Admiral Brian Christine, Assistant Secretary of Health, told Newsmax on Thursday that while adults have the right to pursue gender-transition procedures if they choose, the federal government's responsibility is to protect minors from what he described as harmful and irreversible medical interventions.
Appearing on "Greg Kelly Reports," Christine said his priority is safeguarding children from surgeries and drugs that permanently alter their bodies while ensuring adults maintain full autonomy over their own medical decisions.
"If adult men and women choose to undergo these plastic-surgery procedures that change the external appearance of their body, they're certainly welcome to do so," Christine said.
"That's not something I would personally recommend, but they can do that."
He stressed, however, that the real concern is the growing number of minors being steered toward medicalized gender treatments.
"We're focusing on the adolescents and the minors," he said.
"These are the vulnerable patients, the vulnerable Americans that we need to protect. And that's exactly what we're going to do. And we are never going to back away from that."
Christine emphasized that children experiencing gender confusion or distress deserve care — but not the irreversible interventions that have sparked nationwide controversy.
"These children who truly have gender dysphoria, they suffer," he told Kelly. "They deserve compassion. They deserve love. They deserve competent psychiatric and mental healthcare."
"What they do not need," he added, "is mutilating surgery and castrating chemicals."
Christine's comments reflect the administration's policy stance: adults retain full freedom to make decisions about their own bodies, while minors require additional protections from procedures he says carry lifelong consequences.
He also underscored that the government's approach is rooted in both medical ethics and common sense.
"Our job is to protect vulnerable Americans," Christine said. "That means ensuring they get the mental healthcare they need — not pushing them into procedures that cannot be undone."
Christine's remarks come amid growing legislative debates across the country over whether minors should have access to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender-transition surgeries.
While several states have banned the procedures for minors, others have moved to expand access.
On Newsmax, Christine left no doubt where he stands.
"We are committed to protecting children," he said. "And we're not backing down."
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