‘Chemical Castration’ And ‘Gender Affirming’ Care Can Be Synonymous, Leading Transgender Health Association Suggests

The leading transgender health association suggested at a conference last week that “chemical castration” and “gender-affirming” care can be synonymous in the context of eunuchs.

In a live-streamed session on the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s new controversial “Eunuch” chapter, an endocrinologist described the prescription of GnRH analogues, or puberty blockers, and hormones — when given to “eunuch” patients — as “chemical castration.” When a child takes puberty blockers at the first signs of puberty and moves on to cross-sex hormones, they will be sterilized. Still, advocates have rejected the process being described as “chemical castration,” instead opting for the euphemism “gender-affirming care.”

“So before getting castrated physically, you can actually do a chemical castration, kind of, as a trial,” said Dr. Michael Irwig, an endocrinologist who contributed to the chapter. He said he’s treated two people who identify as eunuchs.

The comments came amid the debut of new Standards of Care guidelines, which included the unprecedented addition of a chapter that seeks to include “eunuch” under the “transgender umbrella.” The inclusion of eunuchs may make it easier for candidates to access castration to “affirm” their “gender identity.”

Irwig said a chemical cocktail of hormones and blockers can be used to chemically castrate eunuchs. He did not explicitly say whether dosages for the gender-affirming care of “eunuchs” would be the same as for the treatment of gender dysphoric minors.

“So there are ways to suppress testosterone levels, through hormonal suppression, to explore the effects of androgen deficiency for eunuch individuals wishing to become, for example, asexual or nonsexual or androgynous,” said Irwig.

Endocrinologist Dr. Mike Laidlaw told The Daily Wire that “chemical castration” is, effectively, when a medication like Lupron is used to stop the pituitary from communicating with the testicles or ovaries to drastically lower sex hormone levels. It is no different from the “gender affirming care” given to adolescents, Laidlaw said.

“It’s just that the effects are more dramatic, and I would say more dangerous, in puberty,” said Laidlaw.

WPATH did not respond to The Daily Wire’s request for comment.

In April, Politifact issued a fact-check of Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) after she said the Biden administration was encouraging the chemical castration of minors. The organization rated her statement as “false.”

“Experts we spoke with said [chemical castration] is not a medical term and not commonly used by medical professionals, but generally seems to be used to describe hormone therapy,” Politifact wrote.

Politifact then claimed puberty blockers are approved by the FDA, which is not entirely true. While gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists are approved for other uses, the FDA has not approved puberty blockers for their off-label use to treat gender dysphoria. Off label, doctors have prescribed puberty blockers as a “treatment” for gender dysphoria, given during adolescence – a period of rapid growth and development – on an experimental basis. There are no long-term studies to support its use in this context.

The FDA recently issued a warning for GnRH agonists after having identified a serious potential side effect for some that may cause a dangerous surge of spinal fluid pressure in the brain. This build-up can cause headaches, nausea, double vision, and even permanent vision loss.

GnRH agonists, sold under the brand name Lupron, among others, are only FDA approved for endometriosis, fibroids, precocious puberty, and as a chemotherapy drug for prostate cancer. It is also sometimes used to perform chemical castration of violent sex offenders.

The inclusion of the eunuch gender identity was a bizarre choice, Laidlaw says, and negates the cogency of “gender identity” as a concept. “With this addition, WPATH has inadvertently killed off the ‘gender identity’ as a serious concept in psychology.”

“No one will ever find a corner of the brain where the ‘eunuch identity’ is hidden. They will also never find any sort of ‘gender identity’ in the brain,” said Laidlaw. “It is a phantom with no basis in physical reality. WPATH has highlighted just how frightening the phantoms that they have dreamed up really are.”

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