HHS report names Planned Parenthood as a ‘leading provider’ of cross-sex hormones

A new Review of Evidence and Best Practices from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on “Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria” states that Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion business, is a “leading provider” of cross-sex hormones for young people.

The Review examined the rapid growth of gender dysphoria in children and adolescents in the United States and the offering of so-called “gender-affirming care.”

“Many of these children and adolescents have co-occurring psychiatric or neurodevelopmental conditions, rendering them especially vulnerable,” states the report. “When they seek professional help, they and their families should receive compassionate, evidence-based care tailored to their specific needs. Society has a special responsibility to safeguard the well-being of children. Given that the challenges faced by these patients intersect with deeply contested issues of moral and social significance — including social identity, sex and reproduction, bodily integrity, and sex-based norms of expression and behavior — the medical practices that have recently emerged to address their needs have become a focus of significant controversy.”

There is “growing international concern about pediatric medical transition” and “the experimental nature of these medical interventions and their potential for harm.” In the UK, routinely giving puberty blockers to pediatric patients has been banned due to such concerns.

According to the Review, two of the whistleblowers against “gender-affirming care” include Laura Edwards-Leeper, the founding psychologist of the first pediatric gender clinic in the United States, and Erica Anderson, a clinical psychologist and former president of the U.S. Professional Association for Transgender Health (USPATH). The two wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post warning that adolescents are “being rushed into” medicalized interventions without sufficient psychological assessment.

The Review found that there is a lack of evidence regarding psychological effects of “gender-affirming care,” whether beneficial or harmful. However, the physical risks are known. “The risks of pediatric medical transition include infertility/sterility, sexual dysfunction, impaired bone density accrual, adverse cognitive impacts, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders, psychiatric disorders, surgical complications, and regret,” states the Review.

A profitable venture for Planned Parenthood

Despite the lack of evidence showing its benefit, “gender-affirming care” has become a profitable venture in the U.S. — including for Planned Parenthood.

The Review cites a 2024 investigative report published by The Free Press, which found that Planned Parenthood is “the country’s leading provider” of hormones for young people. About 40% of the patients who received hormones from Planned Parenthood in 2023 were between the ages of 18 and 22, with some beginning hormones at age 16 with parental approval. Planned Parenthood has been known to prescribe cross-sex hormones during a patient’s first appointment.

“In recent years, Planned Parenthood clinics have adopted an expedited access policy on an ‘informed consent’ basis,” said the Review. “Nicole Chaisson, medical director of Planned Parenthood North Central States, told The Free Press that ‘Gatekeeping is not necessary. People are the experts of their own body and their own journey, and as long as they can make decisions, they should be the agent of their own healthcare.’ Chaisson said it was appropriate for teenagers to ‘leave the clinic with their prescription’ after a single visit.”

Former case manager at the Washington University pediatric gender clinic in St. Louis, Jamie Reed, also formerly worked at Planned Parenthood. Reed became a whistleblower, testifying that the clinic referred minor patients to Planned Parenthood “when we did not have consent from legal guardians” because Planned Parenthood would give “these kid’s scripts when they did not meet” diagnostic criteria.

Planned Parenthood does state that it requires parental consent for minors to receive hormones, but Reed explained that the corporation does “not verify who the adult is that is bringing [the child] to the building” for those hormones.

Christina Hineman — one of the driving forces behind exposing Planned Parenthood’s willingness to give hormones to young people without a thorough evaluation — has filed a lawsuit against the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood after they prescribed her hormones after a visit that was less than 30 minutes. As previously reported by Live Action News, she went to an Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood affiliate in November of 2021, three weeks after her 18th birthday, to request testosterone.

“I had heard online about Planned Parenthood as a provider which will just give you hormones if you want them, and doesn’t do any kind of gatekeeping,” Hineman said. Now, she says she suffers from what may be permanent physical damage.