The conservative nonprofit group Judicial Watch announced Friday that it had filed the lawsuit earlier this month in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the HHS did not respond in a timely manner to a July Freedom of Information Act request.
According to the filing, the FOIA request sought records of all communications to and from HHS Assistant Secretary Levine discussing the removal of proposed limits for surgical gender interventions in the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s 2022 Standards of Care.
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In June, The New York Times shared the excerpts exchanged between Levine’s staff and WPATH, which indicated that the HHS official was in favor of removing age limits on interventions for gender dysphoric minors, fearing they could leave doctors subject to lawsuits. The excerpts were part of legal filings in a federal lawsuit challenging Alabama’s ban on gender surgeries and hormonal drugs for children.
“Biden-Harris appointee Admiral Levine, who abused power and is notorious for promoting transgender extremist policies, promoted mutilating surgeries for minors,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in the announcement.
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.
According to a June 24 Alabama court filing cited by Judicial Watch, Levine feared that WPATH, including age limits in its Standards of Care, could make it harder for youth to undergo things like sex-change surgeries.
Psychologist Dr. James Cantor, who provided expert witness testimony during the proceedings, argued that Levine influenced the guidelines based on “political goals rather than science.”
“Specifically, Assistant Secretary Levine, through a staff member, pressured WPATH to remove recommended minimum ages for medical transition treatments from SOC-8,” Cantor said.
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In response to The New York Times report, federal officials initially told the outlet that the Biden administration opposed such surgeries for minors; however, the officials did not clarify if the administration also opposed prescribing children puberty blockers and opposite-sex hormones.
Following pushback from LGBT activist groups, the administration issued another clarification. The LGBT activist group Human Rights Campaign had led a coalition letter demanding that the Biden administration reaffirm its support for trans surgeries for minors.
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“Gender-affirming surgeries are typically reserved for adults, and we believe they should be,” Tanden stated. “Above all, families should have the freedom to make the medical decisions that they and their doctors determine are best for them — which is why we oppose attempts to limit healthcare for transgender individuals in the courts or through legislation.”
* Original Article:
https://www.christianpost.com/news/biden-admin-sued-for-rachel-levine-records-on-trans-surgeries.html