(NewsNation) — The American Society of Plastic Surgeons is now the first major American medical body to oppose gender-affirming surgeries for minors.
ASPS’s decision sets it apart from other medical bodies, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, which support the procedures as medically necessary and safe.
It’s also a step away from World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s standards, which have come under question in Europe.
According to plastic surgeon Sheila Nazarian, evidence of the surgeries’ long-term effects is “poor,” giving surgeons little “confidence that the benefits outweigh the harm.”
“I’m so grateful to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons that they have had the courage to stand up,” Nazarian told “Dan Abrams Live.”
According to Nazarian, the issue of gender-affirming care has transformed from that of medical care to political point of view: “They’re afraid of getting canceled, and that’s not what medicine should be.”
“Every other surgery, every other medical treatment, we’re allowed to talk about, we’re allowed to engage in debate, we’re allowed to research, we’re allowed to question in order to get best outcomes … I really want to step away from the politicization that is happening in America in medicine,” she added.
How many minors are actually receiving surgeries? Research published in the JAMA Network in June showed that, of the roughly 150 times a minor received gender-affirming surgery in 2019, 146 were chest reduction surgeries performed on cisgender boys.
The study indicated that no trans or gender-diverse (TGD) person younger than 12 received any gender-affirming surgeries. TGD surgeries in 13-17-year-olds were almost exclusively chest-related procedures, as well.
“Thus, these findings suggest that concerns around high rates of gender-affirming surgery use, specifically among TGD minors, may be unwarranted,” the journal posits.
Another study, published in December 2023 and conducted by John Hopkins University, found that the “regret rate” for TGD individuals who underwent surgery was just 1%.