Trans health care is a "matter of life or death," doctors say
CBSN
Transgender rights — and in particular, health care for transgender children and teens — has become a focus of Republican lawmakers and a new front in the national culture wars. Dozens of bills have been proposed in states around the country targeting a variety of transgender issues, from participation in sports to discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms. But in the past two months, there has been a concentrated uptick in legislation focused on banning gender-affirming health care for youth.
In Texas, one of the most restrictive orders from Governor Greg Abbott classifies gender-affirming care as child abuse and would require licensed professionals to report children who have undergone care like puberty blockers or hormones. While the investigation of families in Texas has been temporarily blocked by a judge, the introduction of similar bills in Republican-led legislatures like Idaho and Arizona has prompted a wave of condemnation from the medical community.
CBS News spoke with five gender health professionals about the most common misconceptions people have about transgender health care and what affirming care actually looks like.
On May 7, health influencer Paul Saladino, M.D.. posted a video to his X account that promoted feeding "raw dairy" to infants. The post received over 90,000 views and sparked strong backlash before it was removed the following day. Saladino regularly advocates for "animal-based" diets featuring raw milk, including on his TikTok channel where he has over half a million followers.
Everywhere you look, things are getting more complicated. Our phones have over a thousand settings. Showerheads come with apps. Cars have touchscreens. Ovens have touchscreens. "There's no doubt that 'featuritis' is real," said design consultant Jakob Nielsen. "Most of these things are too complicated."
New research is adding to the evidence linking ultra-processed foods to health concerns. The study tracked people's habits over 30 years and found those who reported eating more of certain ultra-processed foods had a slightly higher risk of death — with four categories of foods found to be the biggest culprits.