- Assistant Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, who is transgender, said that transgender minors may go through ‘the wrong puberty’
- The comment was made in the context of advocating for gender-affirming care for individuals below the age of 13
- Levine has previously underscored the Biden administration’s support for gender-affirming care for minors
By SOPHIE MANN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 21:07 EDT, 20 July 2023 | UPDATED: 21:36 EDT, 20 July 2023
Transgender Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine has claimed children can go through ‘the wrong puberty.’
Levine, 65, endorsed providing gender-affirming care to minors, arguing that the treatment options are ‘evidence-based.’
‘The treatment options for gender-affirming care for transgender youth really are evidence-based,’ Levine said.
She had been asked about the possibility of keeping transgender youth from seeking body-altering treatment until at least the age of 18.
Levine has previously said so-called gender-affirming care for minors has the ‘highest support’ from the Biden administration.
Levine is the highest ranking openly transgender federal official in the country and was made a four-star admiral of the public health service.
She tends to sport her admiral’s uniform during public appearances. Levine, who grew up male, underwent puberty as a man, attended medical school, got married and became a father before deciding to transition.
Levine’s support for gender-affirming care for minors would, in some cases, take away opportunities that Levine had living as a man for decades before transitioning, her critics have pointed out.
The ABC host asked Levine: ‘What would you say to people who think they’re being reasonable by saying ‘why can’t children just wait until they’re 18?’
‘Adolescence is hard and puberty is hard. What if you’re going through the wrong puberty? What if you inside feel that you are female, but now you’re going through a male puberty?’ responded Levine.
The assistant secretary followed up by proclaiming that ‘gender-affirming care is medical care.’
‘Gender-affirming care is mental health care. Gender-affirming care is literally suicide prevention.
‘A supportive adult can make all the difference. Now one might hope that might be a parent or a relative. Sometimes it’s a teacher or a coach or a religious adviser or someone else in their life.’
Levine added that for ‘pre-pubertal children, there are no medical procedures done. The standard of care allows them to explore that with therapy.’
While there are no surgeries being done on children below the age of 13, there are puberty blockers given to children prior to the time they reach puberty.
Several months ago, Levine delivered a speech in which she promised that medically changing children’s gender will soon be normalized, praising the controversial medical intervention which has been banned in several states.
‘I can say that you, the children that you serve, the young people that you serve, their families, and you all have support at the highest levels of the federal government.
‘President Biden supports you. I as the Assistant Secretary for Health will support you and I talk about this topic, everywhere I go, to get the word out,’ she said at the Pediatric Grand Rounds Session at Children’s Medical Center in Hartford.
‘But I am positive and optimistic and hopeful that the wheel will turn after that and that this issue won’t be as politically and socially such a minefield.’
At the time, Republican congressman, Rep. Andy Harris – who is also a doctor – said Levine’s comments were ‘reprehensible.’
‘It’s reprehensible for a government official, let alone the Assistant U.S. Secretary of HHS to promote the genital mutilation of minors as becoming a standard practice in the U.S,’ he said.
‘As a physician, I was proud to co-sponsor the ‘Protect Children’s Innocence Act’ which would prohibit harmful medical procedures used to treat gender dysphoria in transgender minors, including puberty blockers and surgeries in which minors alter their body to correspond to a sex that differs from their biological sex.’
He added: ‘Many pediatricians, particularly pediatric endocrinologists, have expressed serious concerns about the use of puberty blockers, hormone blockers, and sex transition surgeries in minors.
‘These doctors know that these medications and procedures can impact children’s bone growth, fertility, and risk of breast and prostate cancer.
‘Meanwhile, HHS has pressured providers to provide this care or else face discrimination lawsuits. We must protect our children.’
Levine then lied and said that for ‘pre-pubertal children, there are no medical procedures done. The standard of care allows them to explore that with therapy.’ While Levine likely meant that there are no surgeries being done, no genitals removed, no breast tissue amputated– that’s reserved for ages 13 and up– there are puberty blockers given to children before they reach that stage.
Levine was asked about the bills that have been proposed or enacted in more than 20 states that are designed to prevent minors from being drugged or otherwise medically interfered with in service to sex changes. Levine is opposed to those laws, despite the fact that Levine was able to have a normal sexual life. Levine has also spoken favorably about being a father and raising children.