The American Media’s Failure On The Transgender Debate

For years, America’s gold-standard media outlets have largely ignored one of the most egregious medical scandals in our nation’s history. In the past half decade alone, thousands of children underwent life-altering medical procedures in an attempt to alleviate psychological distress by changing their physical sex traits. Despite the lack of evidence to support the efficacy of these procedures, legacy media outlets in the United States went out of their way to stay quiet while doctors profited and children suffered.

Journalists no longer have an excuse to ignore this debate. Last month the United States Supreme Court heard a case that could decide the government’s constitutional authority to ban these practices. The case — United States v. Skrmetti — has already led to increased media attention on an under-reported topic, a welcome development that itself will save lives. But the damage caused by the media’s years-long silence is irreparable, and hindsight will show that those with the platform to do something should have spoken up sooner.