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Gender transition ban eyed by Governor candidate proposes ban on

FILE - Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano speaks ahead of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. A Canadian university is making public Mastriano's 2013 doctoral thesis about World War I hero Sgt. Alvin York. The online posting includes six pages of corrections Mastriano added a year ago that in some cases don't appear to correct anything. Rival researchers have long criticized Mastriano's investigation into York as plagued by factual errors, amateurish archaeology and sloppy writing. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Pennsylvania may become the latest state to ban gender transition surgeries for teenagers.

Sen. Doug Mastriano, Republican candidate for governor, is circulating a co-sponsorship memorandum that would prohibit gender transition surgeries. Text of Mastriano’s proposed legislation hasn’t yet been drafted and released.

“In the near future, I plan to introduce Legislation prohibiting pediatric gender transition surgeries to protect Pennsylvania’s children from the unintended consequences of fringe progressive ideologies,” Mastriano wrote in his legislative memorandum.

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“These experimental medical procedures risk the health and wellbeing of our children, I can’t stand by as medical providers across the country cave to the pressures of militant leftists committed to distorting the concept of gender so that it defies the bounds of science and logic.”

In June, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health said hormones could be started at age 14, two years earlier than the group’s previous advice, and some surgeries done at age 15 or 17, a year or so earlier than previous guidance. The group acknowledged potential risks but said it is unethical and harmful to withhold early treatment.

According to an Associated Press report, the update was based on expert opinion and a review of scientific evidence on the benefits and harms of transgender medical treatment in teens whose gender identity doesn’t match the sex they were assigned at birth. Such evidence is limited but has grown in the last decade, the group said, with studies suggesting the treatments can improve psychological well-being and reduce suicidal behavior.

A similar ban in Alabama has been challenged in federal court by families with transgender teens after Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation making it a crime for doctors to treat trans youth under 19 with puberty blockers or hormones to help affirm their gender identity. The AP has reported that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the state’s child welfare agency to investigate as abuse reports of gender-confirming care for kids while an Arkansas law banning gender-affirming medications was blocked by a court.

Mastriano’s memorandum only specifically mentions surgeries, which means it may not change the state’s handling of puberty blockers or hormone treatment for transgender youth.

Children who meet clinical guidelines are first offered medication that temporarily blocks puberty, a treatment designed for youngsters diagnosed with gender dysphoria who have been counseled with their families and are mature enough to understand what the regimen entails. The medication isn’t started until youngsters show early signs of puberty — around age 8 to 13 for girls and a year or two later for boys.

Hormone treatment can be used to make bodies more closely match gender identity by taking manufactured versions of estrogen or testosterone — hormones that prompt sexual development in puberty. Estrogen comes in skin patches and pills. Testosterone treatment usually involves weekly injections.

Dr. Julia Mason, an Oregon pediatrician who has raised concerns about the increasing numbers of youngsters who are getting transgender treatment, said too many in the field are jumping the gun. She argues there isn’t strong evidence in favor of transgender medical treatment for kids, according to the AP.

“In medicine … the treatment has to be proven safe and effective before we can start recommending it,” Mason said.

According to an AP report, starting treatment earlier allows transgender teens to experience physical puberty changes around the same time as other teens, said Dr. Eli Coleman, chair of the group’s standards of care and director of the University of Minnesota Medical School’s human sexuality program.

But he stressed that age is just one factor to be weighed. Emotional maturity, parents’ consent, longstanding gender discomfort and a careful psychological evaluation are among the others.

“Certainly there are adolescents that do not have the emotional or cognitive maturity to make an informed decision,” he said. “That is why we recommend a careful multidisciplinary assessment.”

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