Detransitioner bill of rights
Do No Harm publishes a bill of rights for minors
Launched in April 2022, Do No Harm is a US-based organization that self-describes as “a diverse group of physicians, healthcare professionals, medical students, patients, and policymakers united by a moral mission: Protect healthcare from a radical, divisive, and discriminatory ideology.” From what I can tell, this group was originally focused on challenging racial identity politics in healthcare education and has since expanded their mandate to oppose the spread of what they call gender ideology, particularly as it impacts on minors.
The detransitioner bill of rights they developed outlines six core rights which I’ve briefly paraphrased below. The authors of the bill summarize the scientific evidence to date and, on that basis, promote a ‘watchful waiting’ approach to gender care for minors. The bill outlines the potential healthcare risks of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, and notes that puberty blockers are not FDA approved for use in gender medicine. The full document is available for download on their website.
The six core rights
Right to informed consent - Written and verbal consent is required from the minor and the minor’s legal guardian(s) at each medical visit for at least 12 months. They must indicate that they understand that no evidence supports the claim that medicalization reduces suicidality, that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones come with significant health risks including sterility, and that the impact on brain development in minors remains unknown. Parents cannot be refused access to medical records, barring if the parents are engaging in abuse or neglect toward their child. Parents will not be accused of domestic violence or abuse if they refuse to permit a gender transition-related medical procedure or decline to use the minor’s chosen pronouns or name.
Right to effective care - no city, municipality or locality can prohibit mental health therapy for minors to address their gender dysphoria. Also, no city, municipality or locality can prohibit a parent from deciding whether or not they would like their child to access mental health therapy to address their gender-related distress.
Right to public transparency - gender clinics should provide statistical reports on gender procedures to their state health agency. These reports should include the dates of procedures, the age, sex and location of the person, information on prescribed drugs (if relevant), the types of surgical procedures recommended, the qualifications and contact information of the medical provider, and a description of co-occurring mental health conditions.
Right to insurance coverage - gender clinics who receive state funds to perform gender transitions should be required to provide coverage for detransition procedures. Also, any insurance policies that cover gender transition should also cover detransition procedures.
Right to legal restoration - an expedited process is needed to easily update a sex marker, pronouns, and legal name on legal documentation like birth certificates and driver’s licenses without the need for a court order.
Right to justice - A call for a 25 year window within which a minor could pursue a legal case against medical providers. Providers would be held responsible for costs associated with detransition procedures.
I have some reservations about the chilling effect this bill could have on gender-related medical care as a whole if adopted, including for trans adults like me, but I support Do No Harm’s calls for medical professionals to acknowledge the growing number of detransitioners. Medical providers have an important role to play in developing evidence-based healthcare standards for detransitioners.
This bill of rights aims to protect minors from unnecessary medicalization and aims to ensure that minors are properly supported if they decide to detransition at a later time.
That’s a mission I can stand behind.