A new study confirms what experts in transgender medicine have known for years: The overwhelming majority — 98% — of adolescents who begin gender-affirming treatment continue that treatment into adulthood.
The research, published in the prestigious medical journal the Lancet, adds to a large and ever-growing body of evidence that gender-affirming care, a broad term that includes physical and mental health services, is critical health care for transgender youth. That evidence is compelling enough that a laundry list of medical societies, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Endocrine Society, have affirmed their support of access to this kind of care.
It’s a body of evidence that Republicans cynically ignore when introducing state-level bans on transgender care — bans that tend to target transgender youth. They claim to be protecting kids, but families and scientific research say they are causing them harm.
