Among the flurry of executive orders, President Trump signed on inauguration day, was one saying the federal government recognizes only two sexes, male and female, and that sex is determined at birth.

Mr. Trump and Republican congressional candidates made rolling back federal protections for transgender people a big issue.

By one count, they spent nearly $215 million

on network TV ads on the issue, much of it focusing on gender affirming care for minors.

Despite all this attention, a new study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

finds that gender affirming medications are very rarely

prescribed to minors. Lindsay Dawson is the director of LGBTQ health policy at KFF, which is an

independent source of information on national health issues. Lindsay, this study in JAMMA pediatrics

looked at gender affirming medications and prescriptions for them

to adolescents.

What did it find?

The study found that prescriptions for gender-affirming care hormone therapy and puberty

blockers are actually very rare in adolescents.

And this isn't surprising.

It echoes other findings we've seen and really counters some of the misinformation and disinformation we've seen about being trans, being widespread and prolific. That really just is not the case. And this study is more evidence that speaks to that.

In previous studies, I looked at gender affirming surgery, and what did they find?

Gender affirming surgery is effectively not occurring among minors. If you really scour the evidence,

you will find occasionally minors are accessing this type of care. This is rare, and it is in cases

where minors are experiencing really prolonged gender dysphoria.

And these conversations and decisions are made very carefully between minors, providers, and parents.

It's not something that happens overnight. It's a careful and thoughtful, iterative type of care.

Why all this political attention to what sounds like a very small number?

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