Biden admin now claims to oppose sex change surgeries for children despite suing Tennessee over ban on procedures

The Biden administration has stated that it opposes surgical sex-change procedures for minors, marking a significant shift from its previous stance that seemingly endorsed the practice. 

“These are deeply personal decisions and we believe these surgeries should be limited to adults,” a White House spokesperson said in an email, according to the 19th News. “We continue to support gender-affirming care for minors, which represents a continuum of care, and respect the role of parents, families, and doctors in these decisions.” 

This statement comes as the Supreme Court agreed last week to hear a challenge brought in part by the Biden administration to a Tennessee law that bans treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery for transgender-identifying minors. The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the constitutionality of statewide bans on these procedures, and more Republican states have enacted similar bans in an attempt to protect children from these irreversible procedures.

According to the New York Times, the announcement came following an article that reported staff in the office of Assistant Secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, Rachel Levine, had urged the World Professional Association for Transgender Health to remove age minimum guidelines for surgeries.

The proposed guidelines had suggested age minimums of 14 for hormonal treatments, 15 for mastectomies, 16 for breast augmentation or facial surgeries, and 17 for genital surgeries or hysterectomies. However, the final guidelines released in 2022 had all age-based recommendations removed.

“Adm. Levine shared her view with her staff that publishing the proposed lower ages for gender transition surgeries was not supported by science or research, and could lead to an onslaught of attacks on the transgender community,”  an HHS spokesman said on Friday.

In the past, the Biden administration has spoken in favor of sex-change operations for individuals who identify as transgender, including children. However, the administration now explicitly opposes surgeries for minors, though not other treatments.