PBS NewsHour White House correspondent Laura Barron-Lopez continued her recent streak of transgender activism on Monday night by interviewing Prof. Michelle Forcier who compared giving hormones to 8-year olds to treatment for an earache.
As part of a lengthy segment on Texas, Forcier argued, “If I had a 10-year-old or an 8-year-old who told me their ear hurt, I wouldn't look at them and say you're only 8 or 10. You don't know if your ear hurts, right? It's important that we listen to kids. It doesn't mean that a kid says, ‘I'm trans,’ and two hours later they get hormones. It means that we respect kids as individuals.”
Forcier is a go-to source for PoltiFact, but comparing temporary ear pain to hormonal treatment should earn a “pants-on-fire” rating.
Earlier in the segment, Barron-Lopez introduced State Rep. Tom Oliverson, who pushed the bill banning “gender-affirming care” for minors through the legislature, as someone who “rejects the medical establishment's consensus on gender-affirming care.”
Now, she asked him about a Leah, who is “One of the kids that we have spoken to was in such pain, watching what was happening and what was unfolding in Texas because they live in Texas, they said, ‘I don't get why they all hate me. They don't know me.’ What do you say to that kid?”
Just last week, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service also banned hormone treatment for minors outside of clinical studies, but Barron-Lopez naturally didn’t bring that up.
As for Oliverson, he replied, “Well, I mean, obviously I want that kid to get some mental health treatment, so that—”
Barron-Lopez interrupted him to argue, “They have been going through mental health treatment for a long time.”
Not deterred, Oliverson continued, “Well, good. Good. I mean, that is the appropriate treatment for mental health conditions. And so I think, childhood, it can be tough sometimes. I remember being an adolescent. That's a tough time to figure out who you are and how you sort of fit into that collective of humanity.”
When it comes to teenage Leah’s parents, identified only as Mary and John, they “been forced to consider drastic steps to access puberty blockers.”
Mary, whose face was not shown, fretted that, “After our last doctor's visit, we were feeling rushed by the law and were just like, “Okay, okay, if we do this, we have to go back in August. So, maybe she can get the puberty blockers starting before September 1. And it was just this, like, anxiety and this, like, if we don't do this now, what are we going to do?”
She also claimed that by having the same policy as the U.K., Texas is making them feel like refugees, “It feels like we’re being pushed out, pushed out of our home, pushed out of our state, pushed out of our jobs. Like, if we go somewhere, what happens next? And I don't want to feel like we're constantly on the run. I don't want to feel like we're refugees in our own country.”
What happens next is that Texas becomes more like Sweden.
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Here is a transcript for the June 12 show:
PBS NewsHour
6/12/2023
7:48 PM ET
LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Dr. Michelle Forcier is a professor of pediatrics at Brown University.
MICHELLE FORCIER: If I had a 10-year-old or an 8-year-old who told me their ear hurt, I wouldn't look at them and say you're only 8 or 10. You don't know if your ear hurts, right? It's important that we listen to kids. It doesn't mean that a kid says, "I'm trans," and two hours later they get hormones. It means that we respect kids as individuals.
BARON-LOPEZ: We asked Oliverson about Leah. One of the kids that we have spoken to was in such pain, watching what was happening and what was unfolding in Texas because they live in Texas, they said, "I don't get why they all hate me. They don't know me." What do you say to that kid?
TOM OLIVERSON: Well, I mean, obviously I want that kid to get some mental health treatment, so that-- BARRON-LOPEZ: They have been going through mental health treatment for a long time.
OLIVERSON: Well, good. Good. I mean, that is the appropriate treatment for mental health conditions. And so I think, childhood, it can be tough sometimes. I remember being an adolescent. That's a tough time to figure out who you are and how you sort of fit into that collective of humanity.
BARRON-LOPEZ: Leah is now in puberty. Since the new Texas law takes effect on September 1, her family's been forced to consider drastic steps to access puberty blockers.
MARY: After our last doctor's visit, we were feeling rushed by the law and were just like, “Okay, okay, if we do this, we have to go back in August. So, maybe she can get the puberty blockers starting before September 1. And it was just this, like, anxiety and this, like, if we don't do this now, what are we going to do?
BARRON-LOPEZ: John and Mary are now looking at providers in New Mexico.
MARY: It feels like we’re being pushed out, pushed out of our home, pushed out of our state, pushed out of our jobs. Like, if we go somewhere, what happens next? And I don't want to feel like we're constantly on the run. I don't want to feel like we're refugees in our own country.
