Tuberville Exposes Life-Altering Risks Associated with Transitioning Minors

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) spoke with Chloe Cole, a de-transitioner and advocate, and Dr. Kurt Miceli, Chief Medical Officer of Do No Harm, during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) hearing examining the use of gender-transition surgeries on minors. During the hearing, the witnesses raised concerns about the long-term effects of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical interventions, particularly when administered to children and adolescents. Sen. Tuberville also highlighted concerns regarding informed consent, with the witnesses arguing that many parents are not adequately informed of alternative avenues to protect their children.

Read Sen. Tuberville's remarks below or watch on YouTube or Rumble.

TUBERVILLE: "Mr. Chairman, thanks for having this hearing, this is a very confusing hearing to most of us. Why are we even having to talk about something like this?

Chloe, thank you for being here today. Thank you for your testimony. After all your surgeries and things that you went through over the years, do you think now, with all the information out there, that a minor can make an informed decision about transition?"

COLE: "Thank you for your question, Senator. I do not think that children have the developmental capacity or worldly experience to make decisions like this that are very adult in nature. Because this is not just a cosmetic change that these interventions cause to the body. Puberty is the only process through which a child can fully develop into adulthood-physically, psychologically, socially, and of course, reproductively. I didn't know what was at stake. I didn't know how much it would mean for me to lose my ability to breastfeed and, potentially, my ability to have children. At the time that I was allowed to go through this, because I still very much was a child myself. I was still growing up. No child can consent to being sterilized. Thank you."

TUBERVILLE: "You mentioned also that your parents were not fully informed about the alternatives like watchful waiting, counseling, and long-term risks, including infertility and sexual dysfunction. What improvements could be made in the informed-consent process so that minors and their parents are fully aware of what their options are?"

COLE: "Thank you, Senator. I think that, first of all, we need to stop allowing these treatments to happen in the first place because, frankly, they're dangerous for children. They're dangerous for the human body regardless of how old you are, but the younger you go, the more damage results from this. But I think that parents need to be told that they have an option that isn't just medically experimenting on their own child. Their children don't need puberty blockers. They don't need cross-sex hormones. They don't need surgery because the issue is not their body. This is completely psychological in nature. There is no gene, there is no structure in the body or brain, that makes somebody transgender. These are feelings that these kids are experiencing that are real, but it doesn't mean that they are true because sex is not something that can be changed in human beings.

Parents need to be informed of the risks of doing these procedures, especially the younger […] their child is. And also, the fact that they can watchfully wait […] and see how the child's feelings about their body progresses. For the most part, most children with gender confusion will desist by the time they enter adulthood and reintegrate their identity with their sex. That's the information that parents need."

TUBERVILLE: "Thank you, Dr. [Kurt], nearly two dozen reviews have found weak or no credible evidence supporting gender-transition procedures for minors. Based on this evidence, why do you believe that major U.S. medical organizations continue to endorse this process?"

MICELI: "Thank you for the question, Senator. I believe, unfortunately, many of our medical societies within the United States have been captured in some respect. I mean, we look at the American Medical Association, and it speaks to the quote-unquote 'medical necessity' of these gender procedures in minors, yet they don't look at the evidence that is there. And that's very much in contrast to what the American Society of Plastic Surgeons has done in terms of looking at the systematic reviews, recognizing that there is very low evidence of benefit, understanding that the risks are significant, and taking into account the ethical considerations, as well as the issue of consent. And when medical societies start doing that, we'll find that more and more of them support the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' statement as opposed to supporting the WPATH Standards of Care, which has clearly been quite scandalous, I would argue. And certainly, in terms of taking off safeguards, taking off any sort of need for psychiatric assessment, totally eliminating barriers, and allowing free-fall access, it has been dangerous. And again, especially in light of the evidence, we need to look at the evidence reviews. We need to look at what our European counterparts have done in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Finland, and elsewhere. I think when we do that, we understand that these procedures are harmful and come with very low evidence of any benefit."

TUBERVILLE: "Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman."

Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans' Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees.

###