Washington, 1 May 

President Donald Trump's administration released a lengthy review of transgender health care on Thursday that advocates for a greater reliance on behavioral therapy rather than broad gender-affirming medical care for youths with gender dysmorphia.

The Health and Human Services report questions standards for the treatment of transgender youth issued by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and is likely to be used to bolster the government's abrupt shift in how to care for a subset of the population that has become a political lightning rod.

This new “best practices” report is in response to an executive order Trump issued days into his second term that says the federal government must not support gender transitions for anyone under age 19.

“Our duty is to protect our nation's children — not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said in a statement. “We must follow the gold standard of science, not activist agendas.”

HHS said its report, however, is not clinical guidance and does not make any policy recommendations. The report is also limited to children and does not address treatment for adults.