Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic presidential candidate who also served as a Hawaiian congresswoman, criticized the Biden/Harris administration for “promoting child abuse,” accusing the White House of harm by releasing statements that endorse the use of puberty blockers and irreversible surgeries for children.
In a video posted on social media, Gabbard said despite the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) warning that gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists—also referred to by many as puberty blockers—can cause serious health risks for children, the Biden/Harris administration continues the advocacy of what it describes as “gender-affirming health care,” which gives children easy access to sex change treatments.
“The FDA made a disturbing, but not at all surprising announcement just a few days ago about children’s health,” Gabbard declared. “Now, if you haven’t heard about it, or if you’ve missed it, it is because the mainstream media and the Biden/Harris administration have been completely silent on it.”
Gabbard further explained that the FDA’s warning announced that the blockers potentially cause a series of symptoms in children—which include headaches, pressure buildup around the brain, and vision loss.
“Unfortunately, at almost the exact same time the FDA issued this warning, Biden/Harris administration officials were making public statements actively promoting the use of puberty blockers and irreversible surgeries for kids,” Gabbard said.
“Now let’s be clear: this administration is dangerously promoting child abuse,” she concluded.
In early July, the FDA announced that puberty blockers have a risk of pseudotumor cerebri developing in children who take GnRH agonists.
Pseudotumor cerebri, or idiopathic intracranial hypertension, is when the fluid around the brain and spinal cord builds up in the skull for no obvious reason, causing high pressure that affects the brain and the nerve in the back of the eye, the optic nerve.
Gabbard’s remark came several weeks after Rachel Levine, the Biden administration’s assistant secretary for health and the first transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate, called for laws to “support and empower” youths “to get gender affirmation treatment.”
Levine, who appeared on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports,” said transgender youth suffer “significant harassment and bullying” and have “more mental health issues” than regular children, claiming puberty blockers are “life-saving, medically necessary, age-appropriate and a critical tool for health care providers.”
“So, we really want to base our treatment and to affirm and to support and empower these youths not to limit their participation in activities in sports and even limit their ability to get gender affirmation treatment in their state,” Levine told the network.
Besides puberty blockers, “gender-affirming care” can also include “hormone therapy” and “gender-affirming surgeries,” according to a Biden administration fact sheet (pdf) released by Health and Human Services.
The surgeries can entail “top” surgery—to create a male-typical chest shape or enhance breasts; “bottom” surgery—surgery on genitals or reproductive organs; facial feminization, among other procedures.
The sheet further declares that “early gender-affirming care” for transgender and nonbinary children is “crucial to overall health and well-being as it allows the child or adolescent to focus on social transitions and increase their confidence.”
