SCOTUS and the Trans Rights Healthcare Case: Why It Matters | Amanpour and Company

This week the U.S. Supreme Court heard a case from Tennessee concerning medical care for transgender minors. Masha Gessen, opinion columnist for the New York Times, listened to the oral arguments. They talk with Michel Martin about the salient issues.
Originally aired on December 11, 2024
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Amanpour and Company features wide-ranging, in-depth conversations with global thought leaders and cultural influencers on the issues and trends impacting the world each day, from politics, business and technology to arts, science and sports. Christiane Amanpour leads the conversation on global and domestic news from London with contributions by prominent journalists Walter Isaacson, Michel Martin, Alicia Menendez and Hari Sreenivasan from the Tisch WNET Studios at Lincoln Center in New York City.
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[@down-to-earth-mystery-school]

They won’t allow the due process issue, because then the state bans on abortion would be overturned on the same topic. No govt agency should be controlling Americans’ healthcare decisions.

[@parker9012]

How would that overturn abortion? This Supreme Court tends to defer to the democratic process, if the people vote to ban abortion and cosmetic treatments for children, that's the will of the people. If the people vote to allow those things that their decision. When did the democrats become so anti democracy?

[@sophiepooks2174]

@@parker9012 What a completely ridiculous and false claim and nothing democratic about a court staked with Trump/MAGA sycophants either, citizens private medical decisions should not be the choice of the masses.

[@mars9953]

The public should not be paying for cosmetic surgery. My life would’ve been better with a smaller nose, and less fat around my thighs and waist. My life would’ve been 100% better….yet no one will pay for this. Ask Hollywood actresses, because they can reflect back to you the benefits, in Earned Dollars..it’s a fact. If the surgery is being offered to TRANS , it should be offered to everybody for free, or nobody for free! Why is a trans quality of life more important than my quality of life?

[@m0stbel0veds0n]

Have you considered that the timing of the lawsuits has more to do with the release of the Cass Review in Britain, which found that the evidence for the benefits of these medical interventions is poor or non-existent? As a result, many countries in Europe, including some which pioneered these interventions, are revising their approach. It would be interesting to see what scientific basis those organizations that filed amicus briefs have for their position. Like in other fields of science, medical practice is driven by research, not ideology.

[@rachael_grey]

"The Cass Report" is a piece of medical propaganda that couldn't pass peer review. It has been debunked by many medical professionals since it was trotted out.

[@9395gb]

​@@rachael_greyDebunked by who?

[@hcrone]

Hmmm, evidence. Interesting idea to look at the evidence. You mean, like in science?

[@pinwheelart2825]

💯

[@sayakafermi5725]

I think you meant to say medical practice _should_ be driven by research rather than ideology. Unfortunately ideology sometimes prevails for an extended period of time, even decades. See for instance Paul Okami's 1990 paper at the tiny URL SociopoliticalBiases, or Bruce Rind's chapter in the book _Ideological and Political Bias in Psychology_ (2023).

[@Trekki200]

Republicans be like 'We champion parental rights' and when people actually do claim those rights they go 'no, not like this'

[@imperialmotoring3789]

No parent has the right to abuse their child.

[@serendipity9649]

​@@imperialmotoring3789Then you better not take your children to doctors. Healthcare is not abuse.

[@amr254]

Can a parent cover their 8-year-old face with tattoos? Parental rights have limitations. That is not a republican or Democrat thing

[@CortexNewsService]

​@@imperialmotoring3789 and withholding necessary medical care is abuse

[@shortyshort5290]

Parents don't have a right to give kids who are having mental health issues drugs that permanently change their bodies.

[@PeterBaggot]

I have no problem with medical expertise, as long as they are held fully accountable when they get it wrong.

[@epaphroditosharrison8036]

You said what was on my mind

[@garrett7101]

Thank you for reporting on this topic. As a trans man myself I am so frustrated that all these people are talking about us one way or the other like we don't exist. We are real people. We know what's best for us. If you want to form an opinion then please ASK A TRANS PERSON. It is so sad that the government thinks they know more than doctors, therapists, parents, and kids about this. The fact that some politicians use this to say that parents and doctors somehow WANT kids to be trans. Most parents I know try everything until they finally accept this about their kid. We need to TRUST PEOPLE to make decisions about their own lives.. even if they are under 18 while under the care of their parents, doctors, and therapists. Puberty is one of the most damaging things that can happen to a transperson, and unfortunately puberty happens before we turn 18.

[@RoadrunnersOfCA]

Thank you.

[@charlottesimonin2551]

My surgery was over twenty years ago. Many of my (too often senior) peers have expressed the wish that we were the last generation that would have to get to adulthood before being able to live the lives we needed.

[@rachellandry3116]

your arguments are based upon coddling the narcissistic ideas of unwell individuals ... cuz kind? NO. truth and the rights of women and children matter.

[@brianshea4177]

Puberty is a natural, biological process, not a disease.

[@chadsatterlee580]

{{ to be fair, Puberty is the most damaging, uncomfortable and disgusting time in any human's life. }} the Insurance companies think they know more even than doctors , no matter what one's medical condition, (EVEN TERMINAL DISEASE!) Unless one is wealthy, Your INSURANCE company has THE final say on what anyone can have, be it an X-ray or anesthesia, or medicine and they even deny people palliative care!!!!! >;( Best of Luck! ( it is a tough road out there, and the battle is only just begun)

[@matt4887]

It matters to prevent kids from making bad decisions, and from adults taking advantage of such situations, both of which has happened too much.

[@jennyruth514]

You are so right. These people are nuts. Kids can’t change sex. You don’t have to be any kind of “expert” to understand that

[@laurapalmer01]

Thank you M. Gessen!! So much love and respect for you--your intellect, your compassion and kindness, pushing us to think deeply. Also, I deeply hear the analysis of how dumbed down the SC is now with Kavanaugh and Comey-Barrett. They are not intellectual rigorous people. That is obvious. Thank you, Justice Jackson!

[@pinwheelart2825]

You should listen to the case. They came out looking way better than Jackson and Sotomayor, sadly. J AND S were completely illogical. 🤦🏽‍♀️

[@sayakafermi5725]

"Intellectually rigorous" and "SCOTUS" don't belong in the same sentence, and haven't for generations, if ever.

[@Yosemiteb]

Please have Dr Sopolsky from Stanford on . This is a medical issue. The Dr is the top neurologist that lectures on this . Knowledge is freedom.

[@rachellandry3116]

truth is rare.

[@marclambert1283]

If the guest is terrified by the state banning this care against the parents wishes (which he stated he was), then i wonder if he is also equally terrified by states that will ignore the parents wishes and provide gender affirming care to minors who say they want it, which happens in the far west states. Can't have it both ways

[@etYouAreLate]

Lol, nope!

[@Morningdovecamp]

Good interview. Thank you for information

[@rebeccao8895]

Minors!! Children. Not adults.

[@sophiepooks2174]

B.S they are coming after the trans adults too, the age old tactic used by tyrants throughout history to rile up the lynch mobs is to say; "degenerates are coming for your children".

[@katiez688]

Asking children to wait until they turn 18 is not a medical crisis. Notice that in oral arguments, counsel for the government purposely avoided saying these treatments reduce suicide. Thats because the data does not support such a claim and an attorney cannot misrepresent facts or information to the court. Kids need to have time to grow into their bodies and can make these serious decisions when they turn 18.

[@ersylanellajoy452]

26 years of age

[@andyiswonderful]

agreed. It is just common sense.

[@coreyc1685]

That's right. You know what's best for a kid, rather than the kid themselves, in conjunction with their parents and multiple healthcare professionals. You should decide everyone's healthcare options because of how much better you know than everyone else.

[@josephsimmons9241]

First, puberty blockers are used. Then hormone therapy. Not until adulthood do a small amount of trans people receive bottom surgery. These people know who they are

[@rachael_grey]

You do not know what you are talking about beyond your uneducated opinion, and it shows.

[@9395gb]

The UK literally banned puberty blockers as gender affirming care for minors.

[@jennyruth514]

Yay! Britain cares about kids.

[@9395gb]

@@jennyruth514 so did Ireland. The US will follow shortly. This whole trans ideology is coming to an end and these people know it.

[@pinwheelart2825]

​@@jennyruth514💯💯

[@sophiepooks2174]

Based on ignorance and bigotry alone.

[@redrec3693]

Based on a review of the empirical evidence available. No one should be meddling with young bodies and their developing brains with shit like puberty blockers. Big pharma rubbing their greedy little mits at the expense of children's health.

[@noelchristinetanis186]

I am a parent of a trans child. My kid knows who she is. She told me when she was 5. I believe her. I used to believe my country was “the land of the free.” It seems that it is turning into “the land of the conforming.” I hate it. Luckily I live in a blue state where my daughter’s health care isn’t being questioned. The next 4 years could see an attempt(s?) for a nationwide ban. That put my kid at risk. That has me looking into moving to another country where my whole family would be welcomed as who we are. I have never had so much fear caused by the government. I always thought this only happened in “other places” where democracy was not a thing.

[@harrywan2604]

yea no I am sorry you thought you were free to consent to do this to your child. Your child in the US has certain safeguards until they are 18. They cannot sterilize themselves and stop puberty as it lowers their IQ and is shown to leave them sterile which they cannot consent to. I am sorry anyone told you this would be a "right", it was a terrible mistake. Europe has quickly banned the drugs as they were shown to be not work at all. Many lawsuits have been brought by child transitioners you may want to look into how terribly wrong you have been.

[@harrywan2604]

It most definitely will be banned nationwide as it is banned across the world besides NA or Canada for children. For Profit Healthcare is allowing this to go on for too long.

[@merg-vh5sx]

JAIL

[@jimmyhyun8546]

A 5 year old doesn't know what they want.

[@pinwheelart2825]

Sorry... not sorry. You are a horrible parent if you "affirm" and dont keep your child grounded in reality. You are responsible for destroying your child's health and body and will be responsible for the inevitable early death from unavoidable complications of your unnecessary medicalization of your healthy child.

[@BG-fm5od]

Lots of false data quoted here.

[@rachellandry3116]

Seems Gessen has an evident conflict of interest....

[@pinwheelart2825]

Just a bit

[@susana7010]

Thank you PBS, and M. Gessen💌

[@realworldhuman]

No commentary on the state of healthcare of 99% of Americans who are suffering and dying from a predatory insurance industry. The Professional-managerial class can't get enough of ultra-niche issues as a way to distract the public from grabbing their pitchforks!

[@rachellandry3116]

transing rich bratty children has been part of the distraction from decades of supply side, consumer based, fascism. since the first Hollywood created puppet prez, Reagan. trans rites for children is dark. very dark.

[@merg-vh5sx]

This comment should be pinned.

[@sophiepooks2174]

You honestly don't see the irony and hypocrisy in your statement? So you think it all right for healthcare denied to certain groups of humans you call "ultra-niche" are not the same issue caused by billionaire elites the ones spending millions attacking the trans community, These same elites and their media have told you transgender people/ doctors/surgeons are "coming for the kids" so idiots have already been grabbing their pitchforks and coming for innocent working class transgender folk who are just as persecuted.

[@peterlewis-rs6db]

Despite what Masha suggested in this interview, there is NOT agreement among experts about whether Gender Affirming Care is the best medical care or even whether it's supported by evidence. Ask the UK and several countries in the EU what they're doing... it's not so clear.

[@hw6271]

Might be very clear but so many are afraid to actually say

[@garrett7101]

Ask transpeople. As a trans man my only regret is not being able to transition MUCH earlier than I did.

[@larissamartinsen4166]

Masha promotes a sheer propaganda..

[@melissabruhn1429]

More than 86 professional medical orgs including AMA, American Academy of Pediatrics, ACOG etc .. affirm gender affirming existence and care based on over 100 yrs of medical research and evidence based practice.

[@karinstricker3147]

The (only) clinic in the UK was overwhelmed with the number of patients and made rush decisions. Some of them were wrong and caused harm. That's why they stopped the process and now only take kids that can be treated within the research program. The goal is to find out how to properly treat all gender non-conforming children.

[@Yosemiteb]

Please have Dr Sopolsky from Stanford on . This is a medical issue. The Dr is the top neurologist that lectures on this . Knowledge is freedom. Thank you for having Masha Geesen on !

[@brucebennett5338]

yes!

[@Yosemiteb]

@@brucebennett5338 💕

[@lector247]

Motvated resoning by a trans journalist unchallenged by an interviewer who should know better. Gessen returned multiple times to the argument that legislators and judges don't have the medical knowledge to make this decision and that the various Ameircan medical associations are opposed to the law. Notable by its absence was any mention of the Cass Report or the position of other first-world nations regarding trans youth. There is a tremendous amount of debate over the benefits or harms and long-term effects of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones on young people. This is relevant to the issue and should have been mentioned. Additionally, Gessen tried to mimimize the size of the issue by saying that an infinitesimal number of youth seek medical care for transgenderism. Yet Gessen's own NYT reported that the number of trans-identifying youth had doubled from about 2017 to 2022. As recently as sx weeks ago, the NYT reported that 3.3% of high school students identify as trans and another 2.2% express gender uncertainty. A 2017 study found that 27% of CA students aged 12-17 believe that they are viewed as gender non-conforming. Surveys in some communities find that up to 15% of girls in certain middle and high schools describe themselves as transgender. There is an element of social contagion that must be acknowledged. This is a complex issue that will not and should not be solved by legislation. Neither will following the advice of unconstrained activists help us arrive at a good solution.

[@teranelson826]

The cass review is an anti trans politically motivated report that ignores all the studies that support gender affriming care while taking carry pick testimony of the very few detrantioners as if it's the majority experince with gender affriming care instead of the vast minority of the outcomes. Gender affriming care has higher success rates than nose jobs and hip replacements.

[@down-to-earth-mystery-school]

Stating this is a “contagion” is pure bigotry. Perhaps this generation doesn’t care about gender norms the way other generations did, and that’s just fine. Maybe a hundred years in the future, we won’t even identify ourselves as a specific gender, and that’s called progress. Dividing society into “two camps”, male and female has led to more problems in the world, especially for women and girls who many men view as the “weaker and lesser sex”. As a gender non conforming 52 year old, I’m here for it!

[@rachael_grey]

The bunkum Cass Report is not peer reviewed, and IT SHOWS.

[@albedougnut]

Have you even read the Cass Report? It does not recommend bans on GAC.

[@River10081]

He’s guilty of many lies of omission. What is his end goal?

[@ALinn-vr3nl]

This is one-sided. Read the Respondents' amici briefs, such as WoLF's, for other sides: especially from feminists and other progressives.

[@pinwheelart2825]

💖✊🏽♀️💯 This!!!

[@sophiepooks2174]

* Regressives who spend multi-millions attacking trans rights, gender affirming care but only gender affirming care for trans folk not cisgender folk.

[@ajstrauss6320]

This election was the ultimate self own for this ideology.

[@kimberlymw5522]

Ideology? Being trans isn’t a “belief.”

[@merg-vh5sx]

They're drowning while staring at themselves.

[@sophiepooks2174]

Had very little to do with it, most people don't care, there is no ideology just a medical condition that affects very few humans, "they are coming for your women and children" is an age old trick used by tyrants throughout history to rile people up against minorities, while ignoring the real problems people worry about like cost of living.

[@marclambert1283]

I was hoping for a balanced, unbiased discussion about the issue. Unfortunately that was not offered.

[@marysalluce5475]

M Gessen - Very subjective opinions.

[@brianshea4177]

Is anyone really surprised that the MSM presents an unidentified trans reporter as an unbiased reporter on the topic?

[@ChrisJ5280]

It’s hard to believe this guy has really been following this case as he can’t articulate the arguments on the other side-clearly, he is not being offered as anything even approaching an objective analyst.

[@janebennetto5655]

It’s a woman. 🇬🇧❌❌

[@malcolmearle459]

Please articulate those arguments for us - because otherwise it's hard to believe that *you* have been following the case too, right?

[@pinwheelart2825]

Cause "h3" is a she who is completely biased and doesn't care what the other side has to say. People who will lie about something as basic and factual at their sex will lie to you about anything.

[@pinwheelart2825]

​@@malcolmearle459the argument is that you don't give harmful, irreversibly damaging medical interventions to perfectly healthy kids.🤦🏽‍♀️

[@michaelboguski4743]

Contrast the disdain for expertise in Physical and Mental Health Care with the absolute necessity for expertise in Weapons Technology and the race for Artificial intelligence Dominance.

[@River10081]

Do you believe that doctors and medical associations cannot be wrong, have not been wrong, time and time again, with devastating consequences? It’s important to take that possibility very seriously. As doctors, and parents.

[@harrywan2604]

Physical and mental health? What part of this has been shown to benefit either? This has quite literally come into question because it does not prevent suicide and leaves a child sterile with a lower IQ and bone failure. A google search could show you that but great take.

[@informer3evans797]

This individual questioning what is being normalized is quite ironic.

[@TeacherDan]

I take Gessen's point that gender affirming care for minors is a niche concern, but "infinitesimal" may be an understatement. Best stats I can find say that there are 34 million kids age 10 to 17. 1.5% of that (no. of trans kids) is about 515,000. And 15% of that (number who actually seek transition care) comes to about 77,000. (I can't say these are absolutely accurate--just the best I can find quickly.) But as an order-of-magnitude estimate, 77,000 still seems like a lot of people. If the opponents of the care are correct--and that is far from firmly established--this suggests a lot of potential harm. But if the supporters of the care are right, this amounts to a lot of BENEFIT. Someone needs to find a way to conclusively and transparently (no pun intended) establish the evidence basis of this, and in a way that both sides will accept--if that is even possible in today's age of misinformation and magical thinking.

[@user-og9zk9gz6z]

Thank you! I also think it’s a bit disingenuous for Gessen not to mention that the numbers are growing. Gessen and many others I’ve seen interviewed want to wave this away by saying it’s “niche”. Well, It’s not “niche” where I live. In fact it’s a booming growth industry that needs a lot more scrutiny.

[@CortexNewsService]

There IS evidence. Every major medical association has concluded that it is safe and effective, including the American Academy of Pediatrics. Every one of these laws are passed over the objections of medical experts and people who have researched it. If there are places where it seems that there is a lot more of it happening, it's because those families have been forced to move to access that care because of those laws. We're seeing that here in Illinois. It's not a "growth industry," it's families being forced to flee to help their children.

[@TeacherDan]

@@user-og9zk9gz6z To be fair, Gessen didn't say "niche." I did. But we could use more facts and less speculation.

[@janinebrittanica4314]

​@@user-og9zk9gz6z it's growing because I would've come out at 13 instead of 33, but I couldn't because of an abusive father and a society that told me (and continues to tell me as a 40 year-old) that I am broken, worthless, and disgusting. The fact that you and so many others can't comprehend that there are still a ton of us in the closet because of societal hatred that threatens our safety, jobs, housing, and rights is absolutely unfucking believable.

[@NualaAhern-d5g]

Cass report concludes that no good evidential basis for gender affirming care

[@abbie5212]

thank you for covering trans rights

[@Divine_Health_And_Fitness]

We can’t wait until they’re adults for surgery? I need to educate myself. All I know is is this is a free country and the government needs to bud out of people’s medical decisions. minors need consent for surgery period, so do we or don’t we belittle in parents rights like the right says we should?

[@david4924-u7b]

Surgery is not recommended until adulthood, you avoid permanent changes until adulthood. Recommendations for gender care are actually extremely careful of the fact that kids may change their mind, that's why medications like puberty blockers are used, they're the least permanent. Detransitioners are very, very rare, but the field still accommodates them by prioritizing as many nonpermanent changes as possible first. You need to at least be on hormone therapy for a year and get a counselor eval before most surgeries, even as an adult. And these are all recommended by WPATH, the same organization of doctors that these politicians are calling gender extremists.

[@melissabruhn1429]

There are literally nearly zero minors that have had surgeries. It is an extensive process in which many hoops must be jumped through before surgery.

[@terrymckenzie857]

"Gender affirming care" does not = surgery. There are many, many, many steps short of surgery that this ban threatens, all of them reversible. International standards of care for trans youth do not include sergery for minors. The most recent study by Harvard's Chan School of Public Health found little to no use of gender affirming surgery being performed on minors in the US. The ONLY such care that insurance covers--because it covers it for both straight and trans minors--is breast reduction surgery. In the case of Trans minors, Harvard found almost no instances of this surgery being done for minors being treated for gender dysphoria.

[@CortexNewsService]

Surgery does not happen for kids. It simply doesn't. In rare cases, there MAY be breast reduction for people in their late teens. It NEVER happens for anyone who is still in puberty. EVER.

[@cindyhill9091]

An excellent interview. Gessen's point about the dangers of dismissal of expert & scientific evidence is spot on, and leaves people in peril of losing rights to lowest-common-denominator legislators.

[@whatsdoin2392]

United Kingdom just banned puberty blockers for gender affirmation care. Puberty blockers have unproven benefits and significant risks.

[@lingyjennifer8399]

Any parents worth their salt will find ways to help their children. In fact, I would imagine a healthy black market in these items will blossom. Sux to be anti-trans

[@alyssashady]

false

[@garrett7101]

Being forced to go thru the wrong puberty has significant risks as well.

[@joycej9415]

I think the proven benefit is a child who is trans is much less likely to commit suicide if they get the puberty blockers .

[@imperialmotoring3789]

@@alyssashady How long have you been on puberty blockers Alyssa?

[@bretshawnclark1589]

Dobbs undermined the legal basis for all substantive due process rights emanating from the previously accepted right to "privacy" as extended by Roe versus Wade in the case of abortion. Logically, if there is no constitutional "substantive due process right" to privacy, meaning right to dominion over one's body, then, just as in the case of abortion, there is no right to dominion over the right of the individual to choose gender-affirming care. SCOTUS put itself on a slippery slope with Dobbs and feels queasy about going down that path to its logical conclusion: There is no right to privacy hence, the dominoes will begin to fall on the subsidiary rights stemming from the right to privacy: contraception, right to marry the person you love irrespective of gender or race, right to raise a family, et. al. By concocting an equal protection analysis, they are trying to do a carve-out for equal rights for things like same-sex marriage. You do not have a privacy right to marry a person you love but (so the argument goes) it is not rational to treat marriage between same-sex couples unequal to the way in which you treat heterosexual couples. SCOTUS has a credibility problem and at least some of the Justices do not want to see same-sex marriage go the way of Dobbs. Intellectually, that is a heavy lift and they will have a hard time trying to explain why same-sex marriage is protected under the equal protection clause but not the due process clause, since the discrimination is not based on exercise of a fundamental right (to marry who you want) it is based on gender, which is not a suspect classification (as for example, race).

[@lancehill9971]

I think that a lot of doctors in the US are going to relocate after Trump takes office! We see that neonatal doctors are caught up in legal grey areas and don't want legal problems so leaving the country is beneficial so they will look to find a English speaking country that will take them in and pay a decent wage!

[@brittanyklein6349]

They have banned it all Europe. They maybe hard pressed to find any place that's a developed industrial country

[@etYouAreLate]

Well, luckily for those doctors, they are free to get a passport and leave. Unlike the doctors of many other countries. See? Positive news! Not all doom and gloom!

[@thejuliakitchen]

It would be nice if he would answer the question in regard to their and game.

[@BoardroomBuddha]

The problem is that "people prefer simple answers to complex issues, even when they are wrong." We have no tolerance for ambiguity any more...

[@sayakafermi5725]

There's a reason the guest speaks of professional organizations _"in this country."_ That's because organizations in other developed countries broadly favor a "watchful waiting" approach. The United States is the international outlier, and as sexologist James Cantor showed, the paper on which the AAP based its guidelines was based on a blatant misrepresentation of scientific findings. ("American Academy of Pediatrics and trans- kids: Fact-checking Rafferty") Legislators shouldn't impose cookie cutter age based restrictions, but should guarantee that professionals are held fully accountable when they fast track someone based on a self-diagnosis instead of performing their own comprehensive, independent evaluation to rule out alternative diagnoses. This means repealing all statutes of limitations and liability caps.

[@MrsGladysz]

This case is specifically regarding children. Don't make this out to be discrimination. Children need to be protected. Hormones and amputation cannot be reversed. The child will become infertile forever. If an adult wants to undergo these procedures, have at it. Children should not.

[@david4924-u7b]

Surgeries are not recommended by doctors for pediatric gender care. Puberty blockers are until the age of 16 to prioritize as many nonpermanent changes as possible. When the blockers are stopped, puberty resumes where it was left. Hormones are partially reversible, we've even found that procedures needed to preserve fertility, like oocyte retrieval for IVF, can even be done while the patient is still on hormone therapy. The recommendations from WPATH are available to the public if you would like to read them.

[@melissabruhn1429]

Why are there often carve outs for minor girls to have cosmetic breast enhancement surgeries or elite minor gymnasts to have puberty hormone blockers? It is all about control of others and denial of certain parents rights. Over. 85 professional medical orgs affirm gender affirming existence and care based on over 100 years of medical research and evidence based practice.

[@vincenthill2884]

You know nothing about trans healthcare they are reversible look it up before commenting.

[@terrymckenzie857]

Hormone treatment only works while you are taking the hormones and puberty blockers are not hormones. Surgery is NOT the standard of care for minors. The only surgery that insurance covers for minors, regardless of their gender identity is breast reduction and a recent Harvard Chan School of Public Health study found almost no evidence that even breast reduction surgery is being done to minors with a gender dysphoria diagnosis.

[@kimberlymw5522]

Parents and doctors know their teen; you do not.

[@e.d.3729]

thank you both. the discussion of the new attitude toward expertise and the loss of real intellectual engagement was particularly interesting.

[@pinwheelart2825]

You shouldn't follow anyone without questioning. "Experts" are often used to manipulate populations. Use critical thinking and look for the data, science, facts.

[@pinwheelart2825]

Especially in this internet age.

[@Yosemiteb]

Knowledge is freedom.

[@imperialmotoring3789]

Information is not Knowledge. Knowledge is not Truth. Truth is not Wisdom.

[@sophiepooks2174]

@@imperialmotoring3789 🙄🤪🤡👹

[@pauladufour7594]

Religious parents have had the privilege of controlling the medical care of their children and yet these parents do not. I had a friend who broke her arm in 1974. Her parents believed that God would heal the broken arm and doctors should not interfere. The doctors argued that the arm wouldn't heal properly and their child would suffer unduly. That argument was judged without merit in like of parental rights.

[@petervizzini4006]

False comparison

[@sophiepooks2174]

@@petervizzini4006 100% correct comparison, why does a Jehovah's witness have the right to refuse a blood transfusion for their child and the atheist parent of a medically diagnosed trans child does not have the right to pursue the best known medical care for theirs?

[@etYouAreLate]

The difference is that the broken arm was not percieved in the mind, it was actually broken. Whereas these kids have functioning, non broken bodies that people are insisting need medical intervention.

[@user-f15d9]

Apparently, some viewers here think hormonal assistance should be decided by people who aren't doctors.

[@sun1one1]

It doesn't matter what you think of trans rights. It matters what you think about judges being allowed to make health decisions for people. Careful what you wish for.

[@TheMauf]

Mind blown but wow, I agree with Tennessee. Anything can be called a medical issue. People…..this is necessary I have to say. The number of factors that contribute to this issue really blow this up. Let them go through puberty! And not for nothin…….we lost this past election in part because of this issue.

[@garrett7101]

With all due respect, what you don't understand is that puberty is one of the most damaging things mentally and physically a transperson can go through. Many many transkids can be and are suicidal during that time. Many of the effects are irreversible for life. Being trans is a real issue and for many people the cure is to transition. If puberty can be prevented the chance that a transperson can be more well adjusted in adulthood.

[@joycej9415]

If they go through puberty, that is harmful and causes problems for a trans person. Think how rough puberty is for all kids, now think if you were assigned male and are actually female, but puberty changes don't fit for you.

[@melissabruhn1429]

Yet they have carve outs for minor cosmetic breast augmentations for girls and puberty blockers for elite gymnasts. At least 85 professional medical orgs including AMA, American Academy of Pediatrics, ACOG etc .. affirm gender affirming existence and care based on over 100 years of medical research and evidence based practice.

[@charlieb6210]

you are obviously not trans. going through the wrong puberty is devastating emotionally and physically. i went through several hospitalizations in my late teens and 20s from un-aliving attempts and endured over a combined 12 hours of surgery with medical debt over 60k to try and fix what being forced through the wrong puberty did. i still have another 10 hours of surgery to go through but have to wait for it to be covered by insurance since i can no longer afford it.

[@etYouAreLate]

Yes, this is one of the issues that is way too extremist for most people to get on board with.

[@brucebennett5338]

I 2nd the motion to interview Dr. Sopolsky!

[@Pou1gie1]

@11:00 It is interesting to me that in the case of trans issues one side (the right) believes that the government should intervene and tell individuals what to do, while the other side doesn’t. But when it comes to vaccine mandates the right tends to be against government mandates whereby the individual’s rights are second to what the government wants, while the left tends to be for mandates. This presents an interesting thought experiment.

[@benbullard2298]

This is such an easy issue. In Tennessee there are people with religious beliefs against taking their child to the doctor at all, against any non-biblical care whatsoever . So ban all medical care for children under the age of majority in Tennessee. What could go wrong? Come on Tennessee legislators take the issue to it's logical conclusion! This is just a common sense issue. No need for experts. 🤣

[@petervizzini4006]

Why do u justify hurting kids

[@BenjaminGatti]

A ban that only affects minors is not "a blanket ban" this guest doesn't understand how words work.

[@michellejessey8654]

This person speaking is?

[@TheMauf]

MM……that’s a stretch to equate race and a mental condition

[@RoadrunnersOfCA]

Mental condition?

[@kimberlymw5522]

Someone needs to do actual research.

[@down-to-earth-mystery-school]

Race is a made up construct, as we are all the same race or species. We have different ethnicities based on where our ancestors came from and our DNA. Gender dysphoria is NOT a mental condition in the negative way you use it (which is bigoted). It’s an illness that with proper care and nonjudgment, can result in someone living as they are meant to be, happy in their own skin.

[@brianshea4177]

Not for MENSA members like Justice "What is a Wuman" Jackson.

[@Lacey13-i3b]

OH, this is sad, so out of touch. I used to like Masha, but she is off the rails her. We knwo all about this sh*t, Mash, and you are lying.

[@ComradeCatpurrnicus]

❤

[@Rnankn]

Masha’s defence of expertise is misguided. Political communities should be able to define moral limits and natural or social boundaries to liberties. The legal debate should concern collective values and minority rights: inclusion and diversity over exclusion and hierarchal traditionalism. By promoting the political authority of professional and technocratic expertise we get yet another political defence of ‘neutral’ institutions and political liberalism.

[@hifijohn]

Of course always just one side of the story, never any counter arguments, and of course who do they get ?? Masha Gessen who is nonbinary and trans, who Im sure is going to give a nonbiased opinion, right?? I expected a little better from this program.

[@KH-aug]

Doesn't Masha have a 12-yeqr-old son? I.e. not all her children are grown, as she claimed.

[@merg-vh5sx]

That poor kid. I hope he's already in therapy.