The White House isn’t a fan of states’ age restrictions on gender-transition drugs and surgeries.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that parents and the children themselves should decide what age is appropriate to undergo medical procedures aimed at altering their gender, not state lawmakers.
“That’s something for a child and their parents to decide,” said Ms. Jean-Pierre at a press briefing. “It’s not something that we believe should be decided by legislators.”
She was asked by RealClearPolitics reporter Philip Wegmann “what the president’s reaction is to the Indiana governor signing that bill into law, and does the president have a position on at what age these kinds of therapies and surgeries are appropriate?”
Her comment came as a direct rebuke to the 15 red states, including Indiana, that have banned those under 18 from undergoing potentially irreversible medical procedures that they may come to regret.
NEW: Karine Jean-Pierre tells a reporter that Biden does NOT support age limits for gender transition hormones and surgery:
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 5, 2023
“That’s something for a child and their parents to decide.” pic.twitter.com/vBqHXjWihT
Conservatives were quick to take notice.
“The official position of the White House is that if a 5 year old boy decides he wants his penis removed, and the parent agrees, then it’s none of our business and should be perfectly legal,” columnist David Marcus tweeted.
Matt Walsh, a Daily Wire podcast host and prominent critic of the transgender movement, saw darker implications in waiving age-consent safegaurds in matters of sex.
“The White House has now officially endorsed the idea that young children can consent. We know where this goes next. It was the intention all along,” he said.
Mr. Biden has been a staunch supporter of transgender rights, accusing “MAGA extremists” of “advancing hundreds of hateful and extreme state laws that target transgender kids and their families” last week in his Transgender Day of Visibility address.
“State-level policies that stigmatize transgender children, for example by denying them access to medically necessary health care or banning schools from using LGBTQI+ inclusive curriculum, contribute to worse mental health outcomes for children and put them at increased risk of bullying and attempted suicide,” the White House said in a March 31 statement.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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