Utah Review: Youth Gender Medicine Exceeds Typical FDA Requirements
Leading Off: A first look at Utah's evidence review. The Times is pressed on bias. Democrats and Republicans say trans people face bigotry. The top story lines as the week begins.
A massive new evidence review conducted by Utah's Drug Regimen Review Center, run out of the College of Pharmacy at the University of Utah, has declared youth transgender medicine safe, effective and fully in line with mainstream pediatric medical practice.
Commissioned by the Utah state legislature in 2023 at the same time lawmakers imposed a ban on youth gender medicine in Utah, the review presents a comprehensive look at research on hormonal treatments for gender dysphoria in youth including past systematic reviews and established clinical guidelines.
"The body of evidence that we have uncovered exceeds the amount of evidence that often serves as the basis of FDA approval for many high-risk, new drugs approved in pediatric populations in the US, including recent gene therapies," the report states.
It is unclear whether Utah legislators are willing to follow this new evidence and reverse the ban on gender-affirming medicine.
The Salt Lake City Tribune quoted a joint statement from two of the ban's cosponsors stating, “Young kids and teenagers should not be making life-altering medical decisions based on weak evidence." The statement seemed not to engage with the findings of the report from the University of Utah that their own bill had commissioned.
Expect comprehensive coverage of the contents of the Utah report later in the week from Assigned Media.
New York Times challenged on bias at stockholder meeting: Questions continue to be raised about the paper of record's transgender coverage, most recently at its annual stockholder meeting on April 30. LGBTQ+ media watchdog GLAAD posted audio of the question, and the response of publisher A.G. Sulzburger, which echoed previous company press releases, to its Instagram on Friday.
Shareholder question: How does the Times anticipate the loud and numerous critiques of transgender coverage–there's a billboard in front of the Times building right now–impacting consumer trust in the financial bottom line?
Times response: I'm gonna turn it over to AG to answer this question.
AG Sulzberger: Thank you for the question. We've obviously heard the feedback and appreciate the perspective, but ultimately I have to reject the claim that this coverage has been biased. It's been rigorously reported and edited. It's been fair and respectful of the people we're covering and I believe sensitive to the moment as well.
There are few issues in our society that are evolving as quickly as um as and are more fiercely debated than questions around gender identity. Our role is to cover all aspects of this issue.
By Evan Urquhart
Large majority of Americans say trans people face bigotry, Pew finds: These last few weeks and months have been pretty relentless with the Trump administration’s attacks on trans people. Across the country we have seen historic threats to our rights.
Pew Research, for the first time, has asked Americans specifically how they view discrimination against transgender Americans. An overwhelming majority of respondents with Democratic leanings – 91 percent – said trans people face discrimination, and 70 percent characterized it as a lot of discrimination.
There is a difference, of degree, with those with Republican leanings: 63 percent of these respondents said transgender Americans face discrimination, though only 26 percent went so far as to say it’s a lot.
The findings come in the context of Pew’s new survey gauging Americans’ perceptions of discrimination faced by women, immigrants, all queer people and members of various social, religious, and ethnic groups.
This data is very interesting to see, and raises a good number of questions. With so many Democratic-leaning folks bluntly saying trans people face vast discrimination, why are many party leaders and would-be candidates not speaking up for our rights in a full-throated way?
And if a sizable majority of Repubican-leaning folks perceive us as facing at least some discrimination, it begs the question of why right-wing media and groups are so obsessed with furthering disinformation and bigotry?
Self-interest and money play a big part, with Americans themselves sidelined. Right-wing groups raise a lot of money on anti-trans rage, money that fuels their broad reactionary agenda.
And many so-called "centrist" Democrats who crave the approval of the Joe Rogan crowd are more than willing to surrender principles to serve their political aspirations.
By Valorie Van-Dieman
A health summit comes at a crucial time: Health care professionals will gather in San Francisco this coming weekend for the National Transgender Health Summit. This year’s theme is “Igniting Change: Activating Transgender Health and Healing Across the Lifespan.” The NTHS opens Saturday.
This year marks the seventh biennial convening of the NTHS. Given the continued threats to gender-affirming care in the U.S., the timing could not be better.
Just last week, the House of Representatives passed a spending bill that would prohibit Medicaid from covering transition care for adults as well as minors. The expertise and testimony of trans health care professionals is needed to combat the ignorance and fear-mongering that threatens the safety and well-being of our community.
Leading up to the gathering, a Pre-Summit Institute runs on Thursday and Friday, and a free Collective Action Pre-Conference will take place on Friday. The theme of the pre-conference, which is co-hosted by The Transgender District, is “Facilitating and Evaluating a Collective Action Response: Protecting the Health of the Community.”
Registration information for all conference sessions is online. The 2025 Summit is sponsored by the University of California, San Francisco’s Center of Excellence for Transgender Health, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, Prevention Research Center, Alliance Health Project, and the Training & Health Equity Collaborative.
By Pax Ahimsa Gethen
Evan Urquhart is the founder of Assigned Media.
Valorie Van-Dieman (she/they) is a reporter and editorial assistant at Assigned Media. @valorievandieman.bsky.social
Pax Ahimsa Gethen (they/them) is a queer agender writer, editor, and curator. They live in San Francisco with their spouse Ziggy.