SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (LifeSiteNews) — A report from Utah’s Department of Health and Human Services suggests “hormonal interventions” for gender-confused children are safe, drawing criticism from medical experts.
The report, conducted by University of Utah researchers, resulted from a 2023 prohibition on the chemical and surgical mutilation of children. However, Do No Harm, a group that opposes transgender drugs and surgeries for minors, warns that the study lacks basic scientific rigor.
The study appears to have placated transgender activists, who praised it. Do No Harm released its own report that undermines Utah’s claims, including “that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones are safe.”
“The Utah Department of Health and Human Services’ report on the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in children is both unreliable and dishonest,” Dr. Kurt Miceli told LifeSiteNews via a media statement.
“It amounts to little more than a compilation of guidelines and studies, absent critical analysis, riddled with omissions, and lacking scientific rigor,” the medical director for Do No Harm stated. “It is certainly not the systematic medical evidence review required by Utah’s law.”
Miceli is a psychiatrist by training and teaches at Drexel University’s medical school.
He said further problems may come from Utah’s study.
“Our report equips lawmakers with evidence-based arguments to counter any shoddy policy proposals that may rely on Utah’s Report as their foundation,” Dr. Miceli told LifeSiteNews. “We especially urge lawmakers to remain steadfast in protecting children and in supporting medical practices grounded in sound evidence.”
He noted there is sound evidence that so-called “gender-affirming care” is not helpful and indeed harmful.
Miceli stated:
As policymakers consider how to approach this important issue, they should consult the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ report, ‘Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: Review of Evidence and Best Practices,’ which provides a scientifically sound analysis showing the low quality of evidence supporting these medications and acknowledging their significant harms.
“Unless Utah’s Report is completely rejected, politically-motivated bad actors will weaponize its misinformation to push medical interventions on Utah kids that can have irreversible harm,” Miceli stated.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services said it is not taking a position on these interventions.
“The Utah Department of Health and Human Services submitted the ‘Gender-Affirming Medical Treatments for Pediatric Patients with Gender Dysphoria’ report to the Utah Legislature as required by Senate Bill 16 (2023),” Public Information Officer Josie Thacker told LifeSiteNews via email. “As stated in the executive summary, the department does not take a position on whether to lift the moratorium and at this time declines to comment further on the report.”
Governor Spencer Cox’s office did not respond to a December 10 email seeking comment on the reports.
‘Misrepresents the evidence’
Dr. Miceli co-wrote an 11-page analysis of the state’s report along with Michelle Havrilla, a nurse practitioner who researches gender ideology for Do No Harm.
They said “the report misrepresents the literature and makes several key errors, such as failing to synthesize the evidence, a key component of any systematic review.”
The health department also failed to follow best practices for conducting a systematic review. The idea of this type of research is to review all existing evidence to come to a conclusion. It is considered stronger than a single study.
However, Utah did not actually conduct a systematic review, Do No Harm concluded.
Although presented with academic and technical language, and more than 1,000 pages in length, the Utah Report is a broad narrative review that lacks the scrutiny necessary to produce quality research. Unlike true systematic reviews, it does not assess the reliability of studies and whether the research can provide guidance for weighing the risks and benefits of medical intervention for children with gender dysphoria.
While it was intended to be a systematic review, it failed to meet basic requirements,
including protocol pre-registration with an online platform for registering systematic review protocols in health and social care (such as PROSPERO, for example), which is essential to increasing transparency and minimizing bias.
Utah also a “heavy reliance on observational studies” instead of “randomized control trials,” which are “the gold standard in medicine.”
At least some of the “advisors” on the report have also previously expressed support for the chemical mutilation of children, raising serious questions about their objectivity.
Studies, personal testimonies show ‘gender-affirming care’ is a failure
Credentialed medical experts, comprehensive studies, and the personal testimonies of formerly gender-confused individuals all attest to the fact that so-called “gender-affirming care” is not only unhelpful but dangerous. Furthermore, it is a biological fact and moral truth that no one can change his or her sex.
For example, medical professionals encouraged Chloe Cole to say she was a boy and have a mastectomy as a teenager. Cole now warns against the harms of transgender drugs and surgeries and testifies about the emotional and physical problems she suffers from as a result of the surgery and drugs.
The surgeries have also been linked to greater problems with mental health, including anxiety and depression. Meanwhile, a federally funded researcher tried to bury the results of her own study that found the drugs did not provide an increased mental health benefit.
As previously reported by LifeSiteNews, medical experts in both the United States and Europe have for years warned about the harms of transgender drugs and surgeries, which can include both psychological problems as well as physical issues, like cancer, infertility, and heart problems.
Meanwhile, commentators and social scientists have observed that transgender identification is largely driven by peer pressure.
