HHS secretary indicates Biden supports using taxpayer money to fund 'gender-affirming' care for minors

The Biden administration approves of using taxpayer dollars to fund sex-change surgeries on adolescents, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra disclosed this week.

What is the background?

During a House Committee on Education and Labor hearing in April, Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) asked Becerra whether taxpayer dollars should fund "chemical castration and sex-change operations."

"[The Biden administration] will continue to comply with the law and provide people with the protections they need to get the medical services they are entitled to," the secretary responded.

At the time, Becerra did not provide clarifying details.

What happened now?

On Tuesday, Becerra submitted complete explanations to questions related to that hearing. Contained within the document was an unequivocal statement of support for taxpayer-funded sex change operations — even for minors.

"The Biden-Harris Administration supports the upcoming release of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standards of Care Version 8 and believes that all children and adults should be afforded life-saving, medically necessary care," the document said.

"Payers, both public and private, should cover treatments which medical experts have determined to be medically necessary," it added.

The cited guidance, the WPATH 8, not only recommends "gender-affirming" care for adolescent children, but states that medical professionals should provide such services even if the children's parents oppose it.

"We recommend when gender-affirming medical or surgical treatments are indicated for adolescents, health care professionals working with transgender and gender diverse adolescents involve parent(s)/guardian(s) in the assessment and treatment process, unless their involvement is determined to be harmful to the adolescent or not feasible," the guidance states.

While the guidance does not define "harmful," in the context of LGBT "gender-affirming" care the word refers to any opinion that does not unquestionably affirm people in their expressions of gender and sexuality.

The Daily Caller first reported on Becerra's detailed answers.

Anything else?

Last month, President Joe Biden condemned states that ban "gender-affirming" medical care for minors.

"I don’t think any state or anybody should have the right [to ban gender-affirming health care] as a moral question. As a legal question, I just think it’s wrong," Biden said.