Verification: Trump resurfaces baseless claim that educational institutions are covertly conducting gender-realignment surgical procedures on students
Trump resurfaced the allegation in late August, which was discredited by CNN and others in early September. Despite investing numerous millions in late-campaign adverts criticizing transgender individuals, Trump reintroduced this story in October as Election Day approaches.
Trump reiterated the allegation last week during a New York City barbershop discussion filmed by Fox News, discussing education policy: "No transgender, no surgeries - they take your child - some places, your kid goes to school and returns home as a different gender, without consent. Initially, I thought this was an exaggeration. However, it is a reality. It happens in certain locations." He repeated his claim during his interview with popular podcast host Joe Rogan, stating, "Imagine allowing - there are so many - transgender surgeries that allow schools to turn your child from male to female without parental consent."
Despite not specifying "the areas," Trump reiterated his claim during his interview with Rogan.
Factual data has yet to validate Trump's allegation - schools in no segment of the United States are reported to have conducted gender-affirming surgeries without parental consent or on-site, nor are unapproved surgeries being performed on minors. Even in states where such surgeries are legal for individuals below age 18, parental approval is mandatory before a minor can undergo a procedure.
Trump's campaign and numerous conservative organizations contacted by CNN regarding the allegation in September failed to provide evidence to support it. Experts in healthcare for transgender individuals voiced uncertainty over the scenario Trump described.
Dr. Landon Hughes, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and co-author of a recent study on the prevalence of gender-affirming surgeries in the United States, declared in September's email that "there are no instances of children receiving surgeries or access to surgeries from their schools." He added, "no medical provider in the United States would perform surgery on a minor under the school's direction, let alone without parental consent."
Dr. Meredithe McNamara, an adolescent medicine physician at the Yale School of Medicine, voiced her disbelief in September's email, stating, "Of course everything in this statement is false. Surgical procedures occur within qualified medical centers and never within schools. Parents are the primary decision-makers for their children's healthcare, particularly for gender-affirming care."
For minor patients, seeking consent is critical not just for surgical procedures but also for non-surgical gender-affirming treatments such as puberty blockers and hormonal therapy. Various guidelines and standards from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health emphasize the need for parental approval.
According to Dr. Laura Taylor, the medical director of the gender-affirming care program at the University of Southern California, "legally, informed consent from both parents/legal guardians is required, in addition to the adolescent's assent, for any gender-affirming medical care or surgical care such as puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries."
The extent of minors receiving gender-affirming surgeries in the United States remains a mystery due to limited available data. However, it is evident that the majority of such surgeries are performed on adults.
Taylor also outlined a meticulous process for children seeking gender-affirming surgeries: "In adolescents, the decision to commence hormones and/or surgery would occur after consultation with an interdisciplinary team for a thorough psychosocial evaluation." Her emphasis is on the bold text. "This examination includes understanding the dysphoria triggered by gender incongruence, its duration, and the absence of alternative explanations for the dysphoria to ensure the adolescent and family provide informed consent."
Regarding evidence for Trump's claim that schools are secretly providing gender-affirming surgeries to minors, the Trump campaign spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, failed to provide any in September. Rather, she distributed a series of articles addressing the broader debate over how schools handle gender identity issues.
Trump continued to assert his claim during a interview with a different media outlet, saying, "I stand by my assertion that some schools may be involved in providing gender-affirming surgeries without parental consent." Despite repeated requests for evidence, Trump's campaign and conservative organizations have yet to produce any concrete proof to support this allegation.
