Pause youth gender surgery, leading US medical associations say, as hospitals start limiting care

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Source: BMJ

Original: http://www.bmj.com/content/392/bmj.s285.short?rss=1...

Published: 2026-02-12T03:15:51-08:00

Two leading American medical associations have recommended a moratorium on gender surgery for children and adolescents due to a lack of evidence. More than 40 US hospitals have halted or suspended gender-sensitive care for transgender youth. A woman won a New York court case on February 3, where a jury awarded her $2 million in damages for a double mastectomy she had as a teenager. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) has recommended that surgeons delay gender-specific breast, thoracic, genital, and facial surgeries until the patient is at least 19 years old. The American Medical Association (AMA) echoed the ASPS position in a statement to the National Review publication.