By Tyler Arnold

Washington, DC Newsroom, November 14, 2024 / 7:00 a.m.

A House subcommittee launched an investigation into the National Institutes of Health (NIH) after a grant recipient admitted that she concealed discoveries in a tax-funded study because it showed no mental health benefits for children prescribed transgender puberty-blocking drugs.

“In light of the NIH grantee’s reluctance to disclose the results of the research project, we request that you provide documents and information to assist the committee in overseeing this matter,” Rep. Lisa McClain, chair of the subcommittee Oversight and Accountability over Healthcare and Financial Services, written in a letter to NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli.

Johanna Olson-Kennedy, the study’s lead researcher, told the New York Times three weeks ago, she hid the study results because they could reinforce criticism of the use of puberty blockers on children. The medications are designed to ease a minor’s gender transition by delaying their normal development during puberty.

Olson-Kennedy, who works as medical director of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, told the Times that she “did not want our work to be used as a weapon” by the critics and lawmakers who want to ban doctors from prescribing drugs. these medicines to children.

The NIH allocated nearly $10 million in taxpayer money to several projects, including research by Olson-Kennedy to administer puberty blockers to 95 children with gender dysphoria and analyze whether the drugs improved their mental health. The average age of a child enrolled in the study was less than 11 and a half years old, and researchers found no mental health benefits.

“We are alarmed that the project’s principal investigator, Dr Johanna Olson-Kennedy, is withholding publication of the project’s research findings, casting doubt on the effectiveness of the ‘gender affirmation’ model , because she thinks the results could be “weaponized”. by critics of transgender medical interventions for children,” McClain wrote in the letter.

McClain also accuses Olson-Kennedy of misrepresenting the study to the Times by telling the reporter that the children’s mental health was “in very good shape” at the start of the study, even though the researchers had previously reported high rates of depression, anxiety and anxiety. suicidal thoughts.

“Deliberately misrepresenting and concealing study results… has serious implications for the health and safety of children who are subjected to “gender-affirming” medical procedures, many of which are irreversible and have lifelong implications despite the lack of adequate scientific support for their effectiveness or effectiveness. security,” the letter adds.

“The NIH is responsible for overseeing its extramural research projects to ensure that supported researchers practice transparency, exemplify scientific integrity, and are good stewards of taxpayer funds,” McClain wrote.

The Subcommittee directed NIH to provide all research grant applications and summary statements regarding the broader Transgender Youth Project, including progress reports, unpublished data, and certain communications materials.

Neither the NIH nor Olson-Kennedy responded to CNA’s request for comment at the time of publication.

Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk, senior ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center, told CNA that the House investigation into the grants “seems entirely reasonable, given NIH policy that specifies that results and The achievements of the activities it funds must be made available to the research community and the general public.

“This public duty constitutes a fundamental ethical obligation for researchers who benefit from public funds (more than $9 million in this case) made available through traditional NIH grants,” Pacholczyk added.

Jane Anderson, vice president of the American College of Pediatricians, which opposes the use of transgender medications and surgeries on children, told CNA that “it is crucial that all scientific information be disclosed so that families and young people can make truly informed decisions, especially when research is funded by taxpayers.

“The integrity of medicine, not to mention the safety of our patients, is at risk when we ignore scientific facts for political reasons,” Anderson said.

This is not the first time medical professionals have suppressed information relating to the effectiveness of children’s gender transitions.

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In 2021, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) eliminated proposed age-based guidelines which encouraged doctors to wait until children reached a certain age before giving them hormone-altering drugs or offering them transgender surgeries. Rather, the organization backed away from any suggestions based on age after facing outside pressure from the Biden-Harris administration.

Some studies have raised major concerns about puberty blockers, such as a Mayo Clinic Study released earlier this year, which revealed boys could suffer irreversible damage from drugs, such as fertility problems and atrophied testicles.

Earlier this year, the UK ended the use of puberty blockers in children after an independent review failed to find comprehensive evidence supporting the routine prescribing of transgender drugs to minors suffering from gender dysphoria.

President-elect Donald Trump called Transgender drug use and surgical procedures on minors constitute a form of “child abuse.” He pledged to direct the Justice Department to investigate “big pharmaceutical companies and large hospital networks” to determine whether they are covering up evidence of the harms of gender transitions.

Tyler Arnold is a reporter for the Catholic News Agency, based in the Washington bureau of EWTN News. He previously worked at Center Square and has been published in various media outlets, including The Associated Press, National Review, The American Conservative, and The Federalist.