Democrats would never win another majority in Congress if Americans knew where they stood on the issues. The Democratic Party supports and promotes positions opposite the views held by a large majority of Americans.
Democrats are against any form of verifiable voter identification or common-sense changes to promote honest elections. They promote gender surgeries on children, boys in girls’ bathrooms, and men in women’s sports. They support abortion until the day of birth. They celebrate aberrant lifestyles with parades and Pride Month. They are soft on crime and oppose adequate policing for safe communities. They support open borders and promote amnesty, citizenship, voting rights, and welfare benefits for illegal immigrants. They oppose school choice and support government-run healthcare. They support bigger government and higher taxes. And few Americans know that Democrats are the party of slavery, segregation, the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow laws, and they led the longest filibuster in Senate history to block the Civil Rights Act.
How do Democrats continue to get elected? Americans don’t know the truth because no one tells them the truth.
The most important part of any political campaign is to drive up the negatives of your opponent. The second most important part is to drive up your own positives. Republicans are counseled by their pollsters to campaign on issues voters agree with, so they run all around their districts and states criticizing their opponent and talking about border control, safe communities, voter identification, and the like. The problem is they rarely associate the wrong side of these issues with their real opponent — the Democratic Party.
Elections are between Republicans and Democrats. Over 95% of the voting decisions for the 2026 midterms have already been made based on perceptions of the two political parties. Even independents will vote based on whether they want Republicans or Democrats in power. Candidates and issues are secondary — they may change the perception of the parties, but the final decisions will be based on voter preferences for one of the two political parties. Trump changed the perception of both parties among some Black Americans when he challenged them with “what have you got to lose?” This question was a permission slip for a few Black voters to change their vote from Democrat to Republican. 
“Brand” is an odd term to use in politics, but it is the most important aspect of any election. There are only two relevant brands on the ballot: Republican and Democrat. For decades, Democrats have been denigrating the Republican brand with cries of racism, hate, bigotry, opposition to Social Security and Medicare, and support for the rich and big corporations. They’ve done a good job. Voters often agree with Republicans on almost every issue but still vote Democrat because they have been convinced Republicans are essentially evil.
Republicans and Republican-aligned organizations and media have been … well … stupid. You’ll hear them blame the Biden border, woke corporations, biased media, DEI hiring, Somali fraud, the Schumer shutdown, liberal politicians, and, far, far too often, they blame the Left. None of these will be on the ballot in November. Just listen to Republican leaders or any Republican aligned media, and you’ll likely hear them blame just about everything on the Left. They might as well blame everything on the boogeyman.
Trump’s recent State of the Union address should give all Republicans and Republican-aligned organizations a tutorial. He understands branding better than anyone in the world. Trump used most of his speech to set up and bash “crazy” Democrats while thanking Republicans for assisting his success.
Republicans only have a few months to drive up the negatives of the Democratic Party, but they have plenty of ammunition. Just remember it’s the Democrat open border, Democrat daycare fraud, Democrat shutdown, Democrat child mutilation, and all the rest. The Republican messaging strategy should not be to convince Democratic voters they have been wrong in the past, but to convince them the Democratic Party has changed: it is now controlled by radical progressive Democrats or crazy Democrat Socialists. Republicans should always put a negative word or phrase in front of Democrats to remind voters the Democratic party has left them — because it has.
* * *
Jim DeMint is a former Senator from South Carolina and a best-selling author. His latest book is &#8220;What the Bible Really Says about Creation, End Times, Politics and You.”
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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While Georgia law protects kids from transgender surgeries, taxpayers in the state may still be on the hook for procedures in other states thanks to a legal loophole, one Republican lawmaker warns. 
Georgia State Senator Blake Tillery is pushing the state legislature to pass a bill that would end all state funding for transgender surgeries for both adults and minors. Tillery, the chair of the Senate appropriations committee, told The Daily Wire that most Georgians would be “appalled” to learn how their tax dollars were being spent. 
“This is not a hard decision. This is whether or not children should undergo gender-mutilating surgeries performed by adults,” Tillery said. “It&#8217;s whether or not your state taxpayer dollars should be used to pay for gender-altering surgeries that defy biology and for the vast majority of Georgians, the decision here is clear: this isn’t something they support and it&#8217;s not something that should be supported with their taxpayer dollars.”
While state law currently prohibits transgender surgeries on kids, Tillery said that the state is required to cover the transgender surgeries of minors covered under the State&#8217;s Health Benefit Plan. The plan applies to public school teachers and other state employees. Around 660,000 people are currently covered under the plan.
Tillery said a Georgia citizen covered under the State Health Benefit Plan could leave the state and go to a place like New York or California and have a transgender surgery done on their child, paid for by the state. 
He said that “if we don&#8217;t ban our state taxpayer dollars from being used to fund” these surgeries that the “convoluted system of laws requires our state taxpayer funding to be used” for the procedures in other states. 
For the last two years, Tillery, who is running for lieutenant governor, has spearheaded efforts in the Senate to cut off taxpayer funding for transgender surgeries for both children and adults. His first bill to take such action, <a href="https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/230415">SB 39</a>, passed the Senate, but has yet to be acted on by the House.
Last month, the Senate <a href="https://georgiarecorder.com/2026/02/10/georgia-senate-passes-surprise-ban-on-puberty-blockers-for-minors/">passed</a> a proposal banning puberty blockers for kids, with an amendment to end funding for transgender surgeries. The House has not voted yet on the amended bill. The office of House Speaker Jon Burns did not respond to request for comment. 
The <a href="https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/242189">amendment </a>to HB 54 was introduced by Tillery and specified that “no state funds shall be expended for health benefits coverage that includes coverage for gender-affirming care” and that “no healthcare facility owned or operated by the state and no physician or other healthcare provider employed by an agency or entity of this state shall provide gender-affirming care.”
He noted that state dollars cannot go to other elective procedures like facelifts or tummy tucks.
“Georgians aren&#8217;t allowed to use their state health benefit plan or private insurance or other elective surgeries,” he said. “Why should their state taxpayer dollars be used to pay for others&#8217; elective surgeries? Especially those that go well against the norm of the majority of Georgia&#8217;s beliefs.”
The push to end all funding for transgender procedures comes as over two dozen Republican-led states have shielded kids from surgeries and hormonal interventions. At the same time, some hospitals have ended their transgender surgery offerings. 
The Nashville-based Vanderbilt Health <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/after-boasting-about-40k-trans-surgeries-vanderbilt-reverses-course">announced</a> last month that it was phasing out offering patients procedures like crafting pseudo-genitalia for gender-confused individuals and removing the breasts of women who identify as men.

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Red State Republican Warns Taxpayers Are On The Hook For Trans Surgeries

Georgia

A Biden-appointed judge in Oregon on Thursday said he would block a Trump administration declaration stating that transgender medical procedures for children are not “safe” or “effective.” 
U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai sided with more than a dozen Democratic attorneys general who challenged the <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/declaration-pediatric-sex-rejecting-procedures.pdf">policy</a> issued by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in December 2025.
In that declaration, the Department of Health and Human Services said that “sex-rejecting procedures for children and adolescents are neither safe nor effective as a treatment modality for gender dysphoria, gender incongruence, or other related disorders in minors, and therefore, fail to meet professional recognized standards of health care.”
The administration <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ord.191371/gov.uscourts.ord.191371.86.0_1.pdf">argued</a> the declaration was a general statement of policy. However, Kasubhai indicated that Kennedy did not follow the required procedures in issuing it.
“The notion that ‘I will go forward and issue a declaration and see if we can get away with it’ is not a principle of governance that adheres to the overarching commitment to a democratic republic that requires the rule of law to be regarded and respected and honored as a sacred,” Kasubhai <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/us/rfk-jr-transgender-care-ruling.html">said</a>. 
The judge delivered a verbal ruling from the bench and said a written decision would follow. 
The declaration addressed treatments including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries like mastectomies and vaginoplasties.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of the plaintiffs in the case, celebrated the ruling.  
“Health care services for transgender young people remain legal, and the federal government cannot intimidate or punish the providers who offer them,” James said. “It is my duty and my privilege to stand with trans New Yorkers and their families. I will always fight for the LGBTQ+ community.”
The ruling comes as the Trump administration has taken steps to cut off federal funding for all providers that offer such treatments to minors. In December, HHS <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-to-cut-funding-from-all-hospitals-that-perform-trans-procedures-on-kids">posted rules</a> to bar hospitals providing transgender procedures to minors from participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs, and would prohibit Medicaid’s Children’s Health Insurance Program from being used for transgender procedures for individuals under 19.

FDA Unveils New Framework To Speed Ultra-Rare Drug Approvals

Your Tax Dollars Could Still Be On The Line In Fight Over Trans Surgeries for Kids

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In 2019, a journalist asked Iranian Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif why people are executed in Iran for being gay. His <a href="https://www.iranhr.net/media/files/Rapport_iran_2024-WEB.pdf">response</a>: “Our society has moral principles. And we live according to these principles … That means that the law is respected, and the law is obeyed.”
Under Islamic law, homosexuality is a crime punishable by imprisonment or execution for those who violate it. One could assume the conservative Islamic regime would produce similar consequences for transgenderism. But it is, in fact, legal and religiously permissible.
In the Western world, LGBT advancements are seen as a form of liberation. But in Iran, a complex dichotomy remains — where homosexuality can lead to death, yet transgenderism is given the green light. However, the practice is not celebrated so much as it is utilized as a cure for homosexuality. And in some cases, it is involuntary.
Transgenderism in Iran first surfaced in the 1980s. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founding supreme leader of the Islamic Republic, issued a fatwa — a religious decree — to legalize transgenderism, with the requirement that they are diagnosed with gender dysphoria and undergo surgery for sex changes. <a href="https://iranwire.com/en/women/124596-influential-iranian-women-maryam-khatoonpour-molkara-1950-2012/">Maryam Khatoon Molkara</a>, an Iranian transgender activist, is credited as the driving force of the movement. After years of writing letters and persisting with Khomeini, even visiting his home to plead his case, Molkara convinced the supreme leader to authorize transgender surgery in 1987.
Khomeini determined there was nothing in religious law that condemned transgenderism; rather, it could medically serve as a correction for the mental disorder.
A religious cleric, Hojatolislam Muhammad Mehdi Kariminia, famously <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7259057.stm">said</a> an operation is no more a sin than &#8220;changing wheat to flour to bread.&#8221;
He said, &#8220;Islam has a cure for people suffering from this problem. If they want to change their gender, the path is open.&#8221;
But Kariminia clarified his stance on homosexuality. &#8220;The discussion is fundamentally separate &#8230; Absolutely not related. Homosexuals are doing something unnatural and against religion,&#8221; Kariminia added.
However, ongoing reports suggest transgenderism in Iran may at times be exploited. Put plainly, some may be forced to transition.
A New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/world/middleeast/iran-transgender-surgery.html">article</a> published in October 2025 highlights the paradox: “For 40 years Iran has performed more gender transition surgeries than many other nations, largely a result of pressuring gay and gender-nonconforming citizens to undergo unwanted operations or risk the death penalty.”
The United Nations also expressed its concerns in a 2023 <a href="https://docs.un.org/en/CCPR/C/IRN/CO/4">report</a> that gay and lesbian Iranians are being &#8220;pressured into undergoing gender reassignment surgery without their free consent.”
An Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/a66b2167bb1744e6b12ba8ff1ef97c21">article</a> from 2018 stated that transgender surgery in Iran aims to cure the &#8220;disease,&#8221; and that those who &#8220;choose not to undergo surgery and get new documents can face arrest by police for dressing in a way that contradicts their government-recognized gender.”
As one of the few Muslim countries that offer these surgeries, Iran seems to be capitalizing on the endeavor: &#8220;Now, faced with an economy crippled by war and sanctions, the Islamic Republic is promoting its expertise to a global audience, hoping to attract transgender foreigners with the promise of inexpensive surgeries packaged with luxury hotel stays and sightseeing tours,&#8221; the Times noted.
According to the website of the medical company IranMedTour, compared to the cost of a transgender procedure in the United States (which can be $45,000), transgender surgery in Iran is much lower, with prices less than $12,000. &#8220;Other companies advertise procedures at government hospitals for as low as $4,500.”
The goal, according to the outlet citing Iranian media, is to raise over $7 billion annually in medical tourism.
What started as a plea for &#8220;transgender rights&#8221; from Molkara has turned into a compulsory crackdown on homosexuality and a vending machine bringing in cash from the rest of the world.

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You Can Be Trans In Iran, But Being Gay Might Get You Killed

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Just a few years after boasting about how transgender surgeries were “huge money makers,” Vanderbilt University Medical Center will no longer perform the procedures.
The Nashville-based health care center confirmed to The Daily Wire that the surgeries, which include procedures like crafting pseudo-genitalia for gender-confused individuals and removing the breasts of women who identify as men, were being phased out for logistical reasons.
“Due to operational limitations and lack of surgical coverage, Vanderbilt Health will cease providing gender-affirming plastic surgeries for adults,” a spokesman for the hospital told The Daily Wire. “Vanderbilt Health continues to provide nonsurgical gender-affirming care for adults 19 years and older. Vanderbilt Health does not provide any gender-affirming care for patients younger than 19.”
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, also known as Vanderbilt Health, is a separate entity from Vanderbilt University.
The hospital’s transgender medical program first <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/huge-money-maker-video-reveals-vanderbilts-shocking-gender-care-threats-against-dissenting-doctors">faced criticism</a> in September 2022 when Daily Wire host Matt Walsh published videos highlighting comments from Dr. Shayne Sebold Taylor discussing how lucrative transgender surgeries were.
“It’s a lot of money,” said Taylor, the program’s director at the time. “These surgeries make a lot of money.”
Taylor discussed how “chest reconstruction” could bring in $40,000 per patient and described “female-to-male bottom surgeries” — where a fake penis is constructed by taking skin from the forearm, abdomen, and thigh — as “huge money makers.”
“These surgeries are labor intensive, there are a lot of follow-ups, they require a lot of our time, and they make money,” Taylor said. “They make money for the hospital.”
Vanderbilt Health&#8217;s transgender center opened in 2018, and Taylor <a href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/health/2018/08/21/vanderbilt-transgender-health-clinic-nashville-tennessee/1054571002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> its purpose was “to coordinate” patients&#8217; “care wherever they are in the transition process.”
Taylor has since left VUMC and now runs a primary care center in Massachusetts and <a href="https://www.bluecanyonprimarycare.com/about">describes</a> herself as an expert in “general LGBTQ Health and Adolescent Medicine.”
The investigation from Walsh prompted a statewide probe from Republican officials who moved quickly to pass a ban on transgender procedures for kids. That ban was challenged by the ACLU, but was upheld in June 2025 by the Supreme Court.
Over two dozen states have passed laws to shield minors from transgender surgeries and hormonal procedures. The Trump administration has come down hard on hospitals that offer transgender procedures to kids, pulling federal funding and initiating investigations into hospitals across the country.
One <a href="https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default?BillNumber=HB2498&amp;GA=114">bill</a> currently making its way through the Tennessee legislature would prohibit dollars from TennCare, the state’s health funding program for impoverished people, from funding transgender procedures.

Four Surgeons discuss each Other Surgical Precision and Healthcare Expertise  before the Operation case

After Boasting About $40K Trans Surgeries, Vanderbilt Health Reverses Course

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A Manhattan hospital that has performed countless procedures on gender-confused children in recent years announced on Tuesday that it officially ended its youth gender clinic following the Trump administration&#8217;s move to pull federal funding.
Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone Health, which has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hospitals-clinics-are-promoting-services-to-gender-nonconforming-kids-here-are-47-of-them">offered gender procedures</a> for children since at least <a href="https://nyunews.com/news/2025/02/02/nyu-langone-gender-affirming-care/#:~:text=NYU%20Langone%20Health%20is%20a%20leading%20institution,two%20patients%20under%20the%20age%20of%2019.">2020</a>, cited the &#8220;current regulatory environment,&#8221; along with the &#8220;recent departure&#8221; of its medical director, for its &#8220;difficult decision to discontinue our Transgender Youth Health Program,&#8221; The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/nyregion/nyu-hospital-transgender-youth.html">reported</a>.
NYU Langone previously <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20220828054900/https://nyulangone.org/locations/child-study-center/gender-sexuality-service">stated</a> on its website that it prescribes &#8220;gender-affirming medical interventions, including puberty suppression, gender-affirming hormone treatments, and gender-affirming surgery&#8221; for gender-confused children. The hospital&#8217;s <a href="https://nyulangone.org/locations/child-study-center/gender-sexuality-service">website</a> no longer mentions gender surgery for children and focuses on &#8220;mental health services.&#8221;
Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hospitals-across-u-s-stop-transitioning-children-after-trump-signs-order-protecting-kids">signed</a> an executive order to protect children from irreversible gender procedures by threatening to strip federal funding from hospitals that perform the procedures. Following Trump&#8217;s order last year, NYU Langone began winding down its &#8220;Transgender Youth Health Program,&#8221; canceling appointments for children, including two 12-year-olds who were supposed to start puberty blockers, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hospitals-across-u-s-stop-transitioning-children-after-trump-signs-order-protecting-kids">reported</a> at the time. However, some parents told the Times that the hospital kept appointments for children who were already on puberty blockers or hormone therapy.
Last June, the FBI set up a <a href="https://x.com/FBI/status/1929587710894739567">tip line</a> for Americans to report &#8220;any hospitals, clinics, or practitioners&#8221; that &#8220;mutilate&#8221; children &#8220;under the guise of gender-affirming care.&#8221; The Trump administration <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/nyregion/transgender-care-lawsuit-trump.html">reportedly</a> served subpoenas to multiple hospitals last year, including NYU Langone, seeking more information on their youth gender clinics.
In December, the Trump administration began implementing the president&#8217;s executive order to protect children by proposing rules to strip federal funding from hospitals that continue to perform gender procedures on children.
Democrats have pushed back against Trump&#8217;s effort to go after hospitals and doctors that promote gender procedures for children. In response to Trump&#8217;s crackdown on hospitals performing gender procedures on children, New York joined a coalition of Democrat-led states that sued the Trump administration in an effort to stop the federal government&#8217;s investigation into hospitals and doctors that perform the life-altering procedures on children.
President Trump&#8217;s executive action to protect children from the harmful procedures followed numerous Republican-led states banning the so-called gender-affirming treatments and procedures for minors. Florida, Texas, Tennessee, and many other states took action to protect children beginning in 2023, shortly after Daily Wire host Matt Walsh&#8217;s documentary &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/what-is-a-woman">What is a Woman?</a>&#8221; exposed the dangers of gender procedures.
After &#8220;What is a Woman?&#8221; became one of the most-watched documentaries of the year, Walsh held a rally in Nashville and met with state leaders in multiple states to advocate for ending &#8220;child mutilation.&#8221;
Thanks to recent laws passed by Republican-led states and the efforts of President Trump, the tide has turned in the debate on gender procedures for children. The Trump administration and advocates for protecting children from gender procedures celebrated another <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-fight-is-not-over-major-medical-org-rejects-transgender-surgeries-for-kids">major win</a> earlier this month when the American Society of Plastic Surgeons acknowledged that &#8220;evidence did not support genital procedures or removing the breasts of young girls who identify as boys.&#8221;

NYU Langone/Donald Trump

Trump Flex Delivers Another Major Victory Protecting Kids From Gender Mutilation

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We are now witnessing a massive cultural retreat from the most controversial elements of activist-driven gender ideology aimed at children. And corporate America is a major part of that shift.
For years, the gender ideology narrative captured our society’s most prominent institutions. The notion that the provision of hormone regimens, puberty blockers, and gender transition surgeries was the only compassionate response to young people facing confusion about their gender morphed from a fringe theory into a near-unquestionable dictate during the last decade. In 2019, a doctor who believed in the Biblical and scientific notion of differences between the sexes was<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-49904997"> told</a> that his views were “incompatible with human dignity.” Parents of children struggling with gender dysphoria were often <a href="https://www.centerforbiblicalunity.com/post/would-you-rather-have-a-dead-daughter-or-a-live-son">presented</a> with a ghoulish, faux-paternalistic ultimatum by therapists and psychologists: “Would you rather have a dead daughter or a live son?”
Perhaps the most impactful driver of this narrative was the boardroom. The dictates of gender ideology were not only pushed forward by activists but also supported by some of the most recognizable brands on Earth. One of the most high-profile examples was Amazon: scholar Ryan T. Anderson, whose 2018 book When Harry Became Sally offered a thoughtful Christian response to gender ideology, had to fight through a <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-statement-on-when-harry-became-sally">book ban</a> and <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/amazon-statement-on-when-harry-became-sally">smears</a> of “hate speech,” before it could be sold in the world’s largest online market. Countless companies, from Apple to Target, were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-left-wing-activists-are-trying-to-save-corporate-wokeness">participating</a> with corporate activist organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, one of the major promoters of gender ideology in corporate America.
In the 2010s and early 2020s, it was perfectly reasonable to believe that the way major companies handled gender ideology was less about science and more about <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/corporations-that-pushed-gender-ideology-owe-america-an-explanation?author=Isaac+Willour&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=8&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Corporations+That+Pushed+Gender+Ideology+Owe+America+An+Explanation">placating</a> goalpost-shifting activists. And then, as so often happens with activist movements, the goalposts got shifted too far. It wasn’t just adult choice that was the focus of gender ideology. It was about the attempted normalization of surgical interventions for children. That was when the momentum shifted.
Three recent occurrences illustrate just how quickly the tide is turning.
First, a 22-year-old ‘detransitioner’ — someone who regrets their gender transition — just <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-court-case-has-gotten-little-attention-but-just-changed-everything">won</a> a $2 million lawsuit against the New York doctors who approved her surgery. Fox Varian, who had a double mastectomy (surgical removal of both breasts) when she was just 16 years old, is the first detransitioner to take a medical malpractice case to trial and win.
That ruling came on January 30. On February 3, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons <a href="https://www.plasticsurgery.org/for-medical-professionals/health-policy/position-statements">released</a> a statement asserting that “there is insufficient evidence demonstrating a favorable risk-benefit ratio for … gender-related endocrine and surgical interventions in children and adolescents.” 
Days later, the American Medical Association <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/health/gender-surgery-minors-ama.html">announced</a> its agreement: “The AMA agrees… surgical interventions in minors should be generally deferred to adulthood.”
Let’s be clear about what that means: in the span of approximately a week, two absolutely critical points have been proven about gender ideology: (1) performing gender transition surgeries on children is a source of major legal liability, and (2) the medical consensus does not neatly support the necessity of such treatments.
These are precisely the arguments we have made to companies for years about their healthcare coverage. For companies that spent the early 2020s placating activists pushing gender ideology, the mid 2020s may be a painful reckoning with how out-of-touch with reality those activists truly were.
Activist groups like the Human Rights Campaign <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-radical-intolerance-behind-woke-corporate-activism?author=Isaac+Willour&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=11&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=The+Radical+Intolerance+Behind+Woke+Corporate+Activism">told</a> companies that covering hormone regimens and transition care were prudent ways to minimize risk. It’s incredibly apparent that this was a wild guess at best, and a cleverly worded activist ploy at worst. As the era of corporate wokeness comes to an end, companies seeking to stay politically neutral and avoid becoming entrenched in culture war issues (remember, companies have a fiduciary duty to do this) are taking a serious look at their healthcare coverage.
For companies that cover gender transition care for adults, do they also cover detransition care? If not, that hardly reads as politically neutral. Do companies have clear stances on not covering gender transition care for children? These are the questions that we, as corporate engagement professionals, are asking hundreds of companies.
Some companies are setting the standard. Walmart, the world’s largest company, <a href="https://me.walmart.com/content/dam/themepage/pdfs/AssociateBenefitsBook-2026.pdf">publishes</a> its full Associate Benefits Guide, which includes a clear carve-out prohibiting health plan administrators from providing transgender medical interventions to minors. The company has also been incredibly constructive in engaging with its shareholders on this issue. Other companies should follow Walmart’s example. You’d be amazed by how many haven’t. But the winds are blowing in our favor.
One major example of the large-scale retreat is the widespread drop in support for the Human Rights Campaign, whose ‘Corporate Equality Index’ grades companies in part by their adherence to activist criteria surrounding hormone regimens, transition surgery, and the like. In 2025, almost 380 Fortune 500 companies participated in the Index. In 2026? Fewer than 150. Many of the major names that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-radical-intolerance-behind-woke-corporate-activism?author=Isaac+Willour&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=11&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=The+Radical+Intolerance+Behind+Woke+Corporate+Activism">ceased participation</a>, including Capital One, Goldman Sachs, and Google (Alphabet), are companies we’ve engaged with surrounding these issues.
If these signs are any indication, there’s much more to come. As the consequences of such treatments become more widely understood, by major companies, providers, and especially insurers, we may well see the forming of a new consensus, the one that always should have been: the dictates of gender ideology, that promoted and supported major and often irreversible medical interventions for children, are being rejected by the brands that make up our capital markets. For the sake of America’s children, that rejection can’t come fast enough.
* * *
Isaac Willour is an award-winning journalist focusing on race, culture, and American conservatism, as well as a corporate relations analyst at Bowyer Research. His work has been featured at outlets including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Opinion, C-SPAN, and The Daily Wire. He is a member of the Young Voices contributor program and can be found on X <a href="https://twitter.com/IsaacWillour" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@IsaacWillour</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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Corporate America Quietly Backs Away From Gender Ideology For Children

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A new $2 million verdict indicates that the “transitioning” of children in America is dying or dead.
If you go back just a few years, it was de rigueur for every major commentator and every major politician to say that boys or girls could become one another.
Major medical establishment organizations claimed that it was the purest form of science to say that boys could become girls, and in fact, the best treatment for people suffering from gender dysphoria was for them to have hormone treatment and surgery.
In 2021, the American Medical Association was <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/ama-states-stop-interfering-health-care-transgender-children">telling governors</a> to oppose state legislation that would prohibit “medically necessary” gender transition-related care for minor patients, calling such efforts “a dangerous intrusion into the practice of medicine.”
That, of course, was not relegated only to psychological care or social transition, or even to hormones. It also included, on many occasions, surgery. 
In fact, the AMA specifically <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/ama-states-stop-interfering-health-care-transgender-children">put out a letter</a> stating:
<blockquote>Empirical evidence has demonstrated that trans and non-binary gender identities are normal variations of human identity and expression for gender diverse individuals. Standards of care and accepted medically necessary services that affirm gender or treat gender dysphoria may include mental health counseling, non-medical social transition, gender affirming hormone therapy, and or gender affirming surgeries. 
</blockquote>
This was the standard of care, according to the American Medical Association.
It was a load of horsesh*t.
If you ever wonder about the signal moments in the last 30 years of American history in which people fell out of love with institutions and decided that institutions had betrayed their trust — this was a big one.
There have been many, including the coverage of Biden&#8217;s mental health issues, education, Critical Race Theory, scientific organizations, and COVID.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2361-transing-of-children-in-america-is-dead"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-981859 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner.avif" alt="" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner.avif 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner-300x50.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner-768x128.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
But the biggest one was likely this — a lie that everyone above the age of one and a half knew was a lie — which was to deny that boys and girls aren&#8217;t the same. The medical establishment said that boys could become girls, girls could become boys, and the best treatment for someone who was struggling with body dysmorphia was not to work on their mental health, but to surgically alter their body by cutting off healthy body parts, by creating fake new body parts.
This was insanity. It was pathological. It was nuts.
But it became de rigueur.
The fact that Democrats are still struggling with this shows how out of touch they remain with reality.
So what finally broke the system? As always in America, trial lawyers.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/health/gender-surgery-malpractice-varian.html">reported:</a> “In the first malpractice verdict against providers of gender-affirming care for minors —&#8221;
Stop right there. That well-known language is insane. “Gender-affirming” is sex-rejecting. That’s what “gender-affirming” means in this context.
We are not talking about a woman who had a double mastectomy because she had breast cancer or the BRCA gene, and decided to have that double mastectomy, and now wants to reconstruct her breasts. That would be gender-affirming.
Gender affirming in this context means sex-denying. A boy believes he&#8217;s a girl, so they cut off his penis and testicles. That is what they mean.
Back to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/health/gender-surgery-malpractice-varian.html">the piece</a>:
<blockquote>In the first malpractice verdict against providers of gender-affirming care for minors, a jury in New York State has awarded a woman $2 million in damages for a double mastectomy she received as a teenager that she said had left her disfigured.</blockquote>
Obviously, it left her disfigured. That’s a reality when you have your breasts cut off, not because you&#8217;re worried that you&#8217;re going to get breast cancer or for any other real medical reason, but because you say you want to look more like a boy.
<blockquote>The plaintiff, Fox Varian, 22, of Yorktown Heights, had accused her psychologist and the plastic surgeon who performed the operation of failing to obtain adequate consent about the risks before she agreed to undergo the procedure in 2019. She also claimed that the providers had deviated from standard practices governing gender-related medical care. Ms. Varian, who was 16 at the time of the surgery, was assigned female at birth but as a teenager identified as a man.</blockquote>
Legacy media verbiage that is totally psychotic. “Assigned female at birth?”
You are not assigned anything. A doctor looks at you and knows you are female by looking at you when you are a baby.
This woman later came to regret the decision to transition and returned to being a woman in accordance with her actual biology, an example of a process known as detransitioning, or what some people might call “recognition of reality.”
Very often, when people cite studies suggesting that people don&#8217;t really detransition, that is because the studies do not include people who don&#8217;t follow up with the doctor. The vast majority of people who decide that they don&#8217;t want to carry forward with their “gender transition” never get back in touch with the people who were trying to transition them in the first place.
Thus, the continued pressure tactics are used by people in this industry.
The Times continued:
<blockquote>According to Kinnon MacKinnon, who studies transgender care at York University in Toronto, a vast majority of young people who opt for a medical transition say the procedure resolves their gender dysphoria and improves the quality of their lives.</blockquote>
Do you think they&#8217;re coming back to Kinnon MacKinnon to explain that things went badly? That’s not the way that this works. 
So why do I say this verdict means that the transition of children in America is dying or dead? Because plastic surgeons now find themselves at risk of medical liability for doing something that is clearly non-medical, such as cutting off healthy body parts, doctors are going to stop doing it.
On Tuesday, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons <a href="https://www.plasticsurgery.org/for-medical-professionals/health-policy/position-statements">put out a statement</a> saying:
<blockquote>Consistent with ASPS’s August 2024 statement that the overall evidence base for gender-related endocrine and surgical interventions is low certainty, and in light of recent publications reporting very low/low certainty of evidence regarding mental health outcomes, along with emerging concerns about potential long-term harms and the irreversible nature of surgical interventions in a developmentally vulnerable population, ASPS concludes there is insufficient evidence demonstrating a favorable risk-benefit ratio for the pathway of gender-related endocrine and surgical interventions in children and adolescents. ASPS recommends that surgeons delay gender-related breast/chest, genital, and facial surgery until a patient is at least 19 years old.</blockquote>
What’s hilarious about this statement is that they are not making the case that they picked the age of 19 because the brain is developed enough for a teen to make a good decision. That is not the case they&#8217;re making. They&#8217;re not saying there&#8217;s a difference in kind between these sorts of surgeries performed on a 21-year-old and those performed on a 17-year-old.
The reason they are putting out “19 years old” is very obvious: At 18, you can legally consent, and once you can legally consent, the doctors can&#8217;t be sued.
That&#8217;s all that&#8217;s happening here. Liability came to the plastic surgeons, and now they&#8217;re saying, “We still want to do these surgeries because we get paid for them even though they&#8217;re really bad. We&#8217;re going to continue to do them, but we&#8217;ll do it for people above the age of 18.’
That is still bad medical practice. It does not solve the problem politically for people who claim that men can become women and women can become men.
This is a barrier for Democrats. When I was on Gavin Newsom&#8217;s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrDpBwpSqSc">show</a> in California, this issue came up, and he really struggled with it. The reason he struggled with it is because he knows it is not only a political loser, but in his heart, he knows it is not true.
The vast majority of people in the United States also know it is untrue that a man can become a woman.
But there are social demands to mirror that nonsense. And if Democrats decide to follow this issue all the way down the political rabbit hole, they will not be able to get out. It is legitimately a barrier to entry for voters.
The bottom line is that if Democrats keep running up against both the science and legal liability, they are in for a continued world of hurt.

Transgender person from behind, wearing pink and white striped sweatshirt, holds transgender flag

Transing Of Children In America Is Dead

Ben Shapiro

Boys

Girls

Lawsuit

Plastic Surgery

The American Medical Association (AMA) &#8212; which wields major influence as the nation&#8217;s largest medical association &#8212; has reversed course on its position concerning transgender surgical procedures for minors.
In a <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/first-major-medical-org-comes-out-against-trans-surgeries-for-minors/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">statement</a> to National Review, the AMA said “the evidence for gender-affirming surgical intervention in minors is insufficient for us to make a definitive statement,&#8221; adding that it &#8220;agrees&#8221; with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) &#8220;that surgical interventions in minors should be generally deferred to adulthood.”
The AMA added that it supports “evidence-based treatment,” including other types of so-called gender-affirming care for minors.
As highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-fight-is-not-over-major-medical-org-rejects-transgender-surgeries-for-kids">The Daily Wire</a>, ASPS released a statement on Tuesday that said available evidence does not support genital procedures or removing the breasts of young girls who identify as boys. The ASPS also said there was “insufficient” support for placing kids on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
The pivot from the AMA is particularly stark, since the association has gone all-in on transgender procedures for minors even in the face of mounting evidence that such action is harmful and often irreversible.
Also, the timing of the change is incredibly notable. Just last week, a young woman was awarded a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shocking-details-emerge-in-landmark-2-million-trans-malpractice-judgment?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Shocking+Details+Emerge+In+Landmark+%242+Million+‘Trans’+Malpractice+Judgment">$2 million judgment</a> in her lawsuit against the medical professionals who advanced and performed the removal of her healthy breasts at just 16 years old as part of transgender &#8220;treatment&#8221; for the teen, who at the time was suffering from a series of mental health issues.
Mere months ago, the AMA <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americas-largest-medical-association-sides-with-child-mutilation-after-scotus-ruling">reaffirmed</a> its commitment to transgender procedures for minors in the wake of the Supreme Court&#8217;s ruling in United States v. Skrmetti, which effectively allowed states to ban such surgeries. 
“The American Medical Association is disappointed in today’s decision that opens the door to further intrusion into patient care and harmful government interference into the practice of medicine,” AMA President Dr. Bobby Mukkamala <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/ama-statement-united-states-v-skrmetti" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement after the ruling came down.
<div class="dw-mm-player-container">Mukkamala added, “The AMA opposes efforts by the government to insert itself into the patient-physician relationship and interfere in clinical decision-making with no regard for the clinical standards of care.&#8221;</div>
Moreover, in video footage <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2267-trump-protects-the-american-flag-plus-we-break-a-major-story?elementPosition=3&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> by The Ben Shapiro Show, Mukkamala makes wild remarks about the benefits of transgender procedures for minors, such as claiming puberty blockers are reversible and citing other questionable statistics about transgender regret and suicide rates, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/im-not-an-expert-at-all-damning-video-exposes-medical-org-over-support-for-trans-procedures">The Daily Wire</a> reported.
<div class="dw-mm-player-container">Mukkamala, referring to trans health &#8220;experts,&#8221; also said on camera that he has &#8220;no business discussing the science that’s brought to the American Medical Association from people that spent years in training for this, and years taking care of patients for this.”</div>
Additionally, in 2023, the AMA <a href="https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/2023/ama-gender-affirming-care">passed</a> a resolution that committed to “opposing any criminal and legal penalties against patients seeking gender-affirming care, family members or guardians who support them in seeking medical care, and health care facilities and clinicians who provide gender-affirming care.”
The association also vowed to “work at the federal and state level with legislators and regulators to oppose such policies and collaborate with other organizations to educate the Federation of State Medical Boards about the importance of gender-affirming care.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/shocking-details-emerge-in-landmark-2-million-trans-malpractice-judgment?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Shocking+Details+Emerge+In+Landmark+%242+Million+‘Trans’+Malpractice+Judgment">Shocking Details Emerge In Landmark $2 Million ‘Trans’ Malpractice Judgment</a>

A girl holds the Transgender Pride flag during the pride

Another Major Medical Group Reverses Course On Trans Surgeries For Minors

Health

Medical Research

minors

Trans flag

This Court Case Has Gotten Little Attention But Just Changed Everything

Doctors

Matt Walsh

Medical

WPATH

Dr. Jess Ting, the head of transgender medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, brought his girlfriend and her three children to Jeffrey Epstein&#8217;s private Caribbean island years after his criminal conviction on sex crimes, emails show.
Ting, who specializes in crafting fake vaginas for gender-confused males, cultivated a personal and professional relationship with Epstein for years, according to emails released by the Justice Department on Friday.
In 2013, Ting visited Epstein’s island with his family — a trip upon which Epstein’s assistant told the doctor that he was welcome to come play with Epstein&#8217;s &#8220;toys.&#8221; Ting in 2015 offered to let Epstein vet his answers to a reporter about the sex offender’s philanthropy, which included funding for Ting’s research.
Neither Mount Sinai nor Ting responded to multiple requests for comment from The Daily Wire. Ting <a href="https://www.advocate.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-jess-ting-responds">confirmed</a> the visit to the island on Monday night in a written message to The Advocate, an LGBT activist outlet. Ting has not been accused of any criminal misconduct.
“I came to know Jeffrey Epstein in my professional capacity as a general plastic surgeon about 10+ years ago,” Ting told the publication. “I remember reading news reports about his being charged with sex crimes, but I don’t recall if that was before or after I treated any of the patients referred by his office.” 
Ting <a href="https://wng.org/roundups/plastic-surgeons-dissent-from-pro-trans-trend-with-minors-1725647038">became famous</a> for helping create a pseudo-vagina for then-17-year-old Jazz Jennings, a gender-confused male who was pushed by the media as one of the first transgender-identifying children. This saga played out tragically to millions of Americans in the TLC show &#8220;I Am Jazz.&#8221; 
The <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA02144751.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-sk="tooltip_parent">emails show</a> that Ting was invited to have lunch and play with Epstein&#8217;s &#8220;toys&#8221; on March 14, 2013, to Little Saint James, a private island owned by Epstein, where accusers say he sex trafficked women and young girls. That invitation came just a few years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution and soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18.
The invite was sent two days after Ting <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA02146827.pdf">was added</a> to Epstein’s email directory by his assistant, Lesley Groff. Groff has denied all wrongdoing and has said she was shocked by the allegations against Epstein.
“Hello Dr. Ting. Jeffrey would like you to enjoy a day on his island during your vacation! We can have you and your family picked up from St. John on what ever day is convenient for you, brought to Jeffrey&#8217;s island to play with his &#8216;toys&#8217; and have some lunch,” an assistant of Epstein wrote. “Please let us know what day would work and they can take it from there!”
<div id="attachment_1038047" style="width: 1651px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1038047" class="size-full wp-image-1038047" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-11.23.51-AM.png" alt="" width="1641" height="361" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-11.23.51-AM.png 1641w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-11.23.51-AM-300x66.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-11.23.51-AM-1024x225.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-11.23.51-AM-768x169.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/02/Screenshot-2026-02-03-at-11.23.51-AM-1536x338.png 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 1641px) 100vw, 1641px" />Justice Department.</div>
Just seven minutes after the initial invitation, Ting responded to confirm the visit. 
“That is incredibly generous of Jeffrey!! I will get back to you shortly about timing,” Ting wrote. 
On March 18, 2013, Ting <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA02145116.pdf">was asked</a> by one of Epstein’s associates what day would work to visit the island. 
“Just checking in to see if a certain day would work for you to have some fun on Jeffrey&#8217;s island! Let us know,” the person wrote. 
Epstein’s assistant later <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02567812.pdf">emailed</a> him to let him know that Ting, his girlfriend, Michelle, her three kids, and two nannies would be visiting the island. “Dr. Ting is thrilled and thanks you so much,” the assistant wrote. 
Ting claimed to The Advocate that the “toys” mentioned in the initial invite were jet skis and sailboats. 
&#8220;I was vacationing in St. John with my then-girlfriend, and he invited me to his island. He wasn’t there at the time, and the only people who were there at the time were his staff,” he said. 
Just a few days after the island visit, Ting was invited over to Epstein’s Manhattan home. 
“Hello Dr. Ting. I hope you had a nice visit to Jeffrey&#8217;s island last Friday. Jeffrey is asking if you could come see him at his home,” Epstein’s assistant <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA02143161.pdf">wrote</a> on March 25, 2013. That visit appeared to happen on April 3, 2013, after Ting confirmed that he could go over to Epstein’s house at 10:00 p.m.
On April 13, 2013, it was <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jeffrey-epstein-new-york-philanthropist-funds-pioneering-cancer-metastasis-research-at-mount-sinai-202850511.html">announced</a> that Epstein was funding Ting’s research at Mount Sinai on cancer metastasis. 
During a subsequent visit to Epstein’s home on May 3, Ting <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00390966.pdf">was told</a> that it was okay to bring the three young kids along. “Jeffrey says it is just fine to bring the kiddos!” an assistant for Epstein wrote. 
Epstein also connected Ting, then a plastic surgeon, with a woman named “Shelley” who wanted a nose job and was reportedly “a very good friend” of Epstein. 
“Jeffrey is asking if you might have time tomorrow, Friday May 3rd, after 4pm to see a very good friend of his regarding her nose… » Please let me know if this might be possible,” Epstein’s assistant <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA02139788.pdf">wrote</a> on May 2, 2013. 
Ting told The Advocate that he had seen several women referred to him by Epstein, and that he had treated “a few female associates referred by Jeffrey Epstein.&#8221; He added that they were all adults and there “were no concerns about consent.”
The emails also show that Ting consulted with Epstein on several of his health issues and scheduled MRIs for him.
Ting and Epstein’s relationship continued for the next few years and even included them coordinating responses to reporters together. 
On January 23, 2015, a Reuters reporter reached out to Ting about his ties to Epstein following a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/10/jeffrey-epstein-decade-scandal-prince-andrew">new report</a> on Epstein’s relationship with the disgraced Prince Andrew. 
“I&#8217;m a reporter with the Reuters news wire, and I&#8217;m working on a story about the philanthropist Jeffrey Epstein. Are you available for an interview about Mr. Epstein? I understand he has helped to fund some of your work, and I&#8217;m interested in learning more about his philanthropy and whether it has been affected by the recent news about him,” the reporter asked. 
Mount Sinai, where Ting is a doctor, received thousands of dollars in donations from Epstein and his foundation. The hospital <a href="https://www.mountsinai.org/about/newsroom/2019/statement-from-mount-sinai-health-system-regarding-donations-from-jeffrey-epstein">pledged</a> to donate to groups supporting rape and sexual assault survivors after Epstein’s 2019 arrest. 
After the request for comment, Ting forwarded the email to Epstein’s assistant to see if he should respond. 
“See below. Would Jeffrey like me to respond to this?” Ting <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00353575.pdf">wrote</a>. 
“Hi Dr. Ting&#8230;Jeffrey actually says to YES respond!” Epstein’s assistant responded. 
Ting responded by offering to let Epstein approve his replies to the reporter’s questions. 
“I will ask him to email me the questions and then I will forward them to you so Mr. Epstein can vet my responses,” Ting<a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00353577.pdf"> wrote</a>.
On January 29, Epstein was <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00865475.pdf">forwarded</a> a message from Ting saying, &#8220;That reporter never got back to me.&#8221;
Later in their relationship, Ting reached out to ask Epstein to thank him for the $50,000 he had donated to his research and to inform him that he had gone into transgender medicine. 
“I have been made surgical director of the brand new transgender surgery program at Mount Sinai. That&#8217;s right — Mount Sinai, being the progressive place that it is, saw am opportunity and need to take a leadership position in the area of Transgender Health and created the first full-spectrum academic program in the US focused on transgender surgery and care,” Ting <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01743575.pdf">wrote</a> on May 14, 2016. 
Ting also asked Epstein to fund a documentary he was making on transgender medicine. 
“This was such an interesting and innovative idea, that I thought it would make a good documentary. I pitched the idea to a well-known director and we have started scouting interviews and are in the process of making a fundraising trailer, Ting wrote. 
“If I could just be really forward, I was wondering if you would be interested in supporting this documentary? If so, the producer, director and I would love to come and give you the pitch in person. This is an exciting, groundbreaking project — both the center and the documentary — that will do good for the world. I hope you can be a part of it,” he added. 
Epstein forwarded that email to one of his associates, who <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00671299.pdf">replied</a> by saying that it would be better to fund a breast cancer center at Mount Sinai. 
On July 1, 2017, Ting wrote to Epstein again and shared a link to the trailer of the documentary. 
“I have given up plastic surgery and have jumped into the world of transgender surgery. It&#8217;s the most gratifying, worthwhile, and fascinating thing i&#8217;ve ever done. Michelle (my gf) is even making a documentary about it! Please take a look at the rough trailer,” he <a href="https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02646620.pdf">wrote</a>. 
Epstein responded, “wow, ill return mid july, lets talk.”
About one month later, Ting <a href="https://www.justice.gov/age-verify?destination=/epstein/files/DataSet%2011/EFTA02639932.pdf">shared</a> a Daily Mail article with Epstein and several others on the opening of the Mount Sinai transgender center. 
Ting’s <a href="https://www.borntobefilm.com/about">documentary</a> on the opening of the clinic, “Born to Be,” was released in 2020. The film follows &#8220;how his journey from renowned plastic surgeon to pioneering gender-affirming specialist has led to his own transformation.” 
As of March 2021, Ting <a href="https://www.mountsinai.org/about/newsroom/podcasts/real-smart-people/jess-love-thy-neighbor">said</a> he has done over 1,500 so-called “gender affirming” surgeries on patients as old as 77 and as young as 17. Ting innovated something called the peritoneum vaginoplasty, which uses skin taken from the stomach to fashion a pseudo-vagina. 
“In the beginning, I was just going to do a little bit of this operation. It was just going to be a part of my practice,” Ting said of his work during a podcast published by Mount Sinai. “But once we started doing the operations and just seeing how transformative they were for patients, I was like, wow, there is no way I can go back to doing plastic surgery.”
Ting acknowledged the dangers of the procedures. 
“If you make a mistake, someone can get — they can die. They can bleed. And the operations are more difficult. And at the same time, they&#8217;re not as well-developed. I probably shouldn&#8217;t say this, but, you know, I get nervous before almost every case.&#8221;

Epstein

‘Incredibly Generous’: Famous Trans Surgeon Accepted Invite To ‘Have Some Fun’ On Epstein Island

Famous Trans Surgeon Accepted Epstein’s Invite To ‘Have Some Fun’ On His Island

Department of Justice

Epstein Files

Jeffrey Epstein

A major medical association said Tuesday that it does not support transgender surgeries on those under the age of 19, drawing praise from the Trump administration.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) <a href="https://www.plasticsurgery.org/documents/health-policy/positions/2026-gender-surgery-children-adolescents.pdf">released</a> a position statement saying that the available evidence did not support genital procedures or removing the breasts of young girls who identify as boys. The society also said there was “insufficient” support for placing kids on puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
“In light of recent publications reporting very low/low certainty of evidence regarding mental health outcomes, along with emerging concerns about potential long-term harms and the irreversible nature of surgical interventions in a developmentally vulnerable population, ASPS concludes there is insufficient evidence demonstrating a favorable risk-benefit ratio for the pathway of gender-related endocrine and surgical interventions in children and adolescents,” the society said in its position statement. “ASPS recommends that surgeons delay gender-related breast/chest, genital, and facial surgery until a patient is at least 19 years old.”
The position statement, in part, cited a review from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which found there was no support for transgender procedures on minors.
“These reviews have not resolved earlier uncertainties regarding treatment benefit; in some areas they have contributed to a clearer understanding of potential harms, while also highlighting limitations of the available evidence, including gaps in documenting long-term physical, psychological, and psychosocial outcomes,” the position statement said.
The Trump administration has fought hard to shield kids from transgender procedures and has looked to cut off all government funding for hospitals that perform the procedures.
“We commend the American Society of Plastic Surgeons for standing up to the overmedicalization lobby and defending sound science,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said. “By taking this stand, they are helping protect future generations of American children from irreversible harm.”
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, the chair of Do No Harm, praised the society for its statement, saying that it was the first major medical society to disavow the procedures for kids.
“High praise to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons for taking an important step toward ending the unscientific and harmful practice of sex-rejecting procedures on minors,” he said. “The ASPS’s thoughtful, scientific, and well-reasoned statement today is a model for other medical organizations—namely the Endocrine Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and others—to follow and disavow their previous support for experimental and unscientific interventions. This fight is not over, and we will continue to protect American children by exposing any organization that spreads gender lies.”
Over two dozen states have passed laws protecting kids from transgender surgeries and life-altering cross-sex hormones. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons said it believes that “the regulation of medical care is best achieved through professional self-regulation, rather than criminal law or punitive legislative approaches.”

Democratic Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Delivers Address To Jewish Community In New York

‘This Fight Is Not Over’: Major Medical Org Rejects Transgender Surgeries For Kids

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