
Interesting. We are told by the Biden administration and many in the medical establishment that this is “lifesaving” care because otherwise these children may commit suicide. But the data demonstrating that are sketchy, at best. Nor are the health benefits well documented. In contrast, the potential for substantial harm to patients is well known. Indeed, this skewed cost vs. benefit analysis was the primary reason several European countries significantly limited the administration of puberty blockers and other such interventions to children and adolescents.
Alas, those countries’ significantly changing their policies has not made a dent in the fanatical certainty about this issue among America’s gender ideologues. But business is business. The threat of losing a lot of money can talk louder than zealous belief.
Sic the lawyers on them. That’s the ticket!