by Renee McGuinness, for the Vermont Family Alliance
Dr. Laura Edwards-Leeper, PhD, co-founder of the first U.S. gender clinic, declared Planned Parenthood’s youth gender care protocols as “substandard.”
Edwards-Leeper, a licensed clinical psychologist, specializes in working with gender diverse and transgender people of all ages. She also helped develop the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) standards of care.
A recent Live Action article provides details of Edward-Leeper’s statements in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, screenshots of Planned Parenthood’s website regarding gender care, and patient testimonials.
According to Live Action’s analysis, Planned Parenthood’s standard of care is to provide hormone blockers and cross-sex hormones to youth who self-diagnose as transgender, often during the first visit, and without a psychological evaluation.
A self-diagnosing patient is eligible to receive hormones upon “informed consent,” in which Planned Parenthood provides the patient with information about the risks and benefits of treatment.
Edwards-Leeper’s young patients informed her that they received cross-sex hormones during their first 30-minute in-person or remote consultation with Planned Parenthood.
Live Action’s analysis claims that Planned Parenthood is the leading provider of hormones for young people in the United States.
The analysis also includes a two-and-a-half-minute recorded phone call between a Planned Parenthood employee (not in Vermont) and a 16-year-old female patient requesting an appointment to receive a prescription for testosterone, no parental consent required, captured during Live Action’s undercover investigation: Planned Parenthood Gave Her Testosterone at 16 — Paid For With Your Tax Dollars.
The Planned Parenthood website tells teens they might need hormones and/or surgery, warns that some doctors and nurses may be unsympathetic towards gender-affirming therapy,’ then assures them it can be found at their clinics.
On a page directed to teens, the PP website states: ‘”Accessing respectful health care can be challenging. Many transgender and nonbinary people experience discrimination and poor quality of care. Some nurses, doctors, and other medical workers aren’t sensitive to trans issues nor informed on transgender people’s health care needs……You deserve to be treated well and seen for who you are when you see a doctor or nurse. Know that the staff at your nearest Planned Parenthood health center believes you deserve high-quality, compassionate health care that’s appropriate for your needs — no matter your gender identity.”