When parents hear that delaying or declining a medical intervention could cost their child’s life, they deserve evidence strong enough to substantiate that claim.
A report from Do No Harm examines whether state laws restricting puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for minors were followed by increases in teen suicide rates. Using three statistical approaches and federal data through 2024, the report’s authors found no statistically significant increase associated with those laws.
In debates over these procedures, parents and lawmakers are sometimes told that restricting them will cause a surge in youth suicides. The new analysis does not support that claim.
The report also has limitations that should be clearly stated. It examines completed suicides across broad age groups, but it cannot isolate outcomes for teenagers experiencing gender dysphoria, nor does it measure suicide attempts or suicidal ideation. The absence of a statistically significant increase in the available data does not prove that every child is unaffected by a policy or settle every question about care.
Young people experiencing distress about their sex deserve compassion, careful attention to their mental health, and meaningful support for their families. Their pain must never be dismissed. But neither should it be invoked to pressure parents into believing that immediate medical intervention is the only way to keep a child safe.
New York Families Foundation opposes the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-change surgeries for minors. Children should be protected from interventions with potentially lasting consequences while receiving thoughtful care that addresses their true needs. Parents deserve room to ask hard questions without being told that caution amounts to abandonment.
As New Yorkers consider how best to protect children, we should expect careful claims from every side of this debate. We should distinguish among suicide deaths, attempts, and suicidal ideation, acknowledge what a study can and cannot show, and refuse to let a family’s fear serve as a substitute for evidence.
Every child facing profound distress deserves hope, attentive care, and assurance that their life is precious. That commitment should guide both our compassion and our judgment.
Image Credit: Lightstock.com/165309 (Robert.Anthony)