Utah Republicans Ignore Gender-Affirming Study They Demanded

Utah Republicans are choosing to ignore the results of a study of gender-affirming care for transgender youth that they have been demanding for two years. Utah Republican leaders banned access to medically recommended care for trans minors, according to The Advocate, ordering proof that trans youth benefit from gender-affirming hormone therapy. 

Well, the proof has arrived in the form of a comprehensive, state-commissioned report released last week that proves gender-affirming care leads to lower risk of suicide among trans children and improves mental health. Utah Republican lawmakers refuse to lift the state’s ban despite doctors and families fearing that lives are being put at risk.

The University of Utah’s Drug Regimen Review Center conducted the 1,000-page report that was posted by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services as required by S.B. 16, the law invoking the ban for trans medical care. Governor Spencer Cox referred to the law as a “nuanced” approach and insisted the state needed more data. The data is in and refutes the original claims that Republicans used to pass the ban. 

“The conventional wisdom among non-experts has long been that there are limited data on the use of (gender-affirming hormone therapy) in pediatric patients,” the researchers write. “However, results from our exhaustive literature searches have led us to the opposite conclusion.” 

“The body of evidence we have uncovered exceeds the amount of evidence that often serves as the basis of FDA approval for many high-risk, new drugs approved in pediatric populations in the U.S.,” the researchers add.

The report’s release was met with no public response from Cox or legislative leaders, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. Katy Hall and Bridger Bolinder, two republican state Representatives who helped pass the law, dismissed the findings stating, “The science isn’t there. The risks are real, and the public is with us” despite the science being there. 

The review finds that youth who receive care have better outcomes with mental health including depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. Hormonal treatments are associated with positive functioning outcomes on mental health. 

“This review shows that when the evidence is viewed objectively, there is no serious question that this care is safe, effective, and medically necessary for some youth,” Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, tells The Advocate. “The data show overwhelmingly that the people who need this care benefit significantly from it.”

Photos courtesy social media