In the Shadow of the Skrmetti Decision, Puberty Blocker Lies Passed off as Research
- Allen
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
On the heels of the long-awaited Skrmetti Decision, our usual characters with WPATH have published another biased and unreliable study suggesting that puberty suppression in minors is no big deal and doesn’t impact adult sexual functioning.
In a 6–3 ruling on June 18, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s SB 1, a state law banning puberty blockers, hormone treatment, and surgeries for trans-identifying minors, on the grounds that it regulates medical practices based on age and treatment type rather than sex, applying only the most deferential “rational basis” standard. Chief Justice John Roberts emphasized that such decisions rest with legislatures, not courts. The judgment preserves Tennessee's restrictions and supports similar laws in approximately 25 other states, reshaping the legal terrain for irreversible medical interventions in the name of “affirming gender” for minors. This empowers state authorities to safeguard minors, per Trump’s Executive Order Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.
Since this landmark Skrmetti Decision, parents and others who would transition minors through a serious set of medical interventions to which they cannot consent, have been sharing articles about the recently published study on Reddit forums like r/cisparentranskid. It was published, conveniently, shortly after US v. Skrmetti was heard. The odds that any of them have read the study itself are not good, so here are major problems with the study.
From the very first page under “Strengths and Limitations” in the abstract, the authors state that the sample size is too small, so they could not perform statistical tests that would allow them to make strong conclusions about whether any observed differences or patterns are meaningful, or if they could have happened by chance. On the first page, they make it clear that the results cannot be applied to a larger population.
Fewer than half of their original 145 contacts participated in the study. Some were lost to follow-up, others didn’t want to participate. It is not mentioned, or perhaps known, how many have detransitioned. Two were deceased. Two deaths in 145 healthy young adults? That is an alarmingly high number. In contrast, the estimated death rate for young adults in the Netherlands is just 0.03%. A known loss of 2 out of 145 equals a whopping 1.38% death rate. The actual death rate could be higher. This significant fact is not so much as mentioned.
The remaining 70 participants had received their puberty suppression up to 14 years ago, and started anywhere from age 11 to nearly 18. The study asked them to reflect on up to 14 years of what they remember about their sexual satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The likelihood of memory drift is huge. Another factor in trans-identified people sharing their dissatisfaction or regret is that they are motivated to deny regret for multiple reasons. Exulansic has illustrated this pattern extensively on her Substack, commenting on TikTok videos uploaded by people who have medically transitioned, many suffering serious complications, both short and long term. Every single time, they deny regret. On I Am Jazz, Jeanette Jennings has told Jazz to avoid talking about his complications in public, as not to deter others from “gender affirming” surgeries.
Dr. Marci Bowers, trans-identified surgeon and former president of WPATH, and the surgeon who performed Jazz Jennings’ vaginoplasty, testified (pp. 63–64) that when patients are blocked at Tanner Stage II, go directly to cross-sex hormones after suppression, and then have vaginoplasty, that “… if patients are counseled – and attention is paid with that goal of orgasm in mind, that it is still possible.”
Possible. Let that sink in. Bowers offers no numbers, no odds. Bowers then dismisses this iatrogenic anorgasmia by comparing it to sexual dysfunction in women, with no regard for the fact that women are not puberty-suppressed, sexually immature males, and the reasons for their dysfunction are specific to the female sex. These facts alone cast a shadow on the validity of this study’s conclusions.
Areas of dysfunction that the study profiles include lack of sexual desire (18%), too much sexual desire (females on testosterone, perhaps? – 16%), lack of arousal (4%), difficulty experiencing an orgasm (24%), and difficulty finding or initiating sexual contact (34%). Though they do break down the differences between trans-identified and medicalized males and females a bit further, the numbers still appear to be high. The study claims that the results are in line with those who transitioned in adulthood. The study does not control for other common factors like trauma and autism, which can affect sexual functioning, independent of puberty suppression and cross-sex hormone use.
Who wrote this study? Of the seven authors, all are directly associated with WPATH. Isabelle S. van der Meulen, MD and Marijn Arnoldussen, MD presented the findings of this study at the 2024 WPATH Conference in Lisbon. Annelou L.C. de Vries, MD, PhD was a member of WPATH’s Standards of Care revision committee starting January 2018. Baudewijntje P.C. Kreukels, PhD and Thomas D. Steensma, PhD appeared as contributors in the official SOC‑8 “Contributors” list for WPATH’s adolescent-focused chapter. Sabine E. Hannema, MD, PhD and Anna I.R. van der Miesen, MD, PhD are involved in WPATH events and publications.
Keep in mind that WPATH has proved to be more of an activist organization than one pursuing high-quality research via vigorously applied scientific method. Mia Hughes’ The WPATH Files, published in 2024, blew the lid off WPATH’s façade of scientific legitimacy and integrity. It makes perfect sense that these WPATH-connected researchers would present such a poorly done research paper as meaningful.
The two companies who funded the research, Palatin Technologies and AMAG Pharmaceuticals, while they do not manufacture, distribute, or sell GnRH analogues (e.g., leuprolide, histrelin) or “gender-affirming” estrogens/testosterone, they are in the business of treating sexual dysfunction. This alliance in the study benefits both the funders and WPATH, even as the study concludes that puberty suppression and cross-sex hormones don’t impact sexual functioning, without compelling evidence, relying on self-reported history and avoiding the harder questions.
The Skrmetti Decision is a landmark case in the fight to protect minors from extreme medical interventions that they do not have the brain development to fully comprehend. Many detransitioners have spoken out, including some who have publicly described “gender-affirming care” as induced sexual dysfunction. States now have the power to protect their minor citizens as we work toward an enforceable federal ban on this barbaric practice.
References
COVINGTON & BURLING LLP, GLBTQ LEGAL ADVOCATES & DEFENDERS, NATIONAL CENTER FOR LESBIAN RIGHTS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF ALABAMA, COOPER & KIRK, PLLC, & SPERO LAW LLC. (2024). Video-recorded deposition of MARCI L. BOWERS, M.D. In H. Kim CLR, CSR No. 13083, IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA NORTHERN DIVISION. https://www.alabamaag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SJ.DX18-564-8-Bowers-Depo-Tr.-UNSEALED.pdf
Exulansic | Substack.
Gays Against Groomers went to the U.S. Supreme Court to fight for Tennessee’s Right to Save Children! Radar News.
The White House. (2025, January 28). Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.
The WPATH files — Environmental progress. Environmental Progress.
UNITED STATES v. SKRMETTI. (2025). In S. Court, SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES.
Van Der Meulen, I. S., Arnoldussen, M., Van Der Miesen, A. I. R., Hannema, S. E., Steensma, T. D., De Vries, A. L. C., & Kreukels, B. P. C. (2025). Sexual satisfaction and dysfunction in transgender adults following puberty suppression treatment during adolescence. The Journal of Sexual Medicine.
WPATH | World Professional Association for Transgender Health. https://wpath.org/