Senators clash over whether parents or politicians should decide on trans youth care

A Senate hearing on gender-affirming care for minors on Wednesday became a fight over who gets to make decisions for transgender children, whether politicians should override doctors and parents, and whether the Trump administration’s escalating campaign against gender-affirming care is rooted in concern for children or hostility toward transgender people.The hearing, convened by Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, came as the administration has intensified efforts to restrict care, including Justice Department subpoenas seeking records from providers that treat transgender minors. The committee listed three witnesses, including Dr. Kurt Miceli, chief medical officer of anti-trans and anti-diversity activist group Do No Harm; Chloe Cole, an anti-trans advocate who received gender-affirming care as a minor and who regretted that care; and Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights.Related: Marjorie Taylor Greene’s bill criminalizing gender-affirming care for minors passes with Democrats’ supportOpening the hearing, Cassidy argued that children are increasingly being pushed toward medical transition by schools, social media, and what he described as ideologically driven medical institutions.“Gender ideology is being pushed to convince children and parents that cross-sex hormones and irreversible sex change operations are acceptable solutions to gender dysphoria,” Cassidy, who is a gastroenterologist, said.But gender-affirming care for minors is not a single treatment, nor does it typically begin with medication or surgery. According to the Endocrine Society, its clinical guideline recommends no medical intervention before puberty, puberty delaying medications that are “generally reversible” once puberty has begun, consideration of hormone therapy as adolescents grow older and can provide informed consent, and waiting until adulthood for genital surg