The Supreme Court’s October 2024 ruling upholding Tennessee’s ban on transgender procedures for minors has exposed a stubborn rift in America’s medical community.
The Daily Wire reported that the American Medical Association (AMA) and its allies double down on gender-affirming care for kids, even as evidence mounts against it. This clash pits parental rights and scientific caution against a medical establishment wedded to progressive ideals.
The court’s decision in United States v. Skrmetti validated Tennessee’s law, sparking a broader debate about the safety and ethics of transgender treatments for children, while the AMA and other groups continue to champion these procedures despite growing opposition.
About a year and a half ago, in April 2023, the AMA hosted a talk on what doctors should know about transgender teens. This event underscored their commitment to gender-affirming care, a stance they cemented in a 2023 resolution opposing policies that prioritize parental rights.
The resolution also pushed for educating state medical boards on the supposed necessity of these treatments.
The AMA’s 2023 resolution wasn’t just talk—it backed collaboration with groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. These organizations, forming a powerful coalition, insist that transgender procedures are essential for kids. Their influence shapes medical guidelines, even as skepticism grows.
Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, AMA president, claims, “All patients deserve access to high-quality, evidence-based medical care.”
But peer-reviewed studies showing long-term harm from these procedures—think infertility, bone density loss—beg to differ. The AMA’s definition of “evidence-based” seems to cherry-pick what fits their narrative.
Mukkamala also said, “Decisions about medical treatment must be made through a shared decision-making process between the patient and their physician.” Shared with whom, exactly, when parents are sidelined and kids as young as four are deemed capable of defining their gender? The logic strains credulity.
In October 2024, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Dr. M. Brett Cooper and others for prescribing gender-transition drugs to dozens of kids, flouting Texas law.
Cooper, a vocal advocate, argued, “Young people do know their gender by about age four.” That’s a bold claim when most four-year-olds can’t tie their shoes, let alone grasp irreversible medical choices.
Cooper also said, “It’s that young female assigned at birth that says, ‘Mom, I am a boy,’ and they keep saying that, over and over.” Persistence in a child’s claim doesn’t prove medical necessity—it could signal a need for psychotherapy, as groups like the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine suggest. Non-invasive approaches deserve a fair hearing.
The New York Times reported that the Skrmetti ruling might set the transgender movement “back a generation.” They’re not wrong—71% of Americans, per a New York Times and Ipsos poll, oppose puberty blockers and hormones for kids under 18. Public sentiment is shifting, and the medical establishment risks being left behind.
European countries, often hailed as progressive, are banning transgender procedures for minors, citing insufficient evidence of safety. Groups like Do No Harm, with 16,000 members, echo this caution, advocating for evidence-based medicine over ideology. The contrast with the AMA’s stance couldn’t be starker.
The AMA supported Dr. Rachel Levine’s nomination as Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, a figure who pushes transgender drugs for kids and talks of “wrong puberty.”
Levine’s advocacy, rooted in personal experience as a male identifying as a woman, raises questions about bias in federal health policy. It’s a red flag when ideology trumps science.
In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring federal support for gender transitions in children. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. followed suit, rescinding Biden-era guidance that promoted these procedures. These moves signal a federal pivot toward protecting kids from unproven treatments.
In April 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo signaling the Department of Justice might prosecute doctors performing transgender procedures on kids. This legal escalation underscores the growing push to hold medical providers accountable. The AMA’s defiance may soon face courtroom tests.
The medical establishment’s refusal to rethink transgender procedures for kids is a gamble with young lives. As evidence of harm piles up and public trust wanes, the AMA’s coalition faces a reckoning. It’s time for medicine to prioritize science over sentiment, and kids over ideology.
