Long-awaited independent review concludes children need counseling and care, not experimental procedures altering their bodies

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Vice President of Litigation Strategy and Center for Conscience Initiatives Jonathan Scruggs regarding a newly released independent review overseen by pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass and commissioned by England’s National Health Service to evaluate medical procedures to make children appear like the opposite sex:

“Children struggling with their sex deserve the best possible care, and—as this independent review from Dr. Cass shows—that does not include rushing children to permanently alter their bodies. For years, activists have relied on their own consensus to push experimental procedures on kids, but as the years have gone on, the body of evidence continues to grow in favor of biological reality and common sense. The independent Cass report surveys numerous studies across many countries and many years and rightly concludes that this field is marked by ‘remarkably weak evidence’ where practitioners have ‘abandoned normal clinical approaches’ harming children. Dr. Cass said it well. These children ‘deserve very much better.’

“These children do deserve better. They need the love and support of their parents, not school officials who work behind their parents’ backs to secretly treat children as the opposite sex. Children also need counseling and mental-health treatment, not government officials banning counseling and pushing kids toward life-altering drugs and surgeries. We urge government officials and medical professionals to review the evidence in this independent review and take steps to protect our children from these unproven and dangerous procedures.”

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom International Director of Advocacy Robert Clarke:

“Children cannot consent to life-altering procedures in the full knowledge of the consequences involved. Dr. Cass helpfully highlights the depth of the mental health crisis impacting younger generations – and the possible impact that social media addiction and pornography could have on feelings of gender dysphoria. We are letting this generation down by failing to help and support them in a holistic way to accept their bodies and feel comfortable and confident as themselves.”

The following excerpt appears in the study chaired by Dr. Cass:

“There are few other areas of healthcare where professionals are so afraid to openly discuss their views, where people are vilified on social media, and where name-calling echoes the worst bullying behavior. This must stop. Polarization and stifling of debate do nothing to help the young people caught in the middle of a stormy social discourse, and in the long run will also hamper the research that is essential to finding the best way of supporting them to thrive.”

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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