St. Joe-Benton Harbor News

State Representative Brad Paquette has urged House Speaker Joe Tate to advance legislation prohibiting the use of puberty blockers and sex reassignment surgeries on minors in Michigan. This request follows the release of internal documents from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), published by journalist Michael Shellenberger. The documents suggest that minors may not be capable of providing informed consent for such treatments, which have serious long-term side effects.

Paquette, a Republican from Niles, highlighted his concerns in light of England’s National Health Service decision to stop using puberty blockers in government clinics. He stated, "When I was a teacher, I saw a lot of students that were going through phases, questioning gender. Middle school and high school is an uncomfortable age for a lot of children," adding that these treatments are harmful and based on pseudoscience.

His proposed legislation, House Bills 4539 and 4540, would criminalize providing puberty blockers or performing sex reassignment surgery on minors. However, these bills have yet to receive a hearing.

The leaked WPATH files reportedly include discussions among doctors who acknowledge the lack of informed consent and describe injuries resulting from these treatments. According to Shellenberger's post summarizing the findings, "Victims include a 10-year-old girl, a 13-year-old developmentally delayed adolescent, and individuals suffering from schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses."

Shellenberger claims that the files reveal unregulated practices within gender medicine that amount to pseudoscientific experiments on vulnerable populations.