- United States
- Mich.
- Letter
The science is in, and it's unambiguous: protect access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth and stop letting political pressure override medical evidence. The Health Council of the Netherlands — the country's highest scientific advisory body — just completed a landmark two-year review and concluded that this care achieves its intended physical effects, improves mental health outcomes, and carries regret rates between 0% and 3.5%. Read the full review here: https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/landmark-official-dutch-review-recommends. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and France have all issued similar endorsements. The claim that Europe is retreating from this care is simply false.
Withholding treatment is not a neutral choice. The Dutch review explicitly rejected that framing: delays cause youth to develop unwanted, often irreversible physical changes, worsen mental health, and push some young people toward unregulated hormones. When critics dismiss this evidence by citing GRADE ratings, they're applying a standard that would disqualify most of pediatric medicine. Apply the same evidence-based framework used for every other area of children's health — and protect this care in the United States.