Americans want big pharma, doctors held liable for harm to kids from sex-change drugs, surgeries: poll
A majority of voters believe pharmaceutical companies and doctors who push puberty blockers and body-mutilating sex-change surgeries on children and teens should be held liable for the longterm effects on people who were once confused about their sex.
Summit Ministries released the results of a poll conducted in conjunction with McLaughlin & Associates on Monday, measuring voter sentiment on LGBT-related issues. The poll, conducted from Feb. 17-22, surveyed 1,000 likely general election voters.
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When asked for their reaction to “efforts to expose children to the transgender movement using things like drag shows, school curriculum, and social media,” 65% of respondents described themselves as “concerned.” Thirty-seven percent maintained that efforts to introduce children to LGBT ideology made them “very concerned or angry,” while an additional 27% said it made them “somewhat concerned or upset.”
On the other hand, 29% of those surveyed insisted that they were “not concerned or upset” about the push to introduce children to LGBT ideology. The remaining 8% did not give an opinion.
Broken down by partisan affiliation, a majority of Republicans (63%) cited the efforts to introduce “the transgender movement” to children as something that made them “very concerned or angry.” Independents were much more split, with a plurality feeling “very concerned or angry” about the exposure of children to LGBT ideology (34%), followed by 28% who were “not concerned or upset” and 26% who were “somewhat concerned or upset.”
The poll also asked whether respondents believed “pharmaceutical companies and doctors who promote puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for underage children seeking gender transition should be legally liable for any harmful side effects that arise.” Fifty-nine percent of respondents answered in the affirmative, including majorities of conservatives (79%), voters who supported President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election (77%), Republicans (72%), independents (59%) and moderates (53%).
The only demographic subgroups where holding pharmaceutical companies and doctors who promote puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones liable for longterm side effects did not receive majority support were Hispanics (49%), voters who supported President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election (45%), Democrats (45%), those who supported Democrats on a generic congressional ballot (45%), voters who approve of President Joe Biden (44%), African Americans (43%) and liberals (42%).
With the exception of liberals, where an additional 42% did not approve of holding pharmaceutical companies and doctors who push puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones liable, all other demographic subgroups had a higher share of respondents who supported doing so than those opposed.
"From TV to TikTok to drag shows and trans curriculum in schools, our children and grandchildren are being bombarded daily with the transgender ideology," said Summit President Jeff Myers. “It doesn’t stop there — doctors are now routinely prescribing powerful drugs to kids as puberty blockers without [Food and Drug Administration] approval for such use. This polling shows that the American public is rightfully concerned, angry and want accountability for the targeting of kids.”
The poll from Summit Ministries coincides with the release of the free e-book, Exposing the Gender Lie: How to Protect Children and Teens from the Transgender Industry’s False Ideology, which Myers co-wrote with The Christian Post’s Brandon Showalter. “In our new book, we show that the intentional targeting of children with transgender messaging results in serious psychological and physical harm,” Myers added.
“Children are being subjected to dangerous risks and lifelong side-effects, all to promote a radical ideology and reap massive profits for the transgender medical industry. Thankfully well-reasoned Americans are starting to push back, and this book is designed to equip them with the resources they need to protect their children from this medical and social scandal.”
The American College of Pediatricians has highlighted the side effects of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. The longterm impacts of puberty blockers, as identified by the “national organization of pediatricians and other healthcare professionals dedicated to the health and well-being of children,” include “osteoporosis, mood disorders, seizures, cognitive impairment and, when combined with cross-sex hormones, sterility.”
As explained by the American College of Pediatricians, cross-sex hormones can “put youth at an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, blood clots and cancers across their lifespan.”
Concerns about the longterm impact of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones have influenced public policy in the U.S., with eight states banning the use of such risky and experimental drugs and procedures on minors in some or all cases as well as prohibiting sex-change surgery: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota, Tennessee and Utah.
In one case, a detransitioner who once experienced gender dysphoria and previously identified as a member of the opposite sex before her gender dysphoria subsided, has already signaled an intention to sue the doctors who advised her to undergo life-altering sex-change surgeries that included cutting off her breasts. Last year, 18-year-old Chloe Cole announced her plans to sue these doctors, citing the double mastectomy she received at age 15 as a strain on her mental health.
Specifically, Cole recalled that despite promises from healthcare professionals advising her that “the distress she experienced because of her gender dysphoria would resolve as she transitioned,” she found that her “distress always came back worse” following an “initial relief” that occurred after “each phase of transition.” She listed suicidal tendencies as one of the adverse effects of her double mastectomy.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
