From the Heritage Foundation, I'm Tim Dessher, and this is Heritage Explains.

Did you know that almost 2% of U.S. high school students identify as transgender, and that number is growing.

And unfortunately, transgender and non-binary teens are four times more likely to suffer from mental illness when compared to their peers.

Many feel isolated, misunderstood, or are outright bullied.

There are medical options to help these teens align with their gender, like puberty blockers

and later in life, hormone therapy and surgery.

And preliminary data does suggest that gender affirming care can improve mental wellness,

but many states outright ban transgender care, citing that it's harmful for teens under a certain age.

That clip was taken from a recent PBS special that examines gender-affirming care for kids.

Yes, PBS.

The same place your kids watch Sesame Street.

Your tax dollars hard at work.

But that's a separate issue entirely.

Let's ask this question.

What is gender-affirming care?

Well, it's a supportive form of health care consisting of an array of services that may include medical, surgical, mental health, and non-medical services.

Early gender affirming care is crucial to overall health and well-being.

Now, that definition and statement of gender-affirming care was not taken from a special interest

group or a PBS special or a left-leaning think tank. It was taken from the Biden administration's Health and Human Services

website. They rely on a few studies that claim if gender-affirming care is not promoted and provided,

there's an increased risk of mental health problems, including an increase in the suicide rate among kids.

Now one thing that's absent from the HHS, any mention of a parent's role.

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