A resurfaced clip of transgender federal health official Dr. Rachel Levine saying an adult transition gave Levine the chance to be a father is circulating on social media amid Levine’s recent, full-throated advocacy for sex changes for minors.
In the clip Levine, who is assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), says “I have no regrets” about transitioning later in life, the Daily Mail reported.
Levine began a transition in 2011 at age 54 and having been married to Martha Peaslee Levine for 23 years with two adult children.
“You know, my transition was very different … I transitioned over ten years,” Levine said in the 2019 clip. “Most people don’t take that long. I have no regrets because if I had transitioned when I was younger then I wouldn’t have my children. I can’t imagine a life without my children.”
Dr. Rachel Levine says gender-affirming care for minors has Biden administration's 'highest support' https://t.co/IyRq3vKX9W
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) March 17, 2023
At the time, Levine also said that young people aren’t “willing” to wait so long. “I don’t know if I was 15 today, if I would take so long,” the HHS official stated.
On Thursday, Levine promoted the Biden administration’s support for “gender affirming” care for minors, as previously reported.
“I can say that you, the children that you serve, the young people that you serve, their families, and you all have support at the highest levels of the federal government,” the HHS official said during an appearance on a podcast hosted by Connecticut Children’s Hospital.
“President Biden supports you,” Levine added. “I, as the Assistant Secretary for Health, will support you, and I talk about this topic everywhere I go to get the word out.”
Levin also slammed critics of medical professionals who advocate for minor gender reassignments, labeling the attacks “ideologically and politically motivated.”
“I’m a positive and optimistic person, and I choose to be positive, optimistic,” the HHS official said. “And I think that the wheel will turn on this, and I think it is not going to be politically advantageous; it wasn’t particularly in 2022, and so I think that as we look to all the different elections in 2024, I think the next two years are going to be challenging, but I am positive and optimistic and hopeful that the wheel will turn after that and that this issue won’t be politically and socially such a minefield.”