Tag: mental illness

Long-awaited Cass Report reveals potential extreme harm of sex change drugs, surgeries for minors

A UK doctor warned that private clinics are not providing proper assessment to children questioning their gender identity.

This, after the National Health Services of England (NHS) banned the prescription of puberty blockers for children at gender identity clinics last month.

In a groundbreaking review for the NHS, Dr. Hilary Cass found that the global clinical practice of prescribing hormones to minors under the age of 18 to halt puberty or transition to the opposite sex was not well-supported and that the entire field of medicine devoted to helping children change their gender had been “built on shaky foundations,” per The Times.

The review resulted in the NHS banning puberty blocker prescriptions for minors at government-owned facilities, but Dr. Cass warned “I do have concerns about private provision which is not providing the level of assessment that I’m recommending in the NHS.”

During a Wednesday appearance on BBC Radio 4’s “Today,” Dr. Cass said her team had “asked NHS England to provide advice to families about what it means if they go down a private route in terms of coming back into the NHS later.”

“Because of the toxicity of the debate, [children have] often been bypassed by local services who’ve been really nervous about seeing them. So rather than doing the things that they would do for other young people with depression or anxiety, or perhaps undiagnosed autistic spectrum disorder, they’ve tended to pass them straight on to the Gids service,” said Cass.

Dr. Cass, a former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said she wanted to “help clinicians from all backgrounds realize that they do have the transferable skills to see these young people.”

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Most gender-confused children grow out of it, landmark 15-year study concludes – as critics say it shows being trans is usually just a phase for kids

The majority of gender-confused children grow out of that feeling by the time they are fully grown adults, according to a long-term study.

Researchers in the Netherlands tracked more than 2,700 children from age 11 to their mid-twenties, asking them every three years of feelings about their gender.

Results showed at the start of the research, around one-in-10 children (11 percent) expressed ‘gender non-contentedness‘ to varying degrees.

But by age 25, just one-in-25 (4 percent) said they ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ were discontent with their gender.

The researchers concluded: ‘The results of the current study might help adolescents to realize that it is normal to have some doubts about one’s identity and one’s gender identity during this age period and that this is also relatively common.’

It comes amid a massive boom in transgender children receiving drugs to change their gender in the US – as critics say doctors and parents are not challenging young people enough.

Patrick Brown, a fellow at the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center who was not involved in the research, told DailyMail.com: ‘This study provides even more reason to be skeptical towards aggressive steps to facilitate gender transition in childhood and adolescence. 

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Leaked Files From Transgender Association ‘Shocking’ And ‘Horrific’ Admission, Critics Say

A leaked video and documents exposing the inner workings of the organization responsible for setting the so-called “standards of care” for gender transition treatments and surgeries on children is a “shocking” and “horrific” admission, critics say.

The leaked files from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health—better known as WPATH—reveal “widespread medical malpractice on children and vulnerable adults,” according to a 241-page report disclosing emails, documents, and an 82-minute video.

Environmental Progress, a nonprofit organization led by founder and president Michael Shellenberger that obtained the files, released them to the public in an exposé on March 4.

“The WPATH Files show that what is called ‘gender medicine’ is neither science nor medicine,” Mr. Shellenberger said in a statement. “The experiments are not randomized, double-blind, or controlled. It’s not medicine since the first rule is to do no harm. And that requires informed consent.”

The files are “a shocking admission” by WPATH doctors and other medical practitioners privately acknowledging they’re not getting proper informed consent from parents and children before proceeding with gender transition treatments and surgeries, prominent civil rights attorney Harmeet Dhillon told The Epoch Times.

Ms. Dhillon, the founder and CEO of the Center for American Liberty, which is representing several women who’ve allegedly suffered harm and irreversible damage as a result of WPATH’s recommendations of transgender surgery for gender dysphoric children and young adults, called the exposé “an important act of journalism.”

“These leaked files show that behind closed doors, WPATH members are admitting to the fact that they’re not getting informed consent for hormonal and surgical interventions from young patients, which is the very premise of our litigation for young women who’ve been mutilated by these doctors when they were children,” she said.

The Center for American Liberty has taken on three pro-bono cases representing detransitioners Chole Cole, Layla Jane, and Luka Hein, who are suing Kaiser Permanente and doctors who performed double mastectomies on these young women.

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The leading ‘scientific’ agency behind so-called transgenderism allegedly knew its ‘treatments’ could be dangerous and ineffective

On Monday, Michael Shellenberger’s organization, Environmental Progress (“EP”), published a report that may end the trans movement. It obtained what it says are leaked files from WPATH—the World Professional Association of Transgender Health—which has set the standard of so-called “care” for so-called “transgenderism” across America. These files reveal that the people behind WPATH were allegedly aware of evidence showing that their recommendations were unhelpful and dangerous.

The title, subtitle, and lede of Mia Hughes’s 242-page report spell out the claim that leaked documents show that WPATH was guided by ideology—the desire to legitimize alleged “transgenderism”—rather than by sound scientific analysis, medical practices, and concern for patient well-being (especially child well-being):

The WPATH Files

Pseudoscientific Surgical and Hormonal Experiments on Children, Adolescents, and Vulnerable Adults

LEAKED FILES FROM WPATH REVEAL WIDESPREAD MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ON CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE ADULTS AT GLOBAL TRANSGENDER HEALTHCARE AUTHORITY

World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) members demonstrate a lack of consideration for long-term patient outcomes despite being aware of the debilitating and potentially fatal side effects of cross-sex hormones and other treatments

I’ve embedded at the end of this post Michael Shellenberger’s Twitter thread providing a summary of the report’s contents. In the thread, after explaining the genesis of the WPATH Files project and his decision to publish, Shellenberger provides just a sampling of the documents and videos that would lead most people to believe that WPATH is not a serious scientific/medical organization. Instead, it comes across as an ideological machine that will do anything to advance the concept that so-called “transgenderism” is real (rather than a form of body dysphoria) and that dangerous chemicals and mutilating surgery can, in fact, magically change people into the opposite sex.

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Research Shows Gender-Reassignment Treatments Have No Mental Health Benefits, National Pediatricians Group Says

A review of more than 60 studies has concluded that “there is no long-term evidence that mental health concerns are decreased or alleviated after ‘gender-affirming therapy,’” according to a national group of physicians.

The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) on Wednesday issued its position statement opposing the use of so-called “gender-affirming” medications, such as puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, social transition, and surgery for youth who have a gender identity not congruent with their sex.

“We urge medical professionals and parents to affirm the truth about childhood gender dysphoria in the presence of harmful thoughts and address the underlying mental illness, adverse events, and family dysfunction,” said Dr. Jane Anderson, lead author and vice president of ACPeds, in a statement.

The group found there is substantial evidence that transgender youth suffer from high rates of mental health problems.

“From this review of the literature, there is strong evidence that children and adolescents who identify as transgender have experienced significant psychological trauma leading to their gender dysphoria,” ACPeds concluded.

ACPeds position outlines the studies that have led a number of European countries, including Finland, Norway, and Sweden, to reverse their positions and reject gender-reassignment treatments in young people.

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Ex-prison officer charged in death of NH psychiatric patient

A former corrections officer was charged Thursday with second-degree murder in the death of a patient at New Hampshire’s prison psychiatric unit nine months ago.

Matthew Millar, 39, of Boscawen, is accused of kneeling on Jason Rothe’s torso and neck for several minutes on April 29 while Rothe was face-down and handcuffed in the secure psychiatric unit at the state prison in Concord. The unit treats inmates in need of acute psychiatric care, those found not guilty by reason of insanity and those — like Rothe — who haven’t committed crimes but are deemed too dangerous to remain at the state psychiatric hospital.

According to court documents, Rothe, 50, was committed to New Hampshire Hospital in 2019 because of mental illness and transferred to the prison unit in 2022 out of concern he posed a risk to himself or others. Shortly after his death, investigators said Rothe died after a physical altercation with several corrections officers and that an autopsy was inconclusive. On Thursday, the attorney general’s office said Rothe’s cause of death was combined compressional and positional asphyxia.

Millar made an initial appearance Thursday in court, where his attorney said he intends to plead not guilty. He was ordered held without bail pending a hearing Feb. 14.

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‘Cruel and unusual’: Daughter of inmate with bipolar disorder who killed self sues prison for failing to provide adequate mental health care

An inmate classified as among the most severely mentally ill killed himself in solitary confinement at a Wisconsin state prison after officials failed to provide adequate mental health care and medications, the man’s daughter alleges in a federal lawsuit filed this week.

Dean Henry Hoffmann, 60, died in June at Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI), a beleaguered facility with chronic inadequate staffing and inmate overcrowding, more than an hour northwest of Milwaukee.

“Every day I fight for some type of change within the system, and I’m hoping that this really drives that home, and something like this — holding them accountable — will lead to change,” Megan Hoffmann Kolb told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Prison officials declined to comment, citing a policy against commenting on pending litigation, the newspaper reported.

Court documents obtained by Law&Crime outline the events leading up to Hoffmann’s suicide after he was sentenced last February to 28 years in prison after his conviction for assaulting his ex-girlfriend.

Hoffmann had a history of mental illness that included bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, hypothyroidism, diabetes, and anti-social personality disorder, court documents said.

Before his trial, he had been deemed by mental health professionals and the court as being mentally ill but competent to stand trial, even though there was strenuous disagreement, the lawsuit said. In custody, he was categorized as “MH-2A,” the most severe category of mental illness, court documents said.

On April 10, Hoffmann was transferred to WCI with about 30 days of medication. When he went in, the facility had been locked down for safety reasons after some inmates had broken prison rules, court documents said. Because of lockdown restrictions, Hoffmann was never given a psychological exam and had received only some of his prescribed medications, the lawsuit alleges. He had only been able to use the phone twice in the first weeks. Guards unplugged the phone on him mid-conversation in one call.

He asked for medical treatment and showed serious symptoms of mental illness, including severe anxiety, paranoia, pressured speech, poor judgment, poor insight, loss of appetite, weight loss and insomnia, court documents said.

His frustrations mounted on June 20, when he refused to return to his cell after showering, citing “fear of his safety because of threats his cellmate made to him,” the lawsuit said.

When guards ordered him into his cell, he refused. He was handcuffed and escorted into the prison’s Restricted Housing Unit for “a minor incident despite Mr. Hoffmann expressing concerns for his safety.”

While in solitary, Hoffmann began to rapidly deteriorate mentally and physically.

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Kolstad Family Faces Imminent Arrest Amid Legal Battle After Losing Custody of Daughter in Gender Transition Dispute

Krista and Todd Kolstad have been informed that they will be arrested upon returning to Montana, the family’s spokesperson told The Gateway Pundit.

This news comes amidst allegations that Governor Greg Gianforte (R-MO) is orchestrating a smear campaign against the family, accusing them of being unfit parents after they refused to send their 14-year-old daughter out of state for mental health care.

The Kolstad family has been in the spotlight after their daughter, Jennifer, who now wished to be called “Leo” and use male pronouns, was taken into state custody.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that their daughter was transported to Wyoming, a state with different laws regarding the medical transition of minors, by the Montana CPS for treatment of her sudden onset “gender dysphoria,” despite the parents’ express disapproval.

In August 2023, police informed the Kolstads of a text message from their daughter claiming she was suicidal. They were notified by police that their daughter had allegedly ingested drain cleaner and taken an overdose of ibuprofen.

The hospital found no evidence of drain cleaner and ibuprofen, which was later confirmed by a negative toxicology report. Despite this, Jennifer was admitted for observation.

“The hospital continued to call our daughter Leo, even though she’s a minor, and after I stated it’s against our wishes, our religion, and our core family values, the hospital told me to call their lawyer if I have an issue, as they will do what the patient tells them,” Krista Koldstad said in a video.

“I said to them, according to State Bill 99, they may not under the law provide transgender care nor transition our child. Their response was, they are not providing surgery or hormones, so they’re operating in the gray area of the law. I further explained that my understanding of the law was a minor is a minor, and there’s no difference between a four-year-old and a 14-year-old, and we prefer to be called by her birth name,” she added.

A hospital aide discussed “top surgery” (elective double mastectomy) with the girl, leading to a complaint from Krista Kolstad.

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Washington therapist reveals how she was told to ‘throw out all her training’ and give ‘gender affirming care’ to abused, autistic, suicidal 13-YEAR-OLD

A Washington therapist has revealed how she was told to ‘throw out’ all of her medical training and give ‘gender affirming care’ to an abused, autistic, and suicidal 13-year-old.  

Tamara Pietzke, 36, quit the profession after she was reprimanded by her superiors for not immediately signing off on children’s requests for puberty blockers and sex change surgeries. 

Some of the kids who wanted to be transgender had a multitude of issues – including physical and mental abuse, raging anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. 

Despite this, she was shunned into quickly signing papers to give them life-changing medication – and when she brought up her concerns, she was accused of being prejudiced against trans kids, reports The Free Press.  

Mom-of-three Pietzke decided to become a therapist in her 20s, and she graduated from the University of Washington with a master’s in social work in 2012. 

Pietzke has worked with hundreds of clients in Puget Sound, Washington, over the last decade – but she quit her job in January because she was told to ‘throw out’ her training if a young person had gender dysphoria.

Instead of assessing them properly, she was told to just approve their medical transition. 

Writing in The Free Press, the therapist revealed: ‘I was getting the message from my supervisors that when a young person I was seeing expressed discomfort with their gender—the diagnostic term is gender dysphoria—I should throw out all my training.

‘No matter the patient’s history or other mental health conditions that could be complicating the situation, I was simply to affirm that the patient was transgender, and even approve the start of a medical transition.’ 

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Canada halts controversial assisted suicide program for mentally ill due to lack of doctors willing to participate

Canada has delayed the extension of its assisted suicide program to people suffering solely from mental illness, health officials announced Monday. 

Canada offers medically assisted death to terminally and chronically ill people, but the plan to extend the program to people with mental illnesses has divided Canadians, the New York Times reported.

Some critics attribute the problem to a lack of adequate psychiatric care in the country.

The controversial policy would allow anyone in Canada with an incurable medical condition to apply for assisted suicide, even if the disease is not terminal, which makes the law one of the most liberal assisted suicide programs in the world. 

Canada introduced medically assisted dying after its Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that requiring people to cope with intolerable suffering infringed on fundamental rights to liberty and security.

The law was expanded in 2021 to include people experiencing “grievous and irremediable” conditions, such as depression and other mental health issues. 

Over 13,000 Canadians were euthanized as part of the program in 2022, the Daily Mail reported. 

When the program was announced last year, one conservative lawmaker “charged that the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is promoting a ‘culture of death.’”

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