1. United States
2. Utah
3. Letter

On May 1st, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), led by anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., released an anonymously authored report on the "Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria." The report offers guidelines for doctors that caution against researched and proven methods for gender-affirming care and instead advocates for a form of conversion therapy with no provable efficacy beyond guesswork by its proponents. The American Academy of Pediatrics was quick to denounce this report), saying that it "misrepresents the current medical consensus and fails to reflect the realities of pediatric care." The American Medical Association also urged states not to ban gender-affirming care for minors and cited evidence that "trans and non-binary gender identities are normal variations of human identity and expression." The HHS report instead frames these individuals as patients who need to be "cured." RFK Jr. has been using his role as head of HHS to service his personal pseudoscience agenda against vaccines, autism, and clinically sound biomedical science. This report is no different; it was clearly authored to present a set of pre-ordained conclusions to further the Trump administration's attacks on the transgender and gender-diverse community. These so-called treatment quidelines are a threat to the health, safety, and mental well-being of American children. Hold RFK Jr. and the Trump administration accountable for their blatant spread of medical misinformation and targeted attacks on transgender and gender-diverse youth.