The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) has issued a sweeping recommendation against gender transition surgeries for minors, becoming the first major U.S. medical association to formally oppose such procedures for patients under 18.
In a statement sent Tuesday to its roughly 11,000 members, ASPS advised surgeons to delay gender-related chest, genital, and facial surgeries until a patient is at least 19 years old, The Washington Post reported.
The guidance marks a sharp shift from the group's earlier posture and comes as the Trump administration moves to rein in what it calls the overmedicalization of children with gender dysphoria.
The Department of Health and Human Services released a statement praising the move, saying ASPS was acting to protect children from irreversible 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."
Deputy HHS Secretary Jim O'Neill called the move "another victory for biological truth in the Trump administration," adding that ASPS "has set the scientific and medical standard for all provider groups to follow."
According to research published in JAMA, fewer than 1,000 minors in the U.S. undergo gender transition surgeries each year, with the majority being mastectomies rather than genital procedures.
Still, ASPS leaders said the lack of long-term evidence and the irreversible nature of the surgeries warranted a more cautious approach.
"This is a vulnerable, adolescent population," said Scot Bradley Glasberg, a past ASPS president. "We are mindful that some of these surgeries are irreversible."
ASPS has evolved significantly on the issue. In 2019, the organization opposed state restrictions on transition care.
By August 2024, it acknowledged "considerable uncertainty" surrounding long-term outcomes, paving the way for its new stance.
The position statement also cited evidence suggesting that many cases of gender dysphoria resolve without medical intervention, particularly among children.
Other medical groups, including the American Medical Association, now acknowledge that evidence supporting such procedures in minors is insufficient and generally favor deferring surgery until adulthood.
"When the medical ethics textbooks of the future are written, they'll look back on sex-rejecting procedures for minors the way we look back on lobotomies," said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Administrator Mehmet Oz.
"I applaud the American Society of Plastic Surgeons for placing itself on the right side of history."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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