'Sometimes love means saying no': RFK Jr. on gender-affirming care for minors
WASHINGTON ? Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he would support reversing the previous Democratic administration's efforts to expand transgender care, particularly for minors, if approved to lead the nation's largest health agency.
President Donald Trump nominated Kennedy to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services. He'll need to clear a vote by the Senate in order to be confirmed ? and his current prospects appear shaky ? and has been on Capitol Hill this week answering questions from the two Senate committees charged with vetting.
Kennedy has faced inquiries about his positions on a myriad of issues, from abortions to vaccinations. In Thursday's hearing, he also talked gender affirming care, telling GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri that he believes transgender people and those questioning their identity “should be respected."
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"They should be loved," Kennedy said. But he would not support gender affirming care, including gender-altering surgeries or hormone treatments, for people younger than 18.
“Sometimes love means saying no to people.”
More specifically, Kennedy said he would rescind a rule issued by former President Joe Biden’s Health and Human Services agency aimed at preventing gender identity discrimination in healthcare.
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"That rule is anti-science,” Kennedy said Thursday. “Even more, just from a common sense – if you’re a patient, do you really want somebody performing surgery on you who is morally opposed to that surgery? It doesn’t make any sense."
The Biden order was challenged in court by several Republican state attorneys general, with much of the opposition focused on gender affirming care for minors. And since moving into the White House last week, Trump has already issued executive orders rolling back transgender care for those under 18.
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“We don’t let children drink. We don’t let them drive an automobile. Because they have bad judgment,” Kennedy said. “They are flooded with hormones. Their brains are still in formation. Their sexuality is still in formation. To allow them to make judgements about, that are going to have life-changing, forever implications for the rest of their life at that age are unconscionable.”
The American Medical Association has called for protecting gender-affirming care, which major medical groups and health organizations worldwide have said help prevent suicide among a particularly vulnerable population. Advocates for transgender rights have recently called Trump's orders "cruel" and "lawless."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr. backs opposition to gender-affirming care for minors