Restrictions on gender-affirming care proposed by Republicans in Congress and President-elect Donald Trump could be devastating for transgender youths, doctors say, especially for teens with eating disorders. Taking the hormones estrogen or testosterone, which many trans teens eventually receive, restores most of that bone loss. Additional restrictions could lead more kids to develop eating disorders and make it harder for people with eating disorders to recover, Menzel said. Tiffany Justice, a co-founder of the influential conservative group Moms for Liberty, dismisses gender-affirming care for minors as “child abuse” and “snake oil,” and she said her organization is working to ban gender-affirming care for minors in every state. Research shows such state bans on gender-affirming care heighten the stress and anxiety with which many trans people already live.

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Persons: Donald Trump, Jessie Menzel, Trump, Menzel, ” Menzel, Carsen Rhys Beckwith, Beckwith, ”, Carsen Beckwith Beckwith, “, ’, Ellen Rome, ” Rome, Rome, —, Tiffany Justice, Jason Nagata, Nagata, ” Nagata, Trevor Organizations: Republicans, Health, Senate, Gallup, Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital, Liberty, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, American Academy of Child, Psychiatry, University of California Locations: Kansas City , Missouri, San Francisco