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NIH to Examine ‘Regret’ After Gender Transition Following White House Directive
Under the direction of President Donald Trump, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been instructed to conduct a study focusing on ‘regret’ experienced by individuals who have undergone gender transition. This directive comes as the administration intensifies its efforts to counter ‘wokeness’ across government agencies. The research will explore various aspects of the transgender experience, marking a significant shift in the government’s approach to transgender health issues.
NIH Confirms Research Directive on Transgender Transition Outcomes
Speaking anonymously to Nature, several NIH staff members verified the issuance of the directive. An email obtained by Nature, sent two weeks prior by Matthew Memoli, then-acting NIH director, detailed the Trump administration’s outlined research priorities regarding the transgender community.
Research Focus Areas: Detransition and Long-Term Outcomes
The email specified two primary areas of investigation:
- ‘Regret and detransition following social transition, as well as chemical and surgical interventions for both minors and adults.’
- ‘Outcomes for children who have undergone social transition and/or chemical and surgical interventions.’
Concerns Over Politically Motivated Research
Harry Barbee, a researcher specializing in LGBTQ+ topics at Johns Hopkins University, contends that this exclusive focus on negative outcomes of transitioning risks reinforcing what transgender advocates perceive as the Trump administration’s anti-transgender agenda. Critics fear this approach may skew research towards predetermined conclusions.
Prevalence of Regret and Benefits of Gender-Affirming Care
Estimates indicate that approximately 1.6 million Americans identify as transgender, with around 25 percent opting for gender-affirming surgery. Prior research suggests that these procedures are associated with reductions in anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation.
According to an analysis by Barbee and colleagues, surgical regret among transgender individuals is low, with less than one percent expressing regret, compared to 14 percent of individuals regretting surgery in general. This data challenges the narrative that regret is a widespread issue within the transgender community.
Funding Shifts and Potential Impact on Transgender Health Research
Research by Brittany Charlton, an epidemiologist at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, suggests a potential decrease in NIH funding for transgender health studies, estimating that grants for around 187 such studies have been reduced. Concerns are growing about the implications of these funding shifts on the breadth and objectivity of transgender health research.
The NIH, with an annual budget of nearly $48 billion, is the world’s largest public funding source for biomedical and behavioral research, supporting studies across a wide range of health concerns.
White House Influence and Concerns over Research Integrity
NIH employees, speaking anonymously, told Nature that while the White House occasionally guides the agency’s research priorities, this recent directive is perceived as a more assertive intervention due to its ‘specificity, inflammatory language, and focus on a highly divisive subject.’
One employee noted the typical research process allows for NIH autonomy in determining the approach, a freedom that appears to be curtailed in this instance.
Barbee expressed concern that this approach could foster ‘a distorted research ecosystem’ where only politically aligned findings are accepted, creating ‘an evidence vacuum’ for healthcare providers treating transgender patients. The integrity and objectivity of research in this area is being called into question.
HHS Defends Research Focus on Long-Term Effects
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the NIH’s parent agency, has defended the research direction. A spokesperson for HHS asserted that the ‘NIH is prioritizing research that serves public health interests, not ideological agendas,’ and will continue to support studies providing ‘clear, objective data,’ especially regarding the ‘long-term effects of gender transitions.’
Executive Orders and Legal Challenges to Transgender Policies
On his first day in office, President Trump issued an executive order establishing a federal policy recognizing only two sexes, male and female, and rejecting ‘gender ideology.’ He also implemented an executive order to freeze government funding for transgender surgeries, but this was legally challenged and blocked by a judge.
US District Judge Brendan Hurson of Baltimore extended a nationwide injunction against the executive order, preventing the cessation of federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender youth under 19.
Judge Hurson’s preliminary injunction maintains the hold on enforcement while the legal proceedings continue, although the administration is expected to appeal the decision.
President Trump’s executive order stated a policy against federal funding or support for the ‘so-called “transition” of a child from one sex to another.’
The executive order aimed to cut federal funding to clinics providing treatment to minors, intending to ‘rigorously enforce all laws’ against ‘destructive and life-altering procedures’ and equating transgender surgeries to ‘chemical and surgical mutilation.’
Detransitioners’ Experiences and Divergent Perspectives
While rare, some transgender individuals express regret about their transitions and have become vocal detransitioners, speaking out against gender-affirming surgeries.
Kristin Beck, a retired Navy SEAL, garnered media attention after detransitioning and reverting to her previous name, Chris Beck. She described transitioning as ‘the worst mistake’ of her life and recounted receiving hormone prescriptions after a brief consultation at Veterans Affairs. Beck, who publicly came out as transgender in 2013, underwent facial feminization surgery but did not have genital surgery.
After two decades in the Navy, including service with SEAL Team Six, Beck now focuses on the health considerations for young people contemplating similar transition choices.
Chloe Cole, who transitioned to male at 13 and later regretted her decision at 16, characterized gender-affirming surgery as ‘experimentation on children.’ She has described her ‘detransitioning’ journey, highlighting the ‘irreversible and painful’ physical damage she attributes to puberty blockers and surgery.
Cole’s regret stems from her belief that social media influence, rather than genuine gender dysphoria, drove her transition. She now criticizes medical professionals for not challenging her transition decision sufficiently.
‘I was failed by the system,’ Cole stated. ‘I literally lost organs.’
Healthcare System Responses and Legal Rulings
Trump’s executive order prompted several prominent hospital systems, including Children’s National Hospital in Washington DC and NYU Langone in New York City, to halt or suspend the prescription of puberty blockers or hormones to minors providing gender-affirming care.
Judge Hurson deemed Trump’s executive order ‘unconstitutional’ and contradicting state policies.
He argued that the executive orders imposed ‘significant conditions on federal funding that Congress did not prescribe,’ asserting that the Constitution does not authorize the President to enact, amend, or repeal statutes.
Ongoing Legal Battles and State-Level Actions
Federal funding for public hospital systems supports care provision, infrastructure updates, and services for low-income populations. Gender-affirming care is often included under this funding umbrella, based on expert opinions regarding its positive impact on patient health.
Hurson’s block followed a lawsuit filed last month by seven families of transgender or nonbinary children and transgender advocacy groups, who argued the policy was discriminatory for not restricting federal funding for similar treatments for non-transgender patients.
Prior to this, a judge in Seattle blocked the executive order for transgender youth in Washington, Minnesota, Oregon, and Colorado, in response to a lawsuit from attorneys general in those states.
Attorneys general in Democrat-led states like California and New York have also urged physicians to continue providing care to transgender minors, arguing that cessation of trans care services would violate state laws.
As of December 2024, 26 states have enacted bans on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender children and adolescents, according to the Movement Advancement Project.
Transition surgery for minors under 18, involving procedures like mastectomies (top surgery) and genital alterations, remains exceptionally uncommon, decided on an individual basis by multidisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals.
Transgender children typically initiate transition with puberty blockers, medications designed to postpone puberty, offering more time for families and children to determine whether to proceed with hormone therapies.
Hormone therapies typically commence during adolescence to facilitate the development of secondary sex characteristics aligning with the individual’s gender identity. For example, hormones can deepen the voice and promote body hair growth for a transitioning transgender male.
Following hormone therapy, transgender individuals may elect to undergo surgical transition, although this is not universally pursued.
DailyMail.com has contacted the NIH for comment and is awaiting a response.