Biden: It's 'wrong' for states to ban body mutilating surgeries for kids
An LGBT activist documenting his gender transition on TikTok went to the White House to question President Joe Biden about state laws on gender transition surgeries as the American public demonstrates skepticism of such procedures heading into the midterm elections.
Dylan Mulvaney, a biologically male activist who identifies as female, announced on TikTok Thursday that he was meeting with Biden at the White House. The full interview aired on NowThis News' social media platforms Sunday night.
In the interview, Biden reiterated his belief that states are "wrong" to ban gender transition surgeries on minors and other procedures described by LGBT activists as "gender-affirming."
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"I don't think any state or anybody should have the right to do that as a moral question and as a legal question," the president said.
The exchange with Mulvaney was part of a larger forum moderated by NowThis where the LGBT activist and five other "young change-makers" asked the president questions about what the progressive media outlet described as "the most critical issues facing their generation ahead of this pivotal election."
Those issues include abortion access, transgender rights, criminal legal reform, gun legislation, economic instability and climate change.
The young people included in the discussion focused on a specific issue of importance to them.
In a video presented shortly before Mulvaney began asking Biden questions, the LGBT activist introduced himself as a "trans woman" who is "documenting my transition publicly on TikTok for the world to see."
Mulvaney lamented that "lawmakers in many states want to exclude us from participating in sports or getting proper healthcare" and that "some folks want to decide where we can use the bathroom."
According to the LGBT Movement Advancement Project, 18 states have passed laws banning trans-identified youth from competing on sports teams that correspond with their gender identity instead of their biological sex.
The most common justification for such policies focuses on the biological differences between men and women that give biological males, on average, an unfair advantage over biological females in athletic competitions.
A study from the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that trans-identified males retain benefits over biological females even after one year of taking feminizing hormones.
After noting that it was his "221st day of publicly transitioning," Mulvaney said he is thankful to reside in California, "a state that allows me access to the resources I need, and that decision is just between me and my doctors."
Mulvaney gave Biden the floor to share his thoughts on the ongoing debate about whether trans-identified individuals should be able to use bathrooms that correspond with their stated gender identity instead of their biological sex.
"I feel very, very strongly that you should have every single solitary right, including use of your gender identity bathrooms," the president said.
Biden also described state-level efforts to limit trans individuals' access to bathrooms, sports teams, gender surgeries and hormones as "outrageous" and "immoral."
Currently, Alabama, Arizona and Arkansas have banned medicalized gender transitioning of minors, while the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and the Texas Attorney General have classified them as a form of child abuse.
Concerns about such procedures stem from their potential side effects, identified by the American College of Pediatricians as sterility, "osteoporosis, mood disorders, seizures, [and] cognitive impairment" as well as "an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, blood clots and cancers."
Biden concluded his remarks on LGBT issues by stressing that "just because it's different, there's nothing to be fearful about."
The president's comments provoked a reaction on social media, with the popular Twitter account Libs of Tik Tok posting on Twitter that "the official Democratic Party position now is that puberty blockers and sex reassignment surgery for kids is good."
Just so we’re clear- the official Democratic party position now is that puberty blockers and sex reassignment surgery for kids is good. https://t.co/zTjLZ64dFY
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 24, 2022
Noah Pollak, a political consultant and a contributor to The Washington Free Beacon, criticized the president on Twitter for "doing interviews w/ transgender activists about the need to surgically sterilize kids." Pollak suggested that "the progressives running the WH are actively trying to piss off 80 percent of the country."
It's two weeks before the midterms and Biden is doing interviews w/ transgender activists about the need to surgically sterilize kids. I think the progressives running the WH are actively trying to piss off 80 percent of the country. Never seen anything like it. https://t.co/uKILAPYTZT
— Noah Pollak (@NoahPollak) October 24, 2022
Polling conducted by Summit Ministries in conjunction with McLaughlin & Associates suggests widespread discontent with the "transgender movement." Based on responses collected from Oct. 12-17, the poll found that 65% of respondents believed that "the transgender movement has gone too far by encouraging minors to use drugs and surgery to transition to the opposite sex." Twenty-one percent disagreed with that statement, while the remaining 14% said they did not know.
A majority of respondents surveyed (57%) insisted that the medical industry's promotion of gender transition for young children is "motivated by financial gain," while 24% maintained that it was "motivated to help struggling children."
Fifty-nine percent of the general election likely voters surveyed cited the fact that "underage minors are being influenced to question their gender due to social media and other cultural influences." Twenty-seven percent attributed the increased number of trans-identified youth to children feeling free to "question their gender without judgment."
The forum at the White House also included a segment on abortion. Dr. Danielle Mathisen asked the questions. A video introducing the OB/GYN featured her explaining that "my schooling in Texas prevented me from receiving the proper training and education in family planning, counseling or procedures due to the state's negative stance on the topic."
Mathisen detailed how she created an after-hours club to "study the curriculum that wasn't offered to us."
Mathisen's first question to the president inquired how he intended to "protect abortion rights over the next two years if Democrats aren't able to increase the majority in Congress."
Biden vowed to take additional actions via executive order before using his platform as an opportunity to urge voters to support Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections.
"I need a couple more senators, and I need to maintain the House," Biden said.
Biden said that he would veto any effort by congressional Republicans to pass the 15-week abortion ban introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., last month should Republicans take control of both houses of Congress.
He reiterated his support for a federal abortion fund that would support women who have to take time off from work and travel to a different state to have an abortion. He stressed that such an effort would require congressional support.
With the midterm elections just two weeks away, Democrats have a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and a bare majority in the U.S. Senate powered by Vice President Kamala Harris' tie-breaking vote.
The FiveThirtyEight Deluxe Model, which forecasts the outcome of elections based on "polls, fundraising, past voting patterns" and the opinions of political experts, gives Republicans an 81% chance of retaking control of the House while giving Democrats a 54% chance of maintaining control of the Senate as of Tuesday evening.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
