Latest news and developments in the mission to protect children from gender ideology:
$10 Million NIH-Funded Study Finds Puberty Blockers Failed to Improve Youth Mental Health: A nearly $10 million taxpayer-funded NIH study found no statistically significant improvement in depression, anxiety, behavioral problems, or suicidality among youth treated with puberty blockers for sex-identity distress.
The Mirabelli Case Is Not Over: Although the Supreme Court allowed an injunction protecting parents to remain in effect and concluded they are likely to succeed on the merits, the Ninth Circuit must still decide California’s appeal over its parental secrecy policy.
Another Major Hospital Agrees to Provide Care for Patients Harmed by Pediatric Sex-Rejecting Procedures: Mount Sinai Health System agreed to stop providing sex-rejecting procedures to minors and dedicate $2 million in free medical care to patients suffering harmful consequences from interventions they received as children.
California AG Bonta Challenges Federal Block on Reimbursement for Pediatric Sex-Rejecting Procedures: California AG Rob Bonta is co-leading a multistate lawsuit challenging an HHS rule that would prohibit federal Medicaid and CHIP reimbursement for sex-rejecting procedures for minors.
$10 Million NIH-Funded Study Finds Puberty Blockers Failed to Improve Youth Mental Health
A nearly $10 million taxpayer-funded NIH study found that puberty blockers did not produce statistically significant improvements in depression, anxiety, behavioral problems, or suicidality among youth treated for sex-identity distress. The findings add to concerns about the evidence supporting puberty blockers for minors, particularly given longstanding claims that these drugs are necessary to improve psychological well-being and reduce suicide risk.
For additional background on the taxpayer-funded study and the controversy surrounding the delay in publishing its findings, see this 2024 New York Post article.
The Mirabelli Case is Not Over
For those wondering why Mirabelli v. Bonta is back before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the parents, attorney Vernadette Broyles explains an important distinction: SCOTUS did not issue a final ruling on the case, but instead allowed the district court’s injunction protecting parents to remain in effect while California continues its appeal.
The Supreme Court concluded that the parents are likely to succeed on the merits, but the Ninth Circuit must still decide the underlying appeal, where California continues to defend its policy; Broyles and the Child & Parental Rights Campaign have now filed an amicus brief urging the court to affirm the injunction and end the state’s parental secrecy policy.
To read ACPeds’ press release and amicus brief click here.
Another Major Hospital Agrees to Provide Care for Patients Harmed by Pediatric Sex-Rejecting Procedures
New York’s Mount Sinai Health System has reached an agreement with the Justice Department to stop providing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-rejecting surgeries to minors, pay a monetary penalty, and dedicate $2 million in free medical care to patients suffering harmful consequences from sex-rejecting interventions they received as children.
The agreement follows similar federal settlements with Texas Children’s Hospital, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Connecticut Children’s Hospital as the Justice Department continues its nationwide investigation into pediatric sex-rejecting procedures and potentially fraudulent billing practices.
California AG Bonta Filed a Lawsuit Against the Federal Government’s Block on Reimbursement for Pediatric Sex-Rejecting Procedures
California Attorney General Rob Bonta is co-leading a coalition of 21 state attorneys general and Pennsylvania’s governor in suing HHS over a new rule that would prohibit federal Medicaid and CHIP reimbursement for sex-rejecting procedures for minors. The coalition argues that HHS exceeded its authority and that states should be permitted to use federal healthcare dollars to cover procedures they deem medically necessary; unless blocked by the court, the federal rule is scheduled to take effect October 13, 2026.
