The New York Times (NYT) expressed its disapproval for tattoos for children, but waffled on puberty blocker treatments on so-called “transgender” kids despite long-term consequences.
“A 10-Year-Old Got a Tattoo. His Mother Was Arrested,” the first story from the New York Times is titled. The article detailed a number of different cases in which parents allowed their children to get tattoos.
In some states, those under the age of 18 are allowed to receive tattoos if they have permission from their parents. In other states however, it is illegal for a minor to get a tattoo even if they have permission from their legal guardian. The story cited various cases in which parents ran into trouble with the law for allowing their children to get a tattoo.
The NYT explains, for example, that in North Carolina “a mother was charged with child endangerment after she tattooed a heart on her 11-year-old daughter’s right shoulder in 2012.”
In 2010, one Georgia couple was arrested “after they tattooed crosses on six of their children, ages 10 to 17, just like their own tattoos.” The charges were eventually dropped. In another instance in Georgia, a mother was sentenced to 12 months of probation after she pleaded guilty to tattooing a minor.
More recently, both a mother and an unlicensed tattoo artist were arrested in New York after a 10 year old child went to the school nurse’s office to get Vaseline for his new tattoo, prompting the nurse to notify the police.
In a discussion about the legality of tattoos on minors, pediatrician and professor at the University of Washington Medical Center’s Seattle Children’s Hospital Dr. Cora Bruner told the NYT “It is a permanent mark or a symbol you are putting on your body, and I don’t think kids under 18 have that kind of agency to make a decision.”
Another article from the NYT, titled “They Paused Puberty, but Is There a Cost?” draws a sharp contrast between the legality — and consequences — of minors receiving tattoos and puberty blocker treatment.
The NYT admitted that the use of puberty blocking drugs, which are used on children as young as 8 years old, can have drastic, long term impacts on the health of children. The article noted that “there is emerging evidence of potential harm from using blockers.”
The article cites various studies, including one that found that the bone strength of children who use puberty blockers not only “lag behind their peers,” but also “do not fully rebound.”
The lack of bone strength could “lead to heightened risk of debilitating fractures earlier than would be expected from normal aging” in addition to “more immediate harm for patients who start treatment with already weak bones.”
Dr. Sundeep Khosla leads a bone research lab at Mayo Clinic and stated that with puberty blocker use, “there’s going to be a price,” before noting that “the price is probably going to be some deficit in skeletal mass.”
“A full accounting of blockers’ risk to bones is not possible,” the NYT remarked.
A research analysis commissioned by the NYT found that while on blockers,“the teens did not gain any bone density, on average — and lost significant ground compared to their peers.” This is despite the fact that bone density usually surges between 8 to 12 percent per year during the teen years.
But a loss in bone density is just one of the negative health outcomes that may result from puberty blocker use. The NYT noted that “Infertility is among other lasting effects for patients who start blockers at the first stage of puberty and proceed to hormones and surgery.”
The NYT also noted that despite the apparent health ramifications, “there is no universal policy, and the public discussion is polarized.” Meanwhile in Sweden and Finland, use of the drugs has been restricted.
In addition, “There is no centralized tracking of blocker prescriptions in the United States,” the NYT pointed out. In fact, some of the most commonly used drugs, such as Lupron and Supprelin LA, are used off-label when given to those who are attempting to change their gender.
Lupron can cost nearly $2,000 for just a one-month supply and has been used to chemically castrate sex offenders.
The article cited several doctors who believe the risk to bone health isn’t reason alone to discontinue the use of puberty blocking drugs.
An investigative report from Breitbart News found that one such doctor, Dr. Stephen Rosenthal, has received at least $16,765 from Endo Pharmaceuticals and AbbVie, the two companies that produce Lupron and Supprelin LA, two popular puberty blocking drugs. The New York Times does not mention Rosenthal’s relationship with these companies.
Puberty blocker companies such as AbbVie and Endo Pharmaceuticals have made a concerted effort to normalize child transgenderism, which could increase the demand for their products.
Several investigations from Breitbart News have found that the two companies have provided financial compensation to numerous doctors who have consulted for the corporations and hold leadership positions in pediatric gender clinics.
In addition to Rosenthal, who is the director and the cofounder of the Child and Adolescent Gender Center at the University of California San Francisco, Doctor Joshua Safer, the Executive Director of the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery and Director of the Boston Children’s Hospital’s Gender Services Division, Dr. Jeremi Carswell have received money from companies that produce puberty blockers.
Breitbart News previously obtained and released video of Carswell admitting that puberty blocking drugs have the potential to cause infertility in patients.
Doctor Maja Marinkovic is the codirector of the Center for Gender-Affirming Care at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego and has also received compensation from Endo Pharmaceuticals.
ProPublica found that doctors prescribe a drug more often when they have received payments from pharmaceutical companies, especially payments pertaining to that specific drug.
But that isn’t the extent of pharmaceutical company’s involvement with the movement to normalize transgenderism. An investigation from Breitbart News revealed that AbbVie sponsors The GenderCool Project, an activist organization that secures high-profile media appearances for children who identify as transgender. Activists have even been invited to the White House and spoken from behind the presidential podium.
Breitbart News also uncovered that Bayer Pharmaceuticals was one of the supporters behind a film called Mama has a Mustache, which is “driven completely by audio interviews of kids ages 5-10” and explores “how children are able to experience a world outside of the traditional gender binary.”
Bayer produces at least two anti-androgen drugs that are used off label by men who attempt to transition into women.
In addition, the Pediatric Endocrine Society, which has taken an adamantly pro-transgenderism stance, received more than $125,000 from AbbVie. Meanwhile, AbbVie gave nearly $100,000 to the Endocrine Society, which recommends puberty blockers for youth who experience gender dysphoria.
Spencer Lindquist is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerLndqst and reach out at slindquist@breitbart.com