Rachel Levine, the United States assistant secretary for health and the first transgender federal official to be confirmed by the Senate, wants to “empower” children to obtain “gender-affirmation” care, which can involve surgery such as the removal of a young girl’s breasts.
The Biden administration’s Health and Human Services department states that “gender-affirming care” can include “gender-affirming surgeries” which can entail “‘top’ surgery — to create male-typical chest shape or enhance breasts” or “‘bottom’ surgery — surgery on genitals or reproductive organs.”
“We really want to debase our treatment and to affirm and to support and empower these youth, not to limit their participation in sports and even limit their ability to get gender-affirmation treatment in their state,” Levine stated on MSNBC.
Levine also claimed so-called transgender youth suffer depression and anxiety because of harassment and bullying rather than their transgender identity itself.
“Trans youth are vulnerable and they suffer significant harassment and bullying sometimes at schools or in their community,” Levine preached. “They have more mental health issues, but there’s nothing inherent with being transgender or gender-diverse which would predispose youth to depression or anxiety. It is that harassment and bullying.”
“Now they’re suffering politically motivated attacks through state actions against these vulnerable transgender youth,” Levine added.
Last week, a Tennessee judge blocked the Biden administration from implementing their directive forcing states to allow transgender workers and students to use school restrooms opposite of their biological sex. Judge Charles Atchley denied the Biden administration’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by 20 state Republican attorney generals.
Judge Charles Atchley Jr. of the Eastern District of Tennessee, ruled in favor of the 20 Republican attorneys general who had sued the Biden administration last year, arguing that the Biden’s administration’s directive barred states from enforcing their own laws.
The Biden administration’s directive not only demanded that companies and schools permit people identifying as transgender access to bathroom opposite from their biological sex, but also insisted that school’s sports teams allow those students to participate on teams of the opposite biological sex.
The Biden administration had based its directive on the Supreme Court’s opinion in Bostock v. Clayton, but Atchley wrote, “The Bostock decision only addressed sex discrimination under Title VII; the Supreme Court expressly declined to ‘prejudge’ how its holding would apply to ‘other federal or state laws that prohibit sex discrimination’ such as Title IX,” The Washington Times noted.
“Similarly, the Supreme Court explicitly refused to decide whether ‘sex-segregated bathrooms, locker rooms, and dress codes’ violate Title VII. Bostock does not require Defendants’ interpretations of Title VII and IX. Instead, Defendants fail to cabin themselves to Bostock’s holding,” he added.
After Atchley’s decision, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt celebrated, “We sued the Biden administration to stop it from punishing states that keep men out of women’s sports. Late Friday, the judge agreed and granted us a temporary injunction.”