Academics take both sides of transgender issue in federal lawsuit
Daniel Shumer, a clinical associate professor of pediatric endocrinology at the University of Michigan, said that he has seen patients “flourish and grow” under hormone treatment.
Others believe that the benefits are not worth the potential risks, which include blood clots and increased red blood cell concentration.
Endocrinology professors have spoken out on both sides of a federal lawsuit challenging a Georgia law banning transgender-related treatments for minors.
Enacted in July, Georgia Senate Bill 140 prevents minors from receiving transgender-related procedures in hospitals and other licensed healthcare facilities. Parents of transgender-identifying girls sued the state to block the law.
Testifying before the court, Daniel Shumer, a clinical associate professor of pediatric endocrinology at the University of Michigan, said that he has seen patients “flourish and grow” under hormone treatment.
Meredith McNamara, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Yale, agreed.
“The benefits of gender-affirming care for trans adolescents are particularly profound,” McNamara said.
Other academics, however, had doubts while speaking in favor of the bill.
Paul Hruz, the principal investigator at the Hruz Lab, a subset of the Washington University School of Medicine at St. Louis’ Department of Pediatrics, Endocrinology, and Diabetes, is also an associate professor of pediatrics, endocrinology, and diabetes at the school.
“We need higher-quality data,” Hruz said, referencing estrogen’s capability to cause blood clots and testosterone’s capability to increase red blood cell concentration.
“As a physician scientist, I have determined that using GnRH agonists (aka puberty blockers) and exogenous sex-discordant steroid hormones to alleviate psychological suffering in adolescents with gender dysphoria is not justified by assessment of relative risk versus purported benefit of these interventions,” he added in a separate statement to Campus Reform.
Hruz has previously spoken out on the issue of transgenderism. His testimony played a role in the case of Keira Bell, a British detransitioner whose lawsuit paved the way for many to speak out in skepticism of transgender-related treatments and the frequency with which they are offered, especially to minors.
[RELATED: UPenn ‘gender conforming’ closet provides tucking tape to trans students]
SB 140 cites the increase in diagnoses of gender dysphoria among children, especially girls, and notes the lack of research surrounding the phenomenon. The law also acknowledges the significant portion of children who do not persist in their gender dysphoria past early adulthood, as well as the comorbidity of the condition with disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
“Under the principle of ‘do no harm,’ taking a wait-and-see approach to minors with gender dysphoria, providing counseling, and allowing the child time to mature and develop his or her own identity is preferable to causing the child permanent physical damage,” the bill states.
Campus Reform contacted all three academics and their institutions for comment. This story will update accordingly.
