Yahoo News Fact Check: Biden Didn't Say Kids Should Be Allowed to Get 'Transgender Surgery'. Here's Why People Are Sharing This False Rumor
Claim:
U.S. President Biden said 8-10 year old children should be allowed to access "transgender surgery."
Rating:
Context:
U.S. President Joe Biden did not express support for gender-affirming surgery for children. He expressed support for ending discrimination against trans children.
In May 2024, social media posts claimed U.S. President Joe Biden spoke out in favor of sex-change surgery for young children. This example was posted on X on May 21:
(@WallStreetApes/X)
The post had gained about 1 million views, 5,300 likes and had been reshared 3,400 times, as of this writing. Other X users replied to it expressing disgust and outrage. "How did satan get to be president," asked one. "Sick s.o.b.," another said.
The post included a 47-second video clip in which Biden says the following:
The idea that an eight year old child and a 10 year old child decides, you know, "I decided I want to be transgender. That's what I think I'd like to do make make my life a lot easier." There should be zero discrimination.
And what's happening is too many transgender women of colour are being murdered. They're being murdered. I mean, I think it's up to now 17, don't hold me to that number but it's... it's higher now? And that's just this year.
And so I promise you, there is no reason to suggest that there should be any right denied your daughter — or daughters, whichever, one or two... One — your daughter... that your other daughter has a right to be in do. None. Zero.
Several claims have circulated since 2020 based on this video. That year, social media posts using the same clip spread the rumor that Biden supported the right of children to transition, which Reuters swiftly debunked.
What Biden Actually Said
We found this clip was taken from a town hall Biden held in 2020, during his first presidential campaign, for the television network ABC. Here's the full clip, which includes a question regarding several civil rights rollbacks enacted against trans people during the administration of then-President Donald Trump, which Biden then addressed:
Here is the transcript of Biden's reply:
Flat out just change the law. Every... Eliminate those executive orders, number one.
You may recall, I'm the guy who said I was raised by a man who... I remember I was being dropped off. My dad was a high-school educated, well-read man who was a really decent guy. And I was being dropped off to get an application in the center of our city, Wilmington, Delaware — the corporate capital of the world at the time.
And these two men... I'm getting out to get a an application to be a lifeguard in the African-American community because there was a big swimming pool complex. And, uh... and these two men — well-dressed — leaned up and hugged one another and kissed one another. I'm getting out of the car at the light and I turned to my dad. My dad looked at me said "Joey, it's simple. They love each other."
The idea that an eight year old child and a 10 year old child decides, you know, "I decided I want to be transgender. That's what I think I'd like to do make make my life a lot easier." There should be zero discrimination.
And what's happening is too many transgender women of color are being murdered. They're being murdered. I mean, I think it's up to now 17, don't hold me to that number but it's... it's higher now? And that's just this year.
And so I promise you, there is no reason to suggest that there should be any right denied your daughter — or daughters, whichever, one or two... One — your daughter... that your other daughter has a right to be in do. None. Zero.
And by the way, my son Beau who passed away, was the attorney general in the state of Delaware. He was the guy who got the first transgender law passed in the state of Delaware and because of a young man who became a woman who worked for him in the Attorney General's Office.
At no point in his answer did Biden advocate or even mention "transgender surgery" — gender-affirming surgery — for children or anyone. For this reason, we have rated the claim as "False."
What Experts Recommend
The claim is an extrapolation on what Biden called for, which was an end to discrimination against children and adults who do not conform to gender expectations associated with their biological sex. One of the pillars in the fight against discrimination is to allow trans people to access evidence-based care.
Surgical treatment of "gender incongruence" — in the words of the World Health Organization (WHO) — is the object of guidelines established and revised by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). WPATH is an international, multidisciplinary group of around 3,000 specialists in medicine, psychology, social sciences, religion, law, ethics and other disciplines, dedicated to trans health and to promoting evidence-based standard of care for trans people of all ages. The group is widely recognized as the most authoritative organization on the matter; it sets the bar for professional and ethical trans health care worldwide.
Taking into account the fact that puberty blockers can lower bone density if taken too long, the WPATH's eighth version of the standards of care advise that children take them for as short a time as possible. As a result, WPATH recommended in 2022 that children start sex hormones (estrogen or testosterone) around age 14 (the recommendation was 16 prior to 2022). The effects of puberty blockers are reversible, while those of sex hormones are partially reversible.
WPATH also cautioned against launching too quickly into irreversible treatment. "Gender-affirming treatments that are irreversible should be avoided until clarity about long-term goals and outcomes is achieved," the experts wrote in the standards of care document (p. 43).
For trans boys, WPATH does not recommend so-called "top surgery" (the removal of breasts to masculinize the chest) before the age of 15. In addition, WPATH does not recommend "phalloplasties" (multi-stage surgical creation of a pen*s) for minors, due to how complex and prone to complications they are.
For trans girls, WPATH says that in some cases, someone as young as 15 may be able to obtain a vaginoplasty (the surgery that constructs a vagina). The person should have the maturity to understand the importance of post-operative care, and they should be well-supported. Failing certain conditions, the recommended age is 17.
In reality, gender transition for anyone requires several stages, and it is especially long for children. Evidence-based care did not, as of 2024, recommend irreversible gender-affirming surgery as early as 8 or 10 years old. An ethical approach as outlined by WPATH includes both medical and psychological support and the need to ascertain a person's maturity every step of the way.
In 2023, the Biden administration's Health and Human Services agency published an "Evidence-Based Roadmap for Supporting and Affirming LGBTQI+ Youth," which underscored all these principles.
Sources:
Coleman, E., et al. 'Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8'. International Journal of Transgender Health, vol. 23, no. sup1, Aug. 2022, pp. S1–259. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644.
ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics. https://icd.who.int/browse/2024-01/mms/en#90875286. Accessed 23 May 2024.
'Trump Administration Civil and Human Rights Rollbacks'. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, https://civilrights.org/trump-rollbacks/. Accessed 23 May 2024.
WPATH World Professional Association for Transgender Health. https://www.wpath.org/member/search/results?showAll=1. Accessed 23 May 2024.
