Townhall has covered how over 20 states have passed bans on irreversible, experimental transgender surgeries for minors. Minors like Chloe Cole who underwent these kinds of surgeries have lived to regret it and experienced ongoing complications as a result.
Over the years, studies have suggested that these kinds of surgeries were on the rise. But, a new study claimed that these operations have decreased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A study published by JAMA Network Open on Wednesday found that the number of transgender surgeries performed in the United States surged from the years 2016 through 2019. In 2020, these numbers fell, the study, National Estimates of Gender-Affirming Surgery in the US, claimed.
Reportedly, the number of gender transition surgeries in the U.S. went from 4,552 in 2016 to 13,011 in 2019. In 2020, these fell to 12,818.
“In this cohort study of 48 019 patients, [gender-affirming surgery] increased significantly, nearly tripling from 2016 to 2019. Breast and chest surgery was the most common class of procedures performed overall; genital reconstructive procedures were more common among older individuals,” the study said. It noted that 25,099 people, equating to 52.3 percent, were 19 to 30 years old. Over 27,000 people received breast and chest procedures.
“When stratified by the type of procedure performed, breast and chest procedures made up a greater percentage of the surgical interventions in younger patients, while genital surgical procedures were greater in older patients,” it said.
In the study, fewer than 1,200 patients in the 18 and under age group underwent transgender surgery.
“This age group is really not what’s driving the overall increase in gender-affirming surgery that we found,” Dr. Jason Wright of Columbia University, one of the authors of the study said.
Dr. Loren Schechter of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, who specializes in “gender-affirming” surgery, told NBC News that “transgender males” who were getting their breasts removed likely made up a large portion of the study. Schechter argued that the “top surgery” would allow them to “go to the next phase of their life in a body with which they’re comfortable and in synchrony with their identity.”
Last month, GOP Sen. J.D. Vance (OH) announced that he would introduce legislation at the federal level to outlaw these surgeries for minors, which Townhall covered.
“Under no circumstances should doctors be allowed to perform these gruesome, irreversible operations on underage children. With this legislation, we have an opportunity to save countless young Americans from a lifetime of suffering and regret,” Vance told The Daily Caller, who first reported on the legislation.