WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report this week that advocates and health professionals say could put transgender youth at risk nationwide.
The report, that advocates argue is cloaked in medical jargon and political spin, could undermine decades of established clinical care. Critics say it greenlights conversion therapy practices long denounced by every major health organization in the country.
Freedom Oklahoma, a leading 2SLGBTQ+ advocacy organization, issued a sharp rebuke this week, warning that the federal government’s framing of “gender exploratory therapy” and “corrective care” is functionally identical to discredited and dangerous conversion therapy.
“This is not a policy document—it is a threat.”
According to Freedom Oklahoma, the report ignores four decades of research on gender-affirming care and instead elevates ideologically driven claims that endanger trans youth.
“This is not a policy document—it is a dangerous attempt to replace trusted, evidence-based medical care with ideology that has already been condemned by every major U.S. medical and mental health organization,” the group said in its statement. “These kinds of policies don’t protect kids—they isolate them, stigmatize them, and cause lasting harm.”
The timing and tone of the report, originally slated for release on April 28, raised further concerns. Freedom Oklahoma called it a “quickly cobbled together document” that dismisses research not aligned with the administration’s political goals—without offering scientific evidence of its own.
Medical truth vs. political fiction
Contrary to the report’s framing, gender-affirming care is not experimental. It is safe, effective, and used in treating multiple medical conditions, including early-onset puberty. The same medications prescribed to support trans youth are widely used across pediatric medicine.
The data is clear: gender-affirming care improves mental health outcomes and reduces suicide risk. Studies show that 98% of individuals who access transition-related care continue it long-term, with regret rates below 1%—a fraction of the rate seen in common surgeries like knee replacements.
Yet this new report targets only one kind of care: care that allows transgender youth to be themselves.
Freedom Oklahoma denounces HHS report
“There is a long history of fascist regimes first targeting Two Spirit, transgender, and gender non-conforming+ (2STGNC+) people,” said Nicole McAfee (they/she), Executive Director of Freedom Oklahoma. “Our very existence is an existential threat to control.”
McAfee didn’t hold back in contextualizing the threat within a longer arc of history.
“Targeting us further allows for those in power to distract the public, undermine science and public education, and dehumanize an entire group of people,” they said. “It’s why the Hirschfeld library was targeted by Nazis in 1933 and why settler colonizers have a long history of genocide targeting 2STGNC+ people the world over.”
Calling the report “an inexcusable escalation,” McAfee warned that it encourages conversion therapy by another name, and comes on the heels of what advocates call data erasure of trans communities at the federal level.
Freedom Oklahoma blasts HHS report
Being transgender is not a disorder. It’s a human reality. Medical leaders across disciplines have made that clear, and Freedom Oklahoma is backing that message with love and resistance.
“To every trans young person reading this: You are not alone. You are not broken. You are not a problem to be fixed,” Freedom Oklahoma stated. “This government may try to write you out of care, but our community sees you, believes in you, and is fighting back for your right to exist safely, openly, and joyfully.”
Support and crisis lines led by and for 2SLGBTQ+ communities
Freedom Oklahoma also directed trans youth and their families toward affirming crisis support led by trained 2SLGBTQ+ advocates. These include:
- Thrive Lifeline (2SLGBTQ+ adult-focused)
- BlackLine (Black LGBTQ+ and femme-led support)
