Skip to main content

American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines Support Surgical and Hormonal Transition of Children

Share This article

CBN News' Mark Martin interviewed Dr. Michelle Cretella with another pediatric doctor's group, the American College of Pediatricians, about the new guidelines and her concerns about them for the health of children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have released new guidelines for doctors to support surgical and hormonal transition of transgender children.

The guidelines actually outline how pediatricians and parents can back adolescents in their gender choices. 

In the guidelines definitions, it is explained to physicians that although "sex or natal gender is a label generally male or female, gender identity 'is one's internal sense of who one is, which results from a multifaceted interaction of biological traits, developmental influences, and environmental conditions. It can be fluid, shifting in different contexts,'" according to the AAP.

The use of hormones to allow adolescents going through puberty to develop secondary sex characteristics of the opposite biological sex is discussed in the organization's recommendations.  

Although surgical methods to change one's sex is reserved for adults, the AAP states "they are occasionally pursued during adolescence on a case-by-case basis, considering the necessity and benefit to the adolescent's overall health."

Other areas that are examined include mental health implications, gender-affirmative care, developmental considerations, medical management, health disparities, family acceptance, safe schools and communities, and medical education. 

Read the AAP's policy statement.

Share This article

About The Author

Steve Warren is a senior multimedia producer for CBN News. Warren has worked in the news departments of television stations and cable networks across the country. In addition, he also worked as a producer-director in television production and on-air promotion. A Civil War historian, he authored the book The Second Battle of Cabin Creek: Brilliant Victory. It was the companion book to the television documentary titled Last Raid at Cabin Creek currently streaming on Amazon Prime. He holds an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in Communication from the University of