In Anchorage, Identity Inc. is leading the charge to convince children to transition from one gender identity to another.
In material published on its own website, the gender identity group says that although hormone treatments are “off label” for gender transition purposes, they have been used safely for years, a claim that is disputed by some who have gone through the treatments and suffered long-term consequences.
Identity Inc. is an Alaska nonprofit community center and health clinic that provides resources, programs, and health care for the LGBTQIA2S+ and allied community, according to its website.
But its hormone treatments for youth may put the group in legal jeopardy.
Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley has introduced a Senate bill that would allow people who were harmed by gender-transition procedures as minors to bring lawsuits against the participating individuals and entities.
The bill, “Protecting Our Kids from Child Abuse Act,” holds medical professionals and clinics liable for damages until 30 years after a patient turns 18.
“”What the American people are seeing take place at pediatric gender clinics in St. Louis and across the nation is appalling. Children who are harmed by these dangerous procedures, which are often irreversible and sterilizing, will now be able to fight back against those who perpetrated their abuse. And federal taxpayers will no longer be forced to foot the bill for abusive treatment,” Hawley said in a press release.
Identity Inc, has published consent form on its website to assist pre-teens in their gender identity change, starting with hormone treatments. The consent form presents itself as an authoritative document that has several places for youth and guardians to sign.
The consent form asks youthful patients to acknowledge that “using this medication to block puberty in transgender youth is an off-label use. This means it is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for this specific use. However it has been used for many years to block puberty in children who started puberty earlier than is healthy. I know that using a puberty blocker is based on the judgment and experience of our health care provider and is supported by the Society of Pediatric Endocrinology.”
The Identity Inc group also asks youthful patients to sign that they understand that, “I know that the side effects and the safety of these medicines are not completely understood. There may be long-term risks that are not yet known.”
View the consent forms at this Identity Inc. link.
The Senate bill, Protecting Our Kids from Child Abuse Act may put groups like Identity Inc. out of the gender-affirming business. The bill would allow a person to sue a gender-transition procedure performed on them when they were minors. The bill also would prohibit federal funding to any pediatric gender clinic, to any university or hospital that is affiliated with a pediatric gender clinic, and for any gender-transition procedure performed on minors.
Already, one well-known young person who went through a gender transition has “de-transitioned,” and is now suing the medical providers who did the procedure on her when she was younger.
Chloe Cole, 18, calls herself a “former trans kid” who de-transitioned after undergoing years of puberty blockers and a double mastectomy at age 15. She now travels the country on a mission to stop the transitioning of kids, a practice that Identity Inc. is now assisting in.
“I’m planning to keep doing this until it stops,” Cole told Catholic News Service.
Earlier this month, Sen. Hawley announced an investigation into whistleblower allegations of child abuse and potential malpractice at The Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
View the full bill text here.
