Decade long Study Shows 97% of Transgender Youth are happy with HRT

Trans families and allies protesting anti-trans laws/photo Kelli Busey / Planet Trans  

A 10-year study of 220 adolescents who at 12 years of age were prescribed puberty blockers and or gender-affirming hormones indicates that 97% are satisfied with the results and continue with trans-affirming medical care.

The study published 10/21/2024 in the Journal of American Medical Association Pediatrics(JAMA) to determine Levels of Satisfaction and Regret With Gender-Affirming Medical Care in Adolescents, was first reported on by Erin in the Morning, who noted that it "is likely to become the most significant pieces of evidence countering critics who argue for banning transgender care."

Key Points:

• Question  How satisfied and/or regretful are youth after receiving puberty blockers and/or hormones provided as part of their gender-affirming medical care?
• Findings  In this survey study, the experiences of 220 youths who had accessed puberty blockers or hormones were detailed by the youth and/or their parents as part of an ongoing decade-long study of transgender youth. At a mean of 4.86 years after beginning blockers and 3.40 years after beginning hormones, they reported very high levels of satisfaction and low levels of regret; the overwhelming majority (97%) continued to access gender-affirming medical care.
• Meaning  The findings suggest that most youth accessing gender-affirming medical care in adolescence are highly satisfied.

Of these 220 respondents in the main sample, 9 were regretful of having received blockers (n = 8) and/or hormones (n = 3; 2 of these individuals reported regret with both), of whom 4 have stopped all gender-affirming medical care and 1 has continued to receive blockers but plans to stop. The 4 others have continued care, suggesting that regret is not synonymous with stopping care.

Tim Walz defines what the Harris-Walz administration will do to protect trans youth

Photo / Kamala Harris/ Meet Tim Walz

With less than a month until the 2024 presidential election, Vice President Kamala Harris has been much quieter on LGBTQ+ issues than she has throughout her storied political career. Despite presenting a robust slate of LGBTQ+ policies in 2020, Harris has seldom addressed queer and trans equality on the campaign trail, and her current LGBTQ+ platform is far more modest.

This left the trans community feeling vulnerable while under the vicious attack by the Republicans. We had begun to wonder if the Harris-Walz would be just another do-nothing Democrat administration.

Listen to Democrat Vice President nominee Tim Walz on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast as he is questioned about what he envisions the Harris-Walz will do to protect trans youth. Granted he doesn't craft the agenda but he was selected by Kamala Harris for a reason.

As first reported by LGBTQ Nation:

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz answered questions the other Democrats sidestepped including:

• WHO should be making decisions about women's bodies;
• HOW the Harris-Walz administration plans to protect queer kids and feed all kids; and
• WHAT they'll do to make our schools safe from gun violence.

“We need to appoint judges who uphold the right to marriage, uphold the right to be who you are, making sure that’s the case, uphold the right to get the medical care that you need,” Walz said. “We should not be naive. Those appointments are really, really important. I think that’s what the vice president is committed to.”

He then pivoted to talking about the harms that anti-trans ads shown across the country have been doing. Such ads have been a strong focus of former President Donald Trump while campaigning as the Republican presidential nominee.

“We see it now: The hate has shifted to the trans community,” Walz said. “They see that as an opportunity. If you’re watching any sporting events right now, you see that Donald Trump’s closing arguments are to demonize a group of people for being who they are.”

We’re out there trying to make the case that access to healthcare, a clean environment, manufacturing jobs, and keeping your local hospital open are what people are really concerned about,” he continued. “They’re running millions of dollars of ads demonizing folks who are just trying to live their lives.”

Listen as Tim Walz Defends Trans and Queer Kids against the GOP Attack Ads