An agency affiliated with the United Methodist Church has voiced support for federal legislation aimed at removing restrictions on cosmetic sex-change procedures for minors who identify as transgender.
Julius C. Trimble, who serves as general secretary of the church’s General Board of Church and Society, released a written statement on Monday criticizing discrimination against transgender individuals.
“Transgender youth often experience a combination of sexual harassment, bullying, school violence and estrangement from family members. They are also disproportionately placed in foster care and welfare programs compared to their peers,” wrote Trimble.
“Adult transgender people regularly encounter sexual violence, police violence, public ridicule, misgendering or other forms of violence and harassment in their daily lives.”
Trimble also criticized lawmakers who have “enacted anti-transgender legislation” that “restrict access to gender-affirming care, sports, bathrooms and facilities, or the use of gender-affirming pronouns in schools.”
“As United Methodists, we are called to stand with transgender people, rejecting laws that allow politicians to dictate their healthcare decisions,” he continued.
He further urged support for recently proposed federal legislation known as the Transgender Bill of Rights, describing it as an effort “to protect and codify the rights of transgender and nonbinary individuals under the law and ensure their access to medical care, shelter, safety, and economic security.”
The proposal includes provisions calling on the federal government to reaffirm “the right to bodily autonomy and health care for transgender and nonbinary people by ... eliminating unnecessary governmental restrictions on the provision of, and access to, gender-affirming medical care and counseling for transgender and nonbinary adults and adolescents.”
The issue of transgender medical treatments for minors has sparked ongoing debate in the United States and internationally, particularly regarding the legality and long-term effects of surgical procedures and hormone therapies.
A 2022 feature by The New York Times reported that a growing number of medical experts and individuals who previously identified as transgender have raised concerns about potential long-term risks associated with puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in children.
In December 2024, the UK Department of Health and Social Care announced a ban on the use of puberty-blocking drugs for minors experiencing gender dysphoria, except in clinical trial settings.
Earlier, in May, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published an extensive report that criticized so-called gender-affirming care for minors, describing such interventions as “invasive” and “usually irreversible.”
