Puberty blockers and hormone treatment will make children sterile - hospital officials.
Consent documents from Children's Hospital Los Angeles that were made public this week reveal that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones used on gender dysphoric children do in fact cause sterility, contrary to repeated assertions made by some California Democratic lawmakers.
Democrats in the California state Senate have in recent days dismissed those who've warned that AB 2218, a bill under consideration, would fund the sterilization of physically healthy minors. They assert that such concerns raised by constituents amount to "fear-mongering."
AB 2218, the Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund, passed the Senate Health committee 7-1 on Aug. 11. If it's passed by both chambers and signed into law, the legislation would give taxpayer dollars to groups that fund medicalized experimental gender-transition practices such as prescribing cross-sex hormones and performing cosmetic gender surgeries on trans-identifying youth and adults.
The informed consent documents from Children's Hospital Los Angeles — which has one of the largest transgender centers in the country — obtained by the California Family Council, reveal that the hospital has also warned patients and parental guardians that the drugs do indeed yield infertility in those who undergo the experimental procedures.
The consent forms to participate in the hospital's medical trial to research the effects puberty blockers have on children states in part: "If your child starts puberty blockers in the earliest stages of puberty, and then goes on to gender-affirming hormones, they will not develop sperm or eggs. This means that they will not have biological children."
The statement is followed by an italicized and underlined sentence explaining that this is an important factor to consider before proceeding with chemical puberty suppression. The forms also warn about the risks puberty blockers have regarding bone density and development.
Another consent document for females taking male hormones states that it's "not known what the effects of testosterone are on fertility" and that even if they stop taking it "it is uncertain if you will be able to get pregnant again in the future."
For males transitioning to appear more female, a similar warning of the adverse impact on fertility reads: "Sperm may not mature, leading to reduced fertility. The ability to make sperm normally may or may not come back even after stopping taking feminizing medication."
State Sen. Connie Leyva, D-San Bernardino, asserted last week during committee hearings that she "felt bad for the people who were calling to ask us to vote 'No' because I do think they were misled. There is nothing in this bill that talks about sterilizing children. It really talks about health care for individuals who identify as transgender," she asserted.
The bill states that state funds will be made available in the form of grants to hospitals, health care clinics, or other medical providers that are already engaged in "gender-affirming" services, including the administration of cross-sex hormones and gender surgeries to continue providing those services, or to outfits that will establish a program in cooperation with transgender organizations.
Another hearing for the bill is scheduled in the Senate Appropriation Committee suspense file for Thursday and will likely later head to the Senate floor for a vote. Christianity Today.
