Culture Tranny News Megathread - Hot tranny newds
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- Joined
- Jan 31, 2015
Start by refusing to use troon lingo like this cis nonsense.
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2019
Female prison officers have been raped by male-bodied inmates who self-identify as trans women, a former Minister has revealed.
The disclosure was made by Rory Stewart, the ex-Tory Cabinet Minister who oversaw prisons in 2018 and 2019 and who is now running as an independent candidate for Mayor of London.
Female prison officers have been raped by inmates who self-identify as trans women, ex-Tory minister Rory Stewart claims
Published: 19:44 EDT, 11 April 2020 | Updated: 20:33 EDT, 11 April 2020
Female prison officers have been raped by male-bodied inmates who self-identify as trans women, a former Minister has revealed.
The disclosure was made by Rory Stewart, the ex-Tory Cabinet Minister who oversaw prisons in 2018 and 2019 and who is now running as an independent candidate for Mayor of London.
It will fuel questions about policies that have allowed criminals with male bodies to describe themselves as female and demand to be housed in women's prisons.
Speaking out: Former Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said there was an issue of those self-identifying as trans women raping female prison officers
Mr Stewart told GQ magazine: 'When I was Prisons Minister, we had situations of male prisoners selfidentifying as females then raping staff in prison.'
The claim is the first public reference to trans women assaulting prison staff in women's jails, but it follows warnings that allowing malebodied criminals into female jails puts women in danger.
It was reported last year there are up to 1,500 inmates who describe themselves as transgender among the 90,000 prisoners in England and Wales – raising concerns that some are claiming to be trans to get access to women's jails.
In 2018, a transgender inmate was found to have sexually assaulted women in a female prison.
Karen White, born Stephen Wood, had been sent to HMP New Hall near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, despite having had neither surgery nor hormone treatment – and despite being a convicted paedophile on remand for grievous bodily harm, multiple rapes and other sexual offences against women.
In response to concerns about the situation, the Prison Service last year established a dedicated wing for housing some trans inmates at women's jail HMP Downview near Banstead, Surrey.
In the interview with GQ, Mr Stewart was asked about so-called 'self-ID' policies, which could mean anyone who identifies as a woman is allowed to go into female-only spaces, such as changing rooms and toilets.
RELATED ARTICLES
'So I think if somebody is biologically male, particularly in an environment like a prison, we shouldn't allow that to happen.
'We have to be pretty cautious about how we think that happens in other spaces.
'The important thing is: I think the rights of women to feel safe trump the rights of somebody who's biologically male to enter that space.'
The Ministry of Justice recently said policies are in place to manage the risks that might be posed by male-bodied prisoners who say they are trans women.
- Mr Stewart revealed he was 'instinctively worried' about the situation
- He added 'the rights of women to feel safe' were most important in his view
- The Ministry of Justice said there were policies in place to manage the risk
Published: 19:44 EDT, 11 April 2020 | Updated: 20:33 EDT, 11 April 2020
Female prison officers have been raped by male-bodied inmates who self-identify as trans women, a former Minister has revealed.
The disclosure was made by Rory Stewart, the ex-Tory Cabinet Minister who oversaw prisons in 2018 and 2019 and who is now running as an independent candidate for Mayor of London.
It will fuel questions about policies that have allowed criminals with male bodies to describe themselves as female and demand to be housed in women's prisons.
Speaking out: Former Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said there was an issue of those self-identifying as trans women raping female prison officers
Mr Stewart told GQ magazine: 'When I was Prisons Minister, we had situations of male prisoners selfidentifying as females then raping staff in prison.'
The claim is the first public reference to trans women assaulting prison staff in women's jails, but it follows warnings that allowing malebodied criminals into female jails puts women in danger.
It was reported last year there are up to 1,500 inmates who describe themselves as transgender among the 90,000 prisoners in England and Wales – raising concerns that some are claiming to be trans to get access to women's jails.
In 2018, a transgender inmate was found to have sexually assaulted women in a female prison.
Karen White, born Stephen Wood, had been sent to HMP New Hall near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, despite having had neither surgery nor hormone treatment – and despite being a convicted paedophile on remand for grievous bodily harm, multiple rapes and other sexual offences against women.
In response to concerns about the situation, the Prison Service last year established a dedicated wing for housing some trans inmates at women's jail HMP Downview near Banstead, Surrey.
In the interview with GQ, Mr Stewart was asked about so-called 'self-ID' policies, which could mean anyone who identifies as a woman is allowed to go into female-only spaces, such as changing rooms and toilets.
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'So I think if somebody is biologically male, particularly in an environment like a prison, we shouldn't allow that to happen.
'We have to be pretty cautious about how we think that happens in other spaces.
'The important thing is: I think the rights of women to feel safe trump the rights of somebody who's biologically male to enter that space.'
The Ministry of Justice recently said policies are in place to manage the risks that might be posed by male-bodied prisoners who say they are trans women.
Archive
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2018
First off. I know I shouldn’t laugh but I am.
Female prison officers have been raped by male-bodied inmates who self-identify as trans women, a former Minister has revealed.
The disclosure was made by Rory Stewart, the ex-Tory Cabinet Minister who oversaw prisons in 2018 and 2019 and who is now running as an independent candidate for Mayor of London.
Female prison officers have been raped by inmates who self-identify as trans women, ex-Tory minister Rory Stewart claims
By Glen Owen Political Editor For The Mail On Sunday
- Mr Stewart revealed he was 'instinctively worried' about the situation
- He added 'the rights of women to feel safe' were most important in his view
- The Ministry of Justice said there were policies in place to manage the risk
Published: 19:44 EDT, 11 April 2020 | Updated: 20:33 EDT, 11 April 2020
Female prison officers have been raped by male-bodied inmates who self-identify as trans women, a former Minister has revealed.
The disclosure was made by Rory Stewart, the ex-Tory Cabinet Minister who oversaw prisons in 2018 and 2019 and who is now running as an independent candidate for Mayor of London.
It will fuel questions about policies that have allowed criminals with male bodies to describe themselves as female and demand to be housed in women's prisons.
Speaking out: Former Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said there was an issue of those self-identifying as trans women raping female prison officers
Mr Stewart told GQ magazine: 'When I was Prisons Minister, we had situations of male prisoners selfidentifying as females then raping staff in prison.'
The claim is the first public reference to trans women assaulting prison staff in women's jails, but it follows warnings that allowing malebodied criminals into female jails puts women in danger.
It was reported last year there are up to 1,500 inmates who describe themselves as transgender among the 90,000 prisoners in England and Wales – raising concerns that some are claiming to be trans to get access to women's jails.
In 2018, a transgender inmate was found to have sexually assaulted women in a female prison.
Karen White, born Stephen Wood, had been sent to HMP New Hall near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, despite having had neither surgery nor hormone treatment – and despite being a convicted paedophile on remand for grievous bodily harm, multiple rapes and other sexual offences against women.
In response to concerns about the situation, the Prison Service last year established a dedicated wing for housing some trans inmates at women's jail HMP Downview near Banstead, Surrey.
In the interview with GQ, Mr Stewart was asked about so-called 'self-ID' policies, which could mean anyone who identifies as a woman is allowed to go into female-only spaces, such as changing rooms and toilets.
RELATED ARTICLES
He replied: 'I'm instinctively worried about that, partly because when I was Prisons Minister, we had situations of male prisoners self-identifying as females then raping staff in prison.
'So I think if somebody is biologically male, particularly in an environment like a prison, we shouldn't allow that to happen.
'We have to be pretty cautious about how we think that happens in other spaces.
'The important thing is: I think the rights of women to feel safe trump the rights of somebody who's biologically male to enter that space.'
The Ministry of Justice recently said policies are in place to manage the risks that might be posed by male-bodied prisoners who say they are trans women.
Archive
Secondly, let’s do some post modern math. How many white cis women need to be raped by “male body women” until something is done?
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2014
Trick question. Normal women are more privileged than troons, hence it is logically impossible for them be raped by troons.
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2019
I've read that excerpt from Stewart's interview, now a lot of feminists in UK are worried that those crimes had been covered by the government so they didn't impact the implementation of self-id (that now has been shelved). Truth is, that except for the Karen White and other cases, it's the first time that a politician openly admits that male troons raped female prison staff. I hope that this peaks millions.
Female prison officers have been raped by male-bodied inmates who self-identify as trans women, a former Minister has revealed.
The disclosure was made by Rory Stewart, the ex-Tory Cabinet Minister who oversaw prisons in 2018 and 2019 and who is now running as an independent candidate for Mayor of London.
Female prison officers have been raped by inmates who self-identify as trans women, ex-Tory minister Rory Stewart claims
By Glen Owen Political Editor For The Mail On Sunday
- Mr Stewart revealed he was 'instinctively worried' about the situation
- He added 'the rights of women to feel safe' were most important in his view
- The Ministry of Justice said there were policies in place to manage the risk
Published: 19:44 EDT, 11 April 2020 | Updated: 20:33 EDT, 11 April 2020
Female prison officers have been raped by male-bodied inmates who self-identify as trans women, a former Minister has revealed.
The disclosure was made by Rory Stewart, the ex-Tory Cabinet Minister who oversaw prisons in 2018 and 2019 and who is now running as an independent candidate for Mayor of London.
It will fuel questions about policies that have allowed criminals with male bodies to describe themselves as female and demand to be housed in women's prisons.
Speaking out: Former Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said there was an issue of those self-identifying as trans women raping female prison officers
Mr Stewart told GQ magazine: 'When I was Prisons Minister, we had situations of male prisoners selfidentifying as females then raping staff in prison.'
The claim is the first public reference to trans women assaulting prison staff in women's jails, but it follows warnings that allowing malebodied criminals into female jails puts women in danger.
It was reported last year there are up to 1,500 inmates who describe themselves as transgender among the 90,000 prisoners in England and Wales – raising concerns that some are claiming to be trans to get access to women's jails.
In 2018, a transgender inmate was found to have sexually assaulted women in a female prison.
Karen White, born Stephen Wood, had been sent to HMP New Hall near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, despite having had neither surgery nor hormone treatment – and despite being a convicted paedophile on remand for grievous bodily harm, multiple rapes and other sexual offences against women.
In response to concerns about the situation, the Prison Service last year established a dedicated wing for housing some trans inmates at women's jail HMP Downview near Banstead, Surrey.
In the interview with GQ, Mr Stewart was asked about so-called 'self-ID' policies, which could mean anyone who identifies as a woman is allowed to go into female-only spaces, such as changing rooms and toilets.
RELATED ARTICLES
He replied: 'I'm instinctively worried about that, partly because when I was Prisons Minister, we had situations of male prisoners self-identifying as females then raping staff in prison.
'So I think if somebody is biologically male, particularly in an environment like a prison, we shouldn't allow that to happen.
'We have to be pretty cautious about how we think that happens in other spaces.
'The important thing is: I think the rights of women to feel safe trump the rights of somebody who's biologically male to enter that space.'
The Ministry of Justice recently said policies are in place to manage the risks that might be posed by male-bodied prisoners who say they are trans women.
Archive
DumbDude42
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2019
tbh this just reveals how weak and incompetent those female guards were.
Female prison officers have been raped by male-bodied inmates who self-identify as trans women, a former Minister has revealed.
The disclosure was made by Rory Stewart, the ex-Tory Cabinet Minister who oversaw prisons in 2018 and 2019 and who is now running as an independent candidate for Mayor of London.
Female prison officers have been raped by inmates who self-identify as trans women, ex-Tory minister Rory Stewart claims
By Glen Owen Political Editor For The Mail On Sunday
- Mr Stewart revealed he was 'instinctively worried' about the situation
- He added 'the rights of women to feel safe' were most important in his view
- The Ministry of Justice said there were policies in place to manage the risk
Published: 19:44 EDT, 11 April 2020 | Updated: 20:33 EDT, 11 April 2020
Female prison officers have been raped by male-bodied inmates who self-identify as trans women, a former Minister has revealed.
The disclosure was made by Rory Stewart, the ex-Tory Cabinet Minister who oversaw prisons in 2018 and 2019 and who is now running as an independent candidate for Mayor of London.
It will fuel questions about policies that have allowed criminals with male bodies to describe themselves as female and demand to be housed in women's prisons.
Speaking out: Former Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said there was an issue of those self-identifying as trans women raping female prison officers
Mr Stewart told GQ magazine: 'When I was Prisons Minister, we had situations of male prisoners selfidentifying as females then raping staff in prison.'
The claim is the first public reference to trans women assaulting prison staff in women's jails, but it follows warnings that allowing malebodied criminals into female jails puts women in danger.
It was reported last year there are up to 1,500 inmates who describe themselves as transgender among the 90,000 prisoners in England and Wales – raising concerns that some are claiming to be trans to get access to women's jails.
In 2018, a transgender inmate was found to have sexually assaulted women in a female prison.
Karen White, born Stephen Wood, had been sent to HMP New Hall near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, despite having had neither surgery nor hormone treatment – and despite being a convicted paedophile on remand for grievous bodily harm, multiple rapes and other sexual offences against women.
In response to concerns about the situation, the Prison Service last year established a dedicated wing for housing some trans inmates at women's jail HMP Downview near Banstead, Surrey.
In the interview with GQ, Mr Stewart was asked about so-called 'self-ID' policies, which could mean anyone who identifies as a woman is allowed to go into female-only spaces, such as changing rooms and toilets.
RELATED ARTICLES
He replied: 'I'm instinctively worried about that, partly because when I was Prisons Minister, we had situations of male prisoners self-identifying as females then raping staff in prison.
'So I think if somebody is biologically male, particularly in an environment like a prison, we shouldn't allow that to happen.
'We have to be pretty cautious about how we think that happens in other spaces.
'The important thing is: I think the rights of women to feel safe trump the rights of somebody who's biologically male to enter that space.'
The Ministry of Justice recently said policies are in place to manage the risks that might be posed by male-bodied prisoners who say they are trans women.
Archive
because at the end of the day, troon or not, those inmates were still prisoners - unarmed, isolated, and locked behind bars, while the guards are armed to the teeth and well-organized. a guard has to be an absolute brainless moron to ever allow himself (herself in this case) to get into a position where inmates can pose a serious threat to him (her).
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2018
TBH it's not clear if he mis-recalled the facts of the case where a troon raped female inmates as raping female staff.
I mean obviously the UK would cover up raping female prison staff to protect trannies from hate misgendering on Twitter, but I'm 50/50 as to whether this is just an error of memory on his part.
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2017
Most women are there for nonviolent crimes. I suspect bong women's prisons are more like American youth camps, and the guards are probably forbidden to "discriminate" against troons by treating them like the dangerous animals they are.
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2019
It's bongistan. I doubt they were armed at all.
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2019
Maybe in America. In the UK women's prisons are very low on security. I watched a fly on the wall style documentary set in a woman's prison in England recently, and honestly if it wasn't for the age of the inmates you would think it was set in a girls boarding school. The relationship between staff and inmates is more like that between teachers and pupils than prison officers and prisoners.
And in a female only environment that seems to work. Putting troons in there is so obviously dangerous it shouldn't even be considered.
Amber the Hedgehog
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2018
To be fair dangerous situations aren't always that predictable because prisoners aren't that predictable. I lived in a town with a prison and knew few guard from there. These were super down to earth, realistic and ready to action kind of guys. They made sure that I at time a teenage girl knew that these guys were not be trusted as some tend to stick around after getting out and who is likely to be one (lets just say they were not always pc). Also unarmed doesn't mean not dangerous not even close, that part is more up to mood of moment and how willing they are to hurt in general. I have no doubt that a female coworker would get a lot more information about who look out for and what to expect.
Prison life is very very boring and many inmates are generally insane from the start. Prisoners manage to hurt and kill male guards all the time so females aren't unique letting their guard down or otherwise getting into vulnerable position. That by to way doesn't need much, just second or two of attention elsewhere. Inmates have only few ways to entrain themselves so one popular is coming up ways to hurt others and they can get pretty creative since time isn't an issue. Just prison made weapons should give you an idea what these people are capable off. If a guy wants to rape, he can spend tons of time to wait or make a rape opportunity to happen despite safety precautions.
jje100010001
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2020
...it's the bone structure...
This hideous monstrosity looks more feminine than most troons ever will.
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2014
But troon prisoners are often violent sexual predators. And when you have a troon who goes all out to get into a women's prison, they're usually there to be closer to their preferred victims.
It's utter madness, especially with rapists and other such predators. If they're in danger in a normal male prison put them with the chomos and other such people.
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2017
Prison guards walking the halls aren't armed beyond stick batons. Anything more and it would open up the possibility of an inmate taking a weapon that they could then use.
Most prisoners are kept in line by the certainty of consequences should they attack a member of the staff. For troons, consequences don't exist, so maybe they would. Seems to me though, that anyone caught raping a guard would be transferred from a women's prison to a mind prison (coma).
Most prisoners are kept in line by the certainty of consequences should they attack a member of the staff. For troons, consequences don't exist, so maybe they would. Seems to me though, that anyone caught raping a guard would be transferred from a women's prison to a mind prison (coma).
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2019
He has no style, he has no grace
This kong has a funny face
This picture really bothers me for obvious reasons but now seeing it on desktop I realize, the hair has also been photoshoped.
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2020
Transgender fertility study sheds light on testosterone's impact
Trans men who stopped taking testosterone for an average of four months were found to have similar egg yields to cisgender women.
Emmett Hardiman with his wife, Calla, and two daughters.Courtesy Emmett Hardiman
April 14, 2020, 4:06 PM CEST
By Julie Compton
When Emmett Hardiman transitioned at age 18, he didn’t think he would ever have his own child. At the time, doctors told the transgender man that long-term testosterone use would probably ruin his reproductive organs, along with any chance of having kids.
“It was very much the belief that you could only be on testosterone for so long before you had to get everything removed or you would be very high risk [for cancer] or you were definitely going to be infertile,” Hardiman, 29, told NBC News.
Now, research is giving fertility experts insight into the true impact of testosterone use on fertility.
"I think there is a giant myth that testosterone turns your ovaries into papier-mâché ... and I think these studies that are coming out are saying that’s not true, actually. Actually, they are more like hibernating."
Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy
A recent study from Boston IVF, a fertility clinic and research organization, based on eight years of patient data, revealed that transgender men who stopped taking testosterone for an average of four months had similar egg yields to cisgender (nontransgender) women when undergoing ovarian stimulation.
“The numbers were very small (about 25 patients in total), but it was very reassuring that even though these transgender men had taken testosterone, when they stopped it and were treated, they responded well and we had good outcomes,” said Dr. Samuel Pang, a reproductive endocrinologist and medical director at Boston IVF.
It’s unclear how many trans men give birth or have their eggs frozen in the U.S. In Australia, where government agencies have tracked both sex and gender in official records since 2013, 54 transgender men gave birth in 2014, according to data from the country’s universal health care system. A Dutch study published in the journal Human Reproduction in 2012 found that a majority of trans men reported wanting families.
Transgender men, eager to have biological kids, are freezing their eggs
If possible, trans men who know they want to have children should get their eggs frozen prior to transitioning, according to Pang. For one, it’s unclear what effect long-term testosterone use might have on eggs and embryos, even if the person goes off hormone treatment prior to fertilization. However, he added, there have been no reports thus far of harmful side effects to children born to those who have taken testosterone.
He added that gender dysphoria is another reason to freeze eggs prior to transition.
“I have seen a lot of transgender men who come in, they’ve already transitioned, they’ve already started testosterone,” Pang said, but “the thought of stopping testosterone or going through hormone treatments is very daunting for them, so they frequently will not pursue it because of that.”
‘I had to make a choice’
Hardiman, an attorney who lives in Cranston, Rhode Island, said he believed that transitioning would prevent him from ever having his own kids. At the same time, the gender dysphoria he suffered since childhood — the distress many trans people feel over the mismatch between their gender and sex assigned at birth — was severe. Throughout high school, he wore baggy clothes to conceal his developing body, and started to self harm. Though he feared the impact it might have on his fertility, he said he began making plans to transition as soon as he turned 18. “I had to make a choice,” Hardiman said.
Emmett Hardiman with his two daughters.Courtesy Emmett Hardiman
But his fear turned out to be unwarranted. At age 21, he lost his health insurance when his father died, and was forced to discontinue his hormone treatment. Hardiman’s period soon returned. By then, he was married, and decided to get his eggs harvested so his wife, Calla, could get pregnant with his child through in vitro fertilization. Now, he is a father to a son and a daughter, ages 2 and 6.
“I mean there is definitely a hard, difficult choice either way,” he said of his decision to undergo fertility treatment. “Just having to go off testosterone in order to do IVF was not a great option, but it was to me better than the alternative.”
According to Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, medical director of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, it’s not uncommon for young trans men to be unsure about their fertility options, since there has been little data on it until now.
“I think there is a giant myth that testosterone turns your ovaries into papier-mâché,” she said, “and I think these studies that are coming out are saying that’s not true, actually. Actually, they are more like hibernating.”
“Now, when people are making these decisions to either carry their own children or harvest, they will come off of testosterone and their body kicks in,” Olson-Kennedy continued. “They start ovulating, having menstrual cycles, and then they go through harvesting procedures or whatever they decide to do.”
Transgender surgeries postponed indefinitely amid pandemic
Still, many trans men may struggle with dysphoria around having their own children, even if it’s what they want.
“It does still seem like there is either a fear that their reproductive systems won’t work because of testosterone, or there’s that feeling that carrying a child would devalue their existence as a man,” said Chris Rehs-Dupin, 36, a parking enforcement officer who lives in Columbus, Ohio.
Rehs-Dupin, who is trans, said he made the decision to have his own child before he transitioned. One reason, he said, was because he wasn’t sure what impact testosterone might have on his ability to have children later. Another reason, he said, was because his wife was struggling with infertility at the time, and they desperately wanted their own biological child.
“I realized I could do this; there was nothing keeping my body from doing it,” said Rehs-Dupin, who gave birth to a daughter, now 5 years old, through IVF in 2014.
Informing trans youth about fertility options
As transgender individuals start to transition at younger ages, many questions remain about how hormone blockers may potentially impact their fertility as adults.
Hormone blockers, which are used to delay puberty in trans youth, do not cause infertility, experts say — their purpose is to buy these teens some time while they decide whether transitioning is right for them. But if a teenager who has been on puberty blockers moves on to cross-sex hormones without first going through an endogenous puberty, the reproductive organs won’t have a chance to fully mature. However, if a trans man who takes this path does decide at some point in adulthood to go off testosterone in order to have children, he should, in theory, be able to go through an endogenous puberty, according to Olson-Kennedy. But since hormone blockers are a relatively new treatment, experts can only speculate.
“We don’t know because no one has ever done it,” she said. “I mean, it stands to reason that somebody would, because your hypothalamus doesn’t change — you’re still secreting the same hormones that you would otherwise, you’re just significantly delayed.”
Supportive adults key to reducing HIV among trans youth, study finds
According to the guidelines from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, Fenway Health and the Endocrine Society, among other health organizations, providers should advise trans patients — both adults and youth — about the potential impact to future fertility that transition-related care might have as part of the informed consent process, and brief them about their reproductive options before treatment.
There is little data on how often trans youth and their families seek fertility preservation. While surveys indicate these young individuals receive a wide range of counseling on the matter, one study found that only 13 percent were referred to fertility preservation clinics, and that a disproportionate number of them were transgender girls (assigned male at birth), according to a 2019 report from the journal Pediatrics.
According to the same study, transgender youth showed a mix of interest in possible family building options, including both the ability to eventually have their own children and adopt, while other studies found lower rates of interest in having children among these youth. Half of them, however, questioned whether their feelings might change as they got older.
Fertility experts usually recommend trans youth who want to undergo fertility preservation temporarily stop treatment in order to freeze eggs or sperm. But a recent case report from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center suggests that going off hormone blockers may not always be necessary. According to the report, published last year, a 16-year-old trans boy was able to have his eggs preserved without stopping hormone blockers. Five of his eggs were harvested, and four were successfully preserved, according to the report, published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine.
While it was only one case and the retrieval was small, the findings were significant, considering more people are transitioning earlier in life, according to Dr. Stephanie Rothenberg, the fertility doctor who treated the teen. But she said the procedure still posed challenges for a young person, who was struggling with dysphoria. The teen was unwilling to go off blockers, she said, and required extensive counseling over a period of several months to prepare him for potential side effects.
“It was a big discussion with a lot of counseling and just making sure that everybody was on the same page about the fact that we just didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Rothenberg, who is now at Pacific NW Fertility in Seattle.
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While the teenager remained on hormone blockers, he did experience one period and developed a small amount of breast tissue during the fertility process, she said. And while it was his choice to undergo treatment with his parents’ support, she said the teen still struggled with dysphoria.
“He has several mental health care providers, so we were able to coordinate support for him; he also had an extraordinarily supportive family,” she said. “But I think that he felt prepared that that was going to happen, and then ultimately, it was very challenging for him.”
In an email to NBC News, Pang said the results of the Pittsburgh case study are “new and encouraging information” for dysphoric teenagers who wish to preserve eggs, but he said the sparse number of eggs retrieved are unlikely to result in a future baby.
“Until there are more cases reported, and until cases which ultimately result in successful pregnancy and live births are reported, I continue to have significant concerns about whether fertility preservation can truly be accomplished while these pre-pubertal teens are treated with puberty suppression drugs,” he wrote. “The bottom line is that fertility preservation isn’t just about being able to freeze a few eggs; fertility preservation is the ability to freeze eggs which can ultimately be used successfully to achieve a successful pregnancy and live birth of a healthy baby.”
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Transgender girls may be able to have sperm preserved prior to hormone treatment, depending on the progression of endogenous puberty at the time, according to Rothenberg. In an email, however, she said there have been no reports to date of any attempting to preserve sperm while on hormone blockers, and that success would likely be “quite low” unless blockers are discontinued.
While the impacts of hormone treatment on fertility remains uncertain for these teens, specialists who work closely with trans youth stress the importance of the mental health benefits they offer. Not only do these treatments prevent them from having to undergo unnecessary surgical interventions in the future — such as mastectomies and facial feminization surgeries, which cost thousands of dollars — they help reduce youth suicide attempts and depression, and give them the ability to function at school free from discrimination and the constant nagging of their own dysphoria. These benefits, experts argue, should not be outweighed by concerns over fertility. Such concerns, according to Olson, are often “rooted in the idea that procreation is the most important thing about somebody’s life.”
“That’s not true for a lot of trans people,” she said. “I’m not saying it’s not important — I’m not certain that it is more important than people have the opportunity that blockers bring them.”
High out-of-pocket costs for fertility care
For trans dads, there are many routes to fatherhood.Some trans men may become pregnant unintentionally, believing that testosterone treatment will prevent pregnancy (testosterone does not completely block ovulation, especially if it’s not being taken regularly). Others may temporarily halt testosterone to get their eggs frozen in the hope that a female partner or surrogate will someday carry their child through in vitro fertilization. Some may decide to get pregnant intentionally before or after their transition (stopping testosterone temporarily if that’s the case). Others may choose to adopt. And many never desire to have children at all.
Chris Rehs-Dupin, his wife and their two children.Courtesy Chris Rehs-Dupin
Rehs-Dupin, who transitioned shortly after his daughter was born, said he decided to get pregnant only because his wife was unable to do so at the time. He said pregnancy did not make him feel dysphoric, but he feared how other people would judge him.
“I feel like I was put in the position where it was just like this isn’t even going to happen because it’s not what’s supposed to happen,” he said of his struggle over the decision. “Like, this is my wife, she wears dresses, she should carry the babies. I want to be a man, I’m going to be a man, I shouldn’t do it. It took her not being able to carry for me to be able to have one of the most important and valuable experiences of my life, and I just feel like society doesn’t set us up to make that decision.”
Still, the cost of fertility preservation poses major obstacles for gender dysphoric patients regardless of where they are on their path to parenthood or transition.
Only 10 states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island) have laws that explicitly require health insurance plans to cover fertility preservation for patients who may lose their reproductive capacity due to treatment for a medical condition. While cancer treatment is the most common, these laws typically also apply to treatment for gender dysphoria, according to David Farmer, a spokesman for the National Center for Transgender Equality. Similar bills have been proposed in several other states, and a federal bill — the Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act — has also been proposed, he said. Introduced in 2018, the federal measure would require private health insurance plans covering obstetrical services to include infertility treatments, and would extend coverage to federal employees, members of the U.S. military and veterans.
“In addition, federal and state laws prohibit discrimination based on sex (including on the basis of transgender status), disability, and other arbitrary factors. If a health plan covers fertility preservation when treating some medical conditions but not others, that could potentially constitute discrimination,” Farmer said in an email. “Unfortunately, many health plans still do not cover fertility preservation, including Medicare, military and veterans’ health systems, and federal employee plans.” The Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act, if passed, would change that, he added.
Trans dads tell doctors: 'You can be a man and have a baby'
As a result, few health insurance policies cover fertility treatments for trans men, and they often pay hefty out-of-pocket costs to have their eggs frozen. A single fertility treatment, on average, costs about $15,000, with an added cost of $275 a year for egg storage. What’s more, there is no guarantee that the treatment will result in pregnancy.
“That’s the biggest thing, especially when they are paying out of pocket, and we’re using thousands of dollars worth of medication,” Rothenberg said. “That’s a big risk that they have to take.”
Hardiman said he and his wife paid over $20,000 out of pocket for their fertility care, but he said his kids are worth it.
“It’s unreal,” Hardiman said of his son and his daughter. “Sometimes I look at them and can’t even believe it. They are just miracles and both awesome.”
www.nbcnews.com
Trans men who stopped taking testosterone for an average of four months were found to have similar egg yields to cisgender women.
Emmett Hardiman with his wife, Calla, and two daughters.Courtesy Emmett Hardiman
April 14, 2020, 4:06 PM CEST
By Julie Compton
When Emmett Hardiman transitioned at age 18, he didn’t think he would ever have his own child. At the time, doctors told the transgender man that long-term testosterone use would probably ruin his reproductive organs, along with any chance of having kids.
“It was very much the belief that you could only be on testosterone for so long before you had to get everything removed or you would be very high risk [for cancer] or you were definitely going to be infertile,” Hardiman, 29, told NBC News.
Now, research is giving fertility experts insight into the true impact of testosterone use on fertility.
"I think there is a giant myth that testosterone turns your ovaries into papier-mâché ... and I think these studies that are coming out are saying that’s not true, actually. Actually, they are more like hibernating."
Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy
A recent study from Boston IVF, a fertility clinic and research organization, based on eight years of patient data, revealed that transgender men who stopped taking testosterone for an average of four months had similar egg yields to cisgender (nontransgender) women when undergoing ovarian stimulation.
“The numbers were very small (about 25 patients in total), but it was very reassuring that even though these transgender men had taken testosterone, when they stopped it and were treated, they responded well and we had good outcomes,” said Dr. Samuel Pang, a reproductive endocrinologist and medical director at Boston IVF.
It’s unclear how many trans men give birth or have their eggs frozen in the U.S. In Australia, where government agencies have tracked both sex and gender in official records since 2013, 54 transgender men gave birth in 2014, according to data from the country’s universal health care system. A Dutch study published in the journal Human Reproduction in 2012 found that a majority of trans men reported wanting families.
Transgender men, eager to have biological kids, are freezing their eggs
If possible, trans men who know they want to have children should get their eggs frozen prior to transitioning, according to Pang. For one, it’s unclear what effect long-term testosterone use might have on eggs and embryos, even if the person goes off hormone treatment prior to fertilization. However, he added, there have been no reports thus far of harmful side effects to children born to those who have taken testosterone.
He added that gender dysphoria is another reason to freeze eggs prior to transition.
“I have seen a lot of transgender men who come in, they’ve already transitioned, they’ve already started testosterone,” Pang said, but “the thought of stopping testosterone or going through hormone treatments is very daunting for them, so they frequently will not pursue it because of that.”
‘I had to make a choice’
Hardiman, an attorney who lives in Cranston, Rhode Island, said he believed that transitioning would prevent him from ever having his own kids. At the same time, the gender dysphoria he suffered since childhood — the distress many trans people feel over the mismatch between their gender and sex assigned at birth — was severe. Throughout high school, he wore baggy clothes to conceal his developing body, and started to self harm. Though he feared the impact it might have on his fertility, he said he began making plans to transition as soon as he turned 18. “I had to make a choice,” Hardiman said.
But his fear turned out to be unwarranted. At age 21, he lost his health insurance when his father died, and was forced to discontinue his hormone treatment. Hardiman’s period soon returned. By then, he was married, and decided to get his eggs harvested so his wife, Calla, could get pregnant with his child through in vitro fertilization. Now, he is a father to a son and a daughter, ages 2 and 6.
“I mean there is definitely a hard, difficult choice either way,” he said of his decision to undergo fertility treatment. “Just having to go off testosterone in order to do IVF was not a great option, but it was to me better than the alternative.”
According to Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, medical director of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, it’s not uncommon for young trans men to be unsure about their fertility options, since there has been little data on it until now.
“I think there is a giant myth that testosterone turns your ovaries into papier-mâché,” she said, “and I think these studies that are coming out are saying that’s not true, actually. Actually, they are more like hibernating.”
“Now, when people are making these decisions to either carry their own children or harvest, they will come off of testosterone and their body kicks in,” Olson-Kennedy continued. “They start ovulating, having menstrual cycles, and then they go through harvesting procedures or whatever they decide to do.”
Transgender surgeries postponed indefinitely amid pandemic
Still, many trans men may struggle with dysphoria around having their own children, even if it’s what they want.
“It does still seem like there is either a fear that their reproductive systems won’t work because of testosterone, or there’s that feeling that carrying a child would devalue their existence as a man,” said Chris Rehs-Dupin, 36, a parking enforcement officer who lives in Columbus, Ohio.
Rehs-Dupin, who is trans, said he made the decision to have his own child before he transitioned. One reason, he said, was because he wasn’t sure what impact testosterone might have on his ability to have children later. Another reason, he said, was because his wife was struggling with infertility at the time, and they desperately wanted their own biological child.
“I realized I could do this; there was nothing keeping my body from doing it,” said Rehs-Dupin, who gave birth to a daughter, now 5 years old, through IVF in 2014.
Informing trans youth about fertility options
As transgender individuals start to transition at younger ages, many questions remain about how hormone blockers may potentially impact their fertility as adults.
Hormone blockers, which are used to delay puberty in trans youth, do not cause infertility, experts say — their purpose is to buy these teens some time while they decide whether transitioning is right for them. But if a teenager who has been on puberty blockers moves on to cross-sex hormones without first going through an endogenous puberty, the reproductive organs won’t have a chance to fully mature. However, if a trans man who takes this path does decide at some point in adulthood to go off testosterone in order to have children, he should, in theory, be able to go through an endogenous puberty, according to Olson-Kennedy. But since hormone blockers are a relatively new treatment, experts can only speculate.
“We don’t know because no one has ever done it,” she said. “I mean, it stands to reason that somebody would, because your hypothalamus doesn’t change — you’re still secreting the same hormones that you would otherwise, you’re just significantly delayed.”
Supportive adults key to reducing HIV among trans youth, study finds
According to the guidelines from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, Fenway Health and the Endocrine Society, among other health organizations, providers should advise trans patients — both adults and youth — about the potential impact to future fertility that transition-related care might have as part of the informed consent process, and brief them about their reproductive options before treatment.
There is little data on how often trans youth and their families seek fertility preservation. While surveys indicate these young individuals receive a wide range of counseling on the matter, one study found that only 13 percent were referred to fertility preservation clinics, and that a disproportionate number of them were transgender girls (assigned male at birth), according to a 2019 report from the journal Pediatrics.
According to the same study, transgender youth showed a mix of interest in possible family building options, including both the ability to eventually have their own children and adopt, while other studies found lower rates of interest in having children among these youth. Half of them, however, questioned whether their feelings might change as they got older.
Fertility experts usually recommend trans youth who want to undergo fertility preservation temporarily stop treatment in order to freeze eggs or sperm. But a recent case report from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center suggests that going off hormone blockers may not always be necessary. According to the report, published last year, a 16-year-old trans boy was able to have his eggs preserved without stopping hormone blockers. Five of his eggs were harvested, and four were successfully preserved, according to the report, published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine.
While it was only one case and the retrieval was small, the findings were significant, considering more people are transitioning earlier in life, according to Dr. Stephanie Rothenberg, the fertility doctor who treated the teen. But she said the procedure still posed challenges for a young person, who was struggling with dysphoria. The teen was unwilling to go off blockers, she said, and required extensive counseling over a period of several months to prepare him for potential side effects.
“It was a big discussion with a lot of counseling and just making sure that everybody was on the same page about the fact that we just didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Rothenberg, who is now at Pacific NW Fertility in Seattle.
Year after trans military ban, legal battle rages on
While the teenager remained on hormone blockers, he did experience one period and developed a small amount of breast tissue during the fertility process, she said. And while it was his choice to undergo treatment with his parents’ support, she said the teen still struggled with dysphoria.
“He has several mental health care providers, so we were able to coordinate support for him; he also had an extraordinarily supportive family,” she said. “But I think that he felt prepared that that was going to happen, and then ultimately, it was very challenging for him.”
In an email to NBC News, Pang said the results of the Pittsburgh case study are “new and encouraging information” for dysphoric teenagers who wish to preserve eggs, but he said the sparse number of eggs retrieved are unlikely to result in a future baby.
“Until there are more cases reported, and until cases which ultimately result in successful pregnancy and live births are reported, I continue to have significant concerns about whether fertility preservation can truly be accomplished while these pre-pubertal teens are treated with puberty suppression drugs,” he wrote. “The bottom line is that fertility preservation isn’t just about being able to freeze a few eggs; fertility preservation is the ability to freeze eggs which can ultimately be used successfully to achieve a successful pregnancy and live birth of a healthy baby.”
FDA eases restrictions on gay blood donors amid 'urgent need'
Transgender girls may be able to have sperm preserved prior to hormone treatment, depending on the progression of endogenous puberty at the time, according to Rothenberg. In an email, however, she said there have been no reports to date of any attempting to preserve sperm while on hormone blockers, and that success would likely be “quite low” unless blockers are discontinued.
While the impacts of hormone treatment on fertility remains uncertain for these teens, specialists who work closely with trans youth stress the importance of the mental health benefits they offer. Not only do these treatments prevent them from having to undergo unnecessary surgical interventions in the future — such as mastectomies and facial feminization surgeries, which cost thousands of dollars — they help reduce youth suicide attempts and depression, and give them the ability to function at school free from discrimination and the constant nagging of their own dysphoria. These benefits, experts argue, should not be outweighed by concerns over fertility. Such concerns, according to Olson, are often “rooted in the idea that procreation is the most important thing about somebody’s life.”
“That’s not true for a lot of trans people,” she said. “I’m not saying it’s not important — I’m not certain that it is more important than people have the opportunity that blockers bring them.”
High out-of-pocket costs for fertility care
For trans dads, there are many routes to fatherhood.Some trans men may become pregnant unintentionally, believing that testosterone treatment will prevent pregnancy (testosterone does not completely block ovulation, especially if it’s not being taken regularly). Others may temporarily halt testosterone to get their eggs frozen in the hope that a female partner or surrogate will someday carry their child through in vitro fertilization. Some may decide to get pregnant intentionally before or after their transition (stopping testosterone temporarily if that’s the case). Others may choose to adopt. And many never desire to have children at all.
Chris Rehs-Dupin, his wife and their two children.Courtesy Chris Rehs-Dupin
Rehs-Dupin, who transitioned shortly after his daughter was born, said he decided to get pregnant only because his wife was unable to do so at the time. He said pregnancy did not make him feel dysphoric, but he feared how other people would judge him.
“I feel like I was put in the position where it was just like this isn’t even going to happen because it’s not what’s supposed to happen,” he said of his struggle over the decision. “Like, this is my wife, she wears dresses, she should carry the babies. I want to be a man, I’m going to be a man, I shouldn’t do it. It took her not being able to carry for me to be able to have one of the most important and valuable experiences of my life, and I just feel like society doesn’t set us up to make that decision.”
Still, the cost of fertility preservation poses major obstacles for gender dysphoric patients regardless of where they are on their path to parenthood or transition.
Only 10 states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island) have laws that explicitly require health insurance plans to cover fertility preservation for patients who may lose their reproductive capacity due to treatment for a medical condition. While cancer treatment is the most common, these laws typically also apply to treatment for gender dysphoria, according to David Farmer, a spokesman for the National Center for Transgender Equality. Similar bills have been proposed in several other states, and a federal bill — the Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act — has also been proposed, he said. Introduced in 2018, the federal measure would require private health insurance plans covering obstetrical services to include infertility treatments, and would extend coverage to federal employees, members of the U.S. military and veterans.
“In addition, federal and state laws prohibit discrimination based on sex (including on the basis of transgender status), disability, and other arbitrary factors. If a health plan covers fertility preservation when treating some medical conditions but not others, that could potentially constitute discrimination,” Farmer said in an email. “Unfortunately, many health plans still do not cover fertility preservation, including Medicare, military and veterans’ health systems, and federal employee plans.” The Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act, if passed, would change that, he added.
Trans dads tell doctors: 'You can be a man and have a baby'
As a result, few health insurance policies cover fertility treatments for trans men, and they often pay hefty out-of-pocket costs to have their eggs frozen. A single fertility treatment, on average, costs about $15,000, with an added cost of $275 a year for egg storage. What’s more, there is no guarantee that the treatment will result in pregnancy.
“That’s the biggest thing, especially when they are paying out of pocket, and we’re using thousands of dollars worth of medication,” Rothenberg said. “That’s a big risk that they have to take.”
Hardiman said he and his wife paid over $20,000 out of pocket for their fertility care, but he said his kids are worth it.
“It’s unreal,” Hardiman said of his son and his daughter. “Sometimes I look at them and can’t even believe it. They are just miracles and both awesome.”
Transgender fertility study sheds light on testosterone’s impact
Trans men who stopped taking testosterone for an average of four months were found to have similar egg yields to cisgender women.
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2019
If you are a trans man, wouldn't pregnancy be your worst nightmare? Unending dysphoria at doing the most womanly thing possible for 9 months. I do not understand why trans men would want to get pregnant.
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2019
Oh God. Sam Hyde was right again.Transgender fertility study sheds light on testosterone's impact
Trans men who stopped taking testosterone for an average of four months were found to have similar egg yields to cisgender women.
Emmett Hardiman with his wife, Calla, and two daughters.Courtesy Emmett Hardiman
April 14, 2020, 4:06 PM CEST
By Julie Compton
When Emmett Hardiman transitioned at age 18, he didn’t think he would ever have his own child. At the time, doctors told the transgender man that long-term testosterone use would probably ruin his reproductive organs, along with any chance of having kids.
“It was very much the belief that you could only be on testosterone for so long before you had to get everything removed or you would be very high risk [for cancer] or you were definitely going to be infertile,” Hardiman, 29, told NBC News.
Now, research is giving fertility experts insight into the true impact of testosterone use on fertility.
"I think there is a giant myth that testosterone turns your ovaries into papier-mâché ... and I think these studies that are coming out are saying that’s not true, actually. Actually, they are more like hibernating."
Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy
A recent study from Boston IVF, a fertility clinic and research organization, based on eight years of patient data, revealed that transgender men who stopped taking testosterone for an average of four months had similar egg yields to cisgender (nontransgender) women when undergoing ovarian stimulation.
“The numbers were very small (about 25 patients in total), but it was very reassuring that even though these transgender men had taken testosterone, when they stopped it and were treated, they responded well and we had good outcomes,” said Dr. Samuel Pang, a reproductive endocrinologist and medical director at Boston IVF.
It’s unclear how many trans men give birth or have their eggs frozen in the U.S. In Australia, where government agencies have tracked both sex and gender in official records since 2013, 54 transgender men gave birth in 2014, according to data from the country’s universal health care system. A Dutch study published in the journal Human Reproduction in 2012 found that a majority of trans men reported wanting families.
Transgender men, eager to have biological kids, are freezing their eggs
If possible, trans men who know they want to have children should get their eggs frozen prior to transitioning, according to Pang. For one, it’s unclear what effect long-term testosterone use might have on eggs and embryos, even if the person goes off hormone treatment prior to fertilization. However, he added, there have been no reports thus far of harmful side effects to children born to those who have taken testosterone.
He added that gender dysphoria is another reason to freeze eggs prior to transition.
“I have seen a lot of transgender men who come in, they’ve already transitioned, they’ve already started testosterone,” Pang said, but “the thought of stopping testosterone or going through hormone treatments is very daunting for them, so they frequently will not pursue it because of that.”
‘I had to make a choice’
Hardiman, an attorney who lives in Cranston, Rhode Island, said he believed that transitioning would prevent him from ever having his own kids. At the same time, the gender dysphoria he suffered since childhood — the distress many trans people feel over the mismatch between their gender and sex assigned at birth — was severe. Throughout high school, he wore baggy clothes to conceal his developing body, and started to self harm. Though he feared the impact it might have on his fertility, he said he began making plans to transition as soon as he turned 18. “I had to make a choice,” Hardiman said.
Emmett Hardiman with his two daughters.Courtesy Emmett Hardiman
But his fear turned out to be unwarranted. At age 21, he lost his health insurance when his father died, and was forced to discontinue his hormone treatment. Hardiman’s period soon returned. By then, he was married, and decided to get his eggs harvested so his wife, Calla, could get pregnant with his child through in vitro fertilization. Now, he is a father to a son and a daughter, ages 2 and 6.
“I mean there is definitely a hard, difficult choice either way,” he said of his decision to undergo fertility treatment. “Just having to go off testosterone in order to do IVF was not a great option, but it was to me better than the alternative.”
According to Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, medical director of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, it’s not uncommon for young trans men to be unsure about their fertility options, since there has been little data on it until now.
“I think there is a giant myth that testosterone turns your ovaries into papier-mâché,” she said, “and I think these studies that are coming out are saying that’s not true, actually. Actually, they are more like hibernating.”
“Now, when people are making these decisions to either carry their own children or harvest, they will come off of testosterone and their body kicks in,” Olson-Kennedy continued. “They start ovulating, having menstrual cycles, and then they go through harvesting procedures or whatever they decide to do.”
Transgender surgeries postponed indefinitely amid pandemic
Still, many trans men may struggle with dysphoria around having their own children, even if it’s what they want.
“It does still seem like there is either a fear that their reproductive systems won’t work because of testosterone, or there’s that feeling that carrying a child would devalue their existence as a man,” said Chris Rehs-Dupin, 36, a parking enforcement officer who lives in Columbus, Ohio.
Rehs-Dupin, who is trans, said he made the decision to have his own child before he transitioned. One reason, he said, was because he wasn’t sure what impact testosterone might have on his ability to have children later. Another reason, he said, was because his wife was struggling with infertility at the time, and they desperately wanted their own biological child.
“I realized I could do this; there was nothing keeping my body from doing it,” said Rehs-Dupin, who gave birth to a daughter, now 5 years old, through IVF in 2014.
Informing trans youth about fertility options
As transgender individuals start to transition at younger ages, many questions remain about how hormone blockers may potentially impact their fertility as adults.
Hormone blockers, which are used to delay puberty in trans youth, do not cause infertility, experts say — their purpose is to buy these teens some time while they decide whether transitioning is right for them. But if a teenager who has been on puberty blockers moves on to cross-sex hormones without first going through an endogenous puberty, the reproductive organs won’t have a chance to fully mature. However, if a trans man who takes this path does decide at some point in adulthood to go off testosterone in order to have children, he should, in theory, be able to go through an endogenous puberty, according to Olson-Kennedy. But since hormone blockers are a relatively new treatment, experts can only speculate.
“We don’t know because no one has ever done it,” she said. “I mean, it stands to reason that somebody would, because your hypothalamus doesn’t change — you’re still secreting the same hormones that you would otherwise, you’re just significantly delayed.”
Supportive adults key to reducing HIV among trans youth, study finds
According to the guidelines from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, Fenway Health and the Endocrine Society, among other health organizations, providers should advise trans patients — both adults and youth — about the potential impact to future fertility that transition-related care might have as part of the informed consent process, and brief them about their reproductive options before treatment.
There is little data on how often trans youth and their families seek fertility preservation. While surveys indicate these young individuals receive a wide range of counseling on the matter, one study found that only 13 percent were referred to fertility preservation clinics, and that a disproportionate number of them were transgender girls (assigned male at birth), according to a 2019 report from the journal Pediatrics.
According to the same study, transgender youth showed a mix of interest in possible family building options, including both the ability to eventually have their own children and adopt, while other studies found lower rates of interest in having children among these youth. Half of them, however, questioned whether their feelings might change as they got older.
Fertility experts usually recommend trans youth who want to undergo fertility preservation temporarily stop treatment in order to freeze eggs or sperm. But a recent case report from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center suggests that going off hormone blockers may not always be necessary. According to the report, published last year, a 16-year-old trans boy was able to have his eggs preserved without stopping hormone blockers. Five of his eggs were harvested, and four were successfully preserved, according to the report, published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine.
While it was only one case and the retrieval was small, the findings were significant, considering more people are transitioning earlier in life, according to Dr. Stephanie Rothenberg, the fertility doctor who treated the teen. But she said the procedure still posed challenges for a young person, who was struggling with dysphoria. The teen was unwilling to go off blockers, she said, and required extensive counseling over a period of several months to prepare him for potential side effects.
“It was a big discussion with a lot of counseling and just making sure that everybody was on the same page about the fact that we just didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Rothenberg, who is now at Pacific NW Fertility in Seattle.
Year after trans military ban, legal battle rages on
While the teenager remained on hormone blockers, he did experience one period and developed a small amount of breast tissue during the fertility process, she said. And while it was his choice to undergo treatment with his parents’ support, she said the teen still struggled with dysphoria.
“He has several mental health care providers, so we were able to coordinate support for him; he also had an extraordinarily supportive family,” she said. “But I think that he felt prepared that that was going to happen, and then ultimately, it was very challenging for him.”
In an email to NBC News, Pang said the results of the Pittsburgh case study are “new and encouraging information” for dysphoric teenagers who wish to preserve eggs, but he said the sparse number of eggs retrieved are unlikely to result in a future baby.
“Until there are more cases reported, and until cases which ultimately result in successful pregnancy and live births are reported, I continue to have significant concerns about whether fertility preservation can truly be accomplished while these pre-pubertal teens are treated with puberty suppression drugs,” he wrote. “The bottom line is that fertility preservation isn’t just about being able to freeze a few eggs; fertility preservation is the ability to freeze eggs which can ultimately be used successfully to achieve a successful pregnancy and live birth of a healthy baby.”
FDA eases restrictions on gay blood donors amid 'urgent need'
Transgender girls may be able to have sperm preserved prior to hormone treatment, depending on the progression of endogenous puberty at the time, according to Rothenberg. In an email, however, she said there have been no reports to date of any attempting to preserve sperm while on hormone blockers, and that success would likely be “quite low” unless blockers are discontinued.
While the impacts of hormone treatment on fertility remains uncertain for these teens, specialists who work closely with trans youth stress the importance of the mental health benefits they offer. Not only do these treatments prevent them from having to undergo unnecessary surgical interventions in the future — such as mastectomies and facial feminization surgeries, which cost thousands of dollars — they help reduce youth suicide attempts and depression, and give them the ability to function at school free from discrimination and the constant nagging of their own dysphoria. These benefits, experts argue, should not be outweighed by concerns over fertility. Such concerns, according to Olson, are often “rooted in the idea that procreation is the most important thing about somebody’s life.”
“That’s not true for a lot of trans people,” she said. “I’m not saying it’s not important — I’m not certain that it is more important than people have the opportunity that blockers bring them.”
High out-of-pocket costs for fertility care
For trans dads, there are many routes to fatherhood.Some trans men may become pregnant unintentionally, believing that testosterone treatment will prevent pregnancy (testosterone does not completely block ovulation, especially if it’s not being taken regularly). Others may temporarily halt testosterone to get their eggs frozen in the hope that a female partner or surrogate will someday carry their child through in vitro fertilization. Some may decide to get pregnant intentionally before or after their transition (stopping testosterone temporarily if that’s the case). Others may choose to adopt. And many never desire to have children at all.
Chris Rehs-Dupin, his wife and their two children.Courtesy Chris Rehs-Dupin
Rehs-Dupin, who transitioned shortly after his daughter was born, said he decided to get pregnant only because his wife was unable to do so at the time. He said pregnancy did not make him feel dysphoric, but he feared how other people would judge him.
“I feel like I was put in the position where it was just like this isn’t even going to happen because it’s not what’s supposed to happen,” he said of his struggle over the decision. “Like, this is my wife, she wears dresses, she should carry the babies. I want to be a man, I’m going to be a man, I shouldn’t do it. It took her not being able to carry for me to be able to have one of the most important and valuable experiences of my life, and I just feel like society doesn’t set us up to make that decision.”
Still, the cost of fertility preservation poses major obstacles for gender dysphoric patients regardless of where they are on their path to parenthood or transition.
Only 10 states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island) have laws that explicitly require health insurance plans to cover fertility preservation for patients who may lose their reproductive capacity due to treatment for a medical condition. While cancer treatment is the most common, these laws typically also apply to treatment for gender dysphoria, according to David Farmer, a spokesman for the National Center for Transgender Equality. Similar bills have been proposed in several other states, and a federal bill — the Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act — has also been proposed, he said. Introduced in 2018, the federal measure would require private health insurance plans covering obstetrical services to include infertility treatments, and would extend coverage to federal employees, members of the U.S. military and veterans.
“In addition, federal and state laws prohibit discrimination based on sex (including on the basis of transgender status), disability, and other arbitrary factors. If a health plan covers fertility preservation when treating some medical conditions but not others, that could potentially constitute discrimination,” Farmer said in an email. “Unfortunately, many health plans still do not cover fertility preservation, including Medicare, military and veterans’ health systems, and federal employee plans.” The Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act, if passed, would change that, he added.
Trans dads tell doctors: 'You can be a man and have a baby'
As a result, few health insurance policies cover fertility treatments for trans men, and they often pay hefty out-of-pocket costs to have their eggs frozen. A single fertility treatment, on average, costs about $15,000, with an added cost of $275 a year for egg storage. What’s more, there is no guarantee that the treatment will result in pregnancy.
“That’s the biggest thing, especially when they are paying out of pocket, and we’re using thousands of dollars worth of medication,” Rothenberg said. “That’s a big risk that they have to take.”
Hardiman said he and his wife paid over $20,000 out of pocket for their fertility care, but he said his kids are worth it.
“It’s unreal,” Hardiman said of his son and his daughter. “Sometimes I look at them and can’t even believe it. They are just miracles and both awesome.”
Transgender fertility study sheds light on testosterone’s impact
Trans men who stopped taking testosterone for an average of four months were found to have similar egg yields to cisgender women.
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2020
Yes, I'm sure being bathed in abnormal hormone levels has no effect whatsoever, and that's not even getting into the puberty blockers they want to put little Jessica on because she likes sportsball and her brother's hot wheels cars. Also, Pretty sure trans wahmen sperm won't exactly be healthy either. If they're even still producingTransgender fertility study sheds light on testosterone's impact
Trans men who stopped taking testosterone for an average of four months were found to have similar egg yields to cisgender women.
Emmett Hardiman with his wife, Calla, and two daughters.Courtesy Emmett Hardiman
April 14, 2020, 4:06 PM CEST
By Julie Compton
When Emmett Hardiman transitioned at age 18, he didn’t think he would ever have his own child. At the time, doctors told the transgender man that long-term testosterone use would probably ruin his reproductive organs, along with any chance of having kids.
“It was very much the belief that you could only be on testosterone for so long before you had to get everything removed or you would be very high risk [for cancer] or you were definitely going to be infertile,” Hardiman, 29, told NBC News.
Now, research is giving fertility experts insight into the true impact of testosterone use on fertility.
"I think there is a giant myth that testosterone turns your ovaries into papier-mâché ... and I think these studies that are coming out are saying that’s not true, actually. Actually, they are more like hibernating."
Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy
A recent study from Boston IVF, a fertility clinic and research organization, based on eight years of patient data, revealed that transgender men who stopped taking testosterone for an average of four months had similar egg yields to cisgender (nontransgender) women when undergoing ovarian stimulation.
“The numbers were very small (about 25 patients in total), but it was very reassuring that even though these transgender men had taken testosterone, when they stopped it and were treated, they responded well and we had good outcomes,” said Dr. Samuel Pang, a reproductive endocrinologist and medical director at Boston IVF.
It’s unclear how many trans men give birth or have their eggs frozen in the U.S. In Australia, where government agencies have tracked both sex and gender in official records since 2013, 54 transgender men gave birth in 2014, according to data from the country’s universal health care system. A Dutch study published in the journal Human Reproduction in 2012 found that a majority of trans men reported wanting families.
Transgender men, eager to have biological kids, are freezing their eggs
If possible, trans men who know they want to have children should get their eggs frozen prior to transitioning, according to Pang. For one, it’s unclear what effect long-term testosterone use might have on eggs and embryos, even if the person goes off hormone treatment prior to fertilization. However, he added, there have been no reports thus far of harmful side effects to children born to those who have taken testosterone.
He added that gender dysphoria is another reason to freeze eggs prior to transition.
“I have seen a lot of transgender men who come in, they’ve already transitioned, they’ve already started testosterone,” Pang said, but “the thought of stopping testosterone or going through hormone treatments is very daunting for them, so they frequently will not pursue it because of that.”
‘I had to make a choice’
Hardiman, an attorney who lives in Cranston, Rhode Island, said he believed that transitioning would prevent him from ever having his own kids. At the same time, the gender dysphoria he suffered since childhood — the distress many trans people feel over the mismatch between their gender and sex assigned at birth — was severe. Throughout high school, he wore baggy clothes to conceal his developing body, and started to self harm. Though he feared the impact it might have on his fertility, he said he began making plans to transition as soon as he turned 18. “I had to make a choice,” Hardiman said.
Emmett Hardiman with his two daughters.Courtesy Emmett Hardiman
But his fear turned out to be unwarranted. At age 21, he lost his health insurance when his father died, and was forced to discontinue his hormone treatment. Hardiman’s period soon returned. By then, he was married, and decided to get his eggs harvested so his wife, Calla, could get pregnant with his child through in vitro fertilization. Now, he is a father to a son and a daughter, ages 2 and 6.
“I mean there is definitely a hard, difficult choice either way,” he said of his decision to undergo fertility treatment. “Just having to go off testosterone in order to do IVF was not a great option, but it was to me better than the alternative.”
According to Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, medical director of the Center for Transyouth Health and Development at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, it’s not uncommon for young trans men to be unsure about their fertility options, since there has been little data on it until now.
“I think there is a giant myth that testosterone turns your ovaries into papier-mâché,” she said, “and I think these studies that are coming out are saying that’s not true, actually. Actually, they are more like hibernating.”
“Now, when people are making these decisions to either carry their own children or harvest, they will come off of testosterone and their body kicks in,” Olson-Kennedy continued. “They start ovulating, having menstrual cycles, and then they go through harvesting procedures or whatever they decide to do.”
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Still, many trans men may struggle with dysphoria around having their own children, even if it’s what they want.
“It does still seem like there is either a fear that their reproductive systems won’t work because of testosterone, or there’s that feeling that carrying a child would devalue their existence as a man,” said Chris Rehs-Dupin, 36, a parking enforcement officer who lives in Columbus, Ohio.
Rehs-Dupin, who is trans, said he made the decision to have his own child before he transitioned. One reason, he said, was because he wasn’t sure what impact testosterone might have on his ability to have children later. Another reason, he said, was because his wife was struggling with infertility at the time, and they desperately wanted their own biological child.
“I realized I could do this; there was nothing keeping my body from doing it,” said Rehs-Dupin, who gave birth to a daughter, now 5 years old, through IVF in 2014.
Informing trans youth about fertility options
As transgender individuals start to transition at younger ages, many questions remain about how hormone blockers may potentially impact their fertility as adults.
Hormone blockers, which are used to delay puberty in trans youth, do not cause infertility, experts say — their purpose is to buy these teens some time while they decide whether transitioning is right for them. But if a teenager who has been on puberty blockers moves on to cross-sex hormones without first going through an endogenous puberty, the reproductive organs won’t have a chance to fully mature. However, if a trans man who takes this path does decide at some point in adulthood to go off testosterone in order to have children, he should, in theory, be able to go through an endogenous puberty, according to Olson-Kennedy. But since hormone blockers are a relatively new treatment, experts can only speculate.
“We don’t know because no one has ever done it,” she said. “I mean, it stands to reason that somebody would, because your hypothalamus doesn’t change — you’re still secreting the same hormones that you would otherwise, you’re just significantly delayed.”
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According to the guidelines from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, Fenway Health and the Endocrine Society, among other health organizations, providers should advise trans patients — both adults and youth — about the potential impact to future fertility that transition-related care might have as part of the informed consent process, and brief them about their reproductive options before treatment.
There is little data on how often trans youth and their families seek fertility preservation. While surveys indicate these young individuals receive a wide range of counseling on the matter, one study found that only 13 percent were referred to fertility preservation clinics, and that a disproportionate number of them were transgender girls (assigned male at birth), according to a 2019 report from the journal Pediatrics.
According to the same study, transgender youth showed a mix of interest in possible family building options, including both the ability to eventually have their own children and adopt, while other studies found lower rates of interest in having children among these youth. Half of them, however, questioned whether their feelings might change as they got older.
Fertility experts usually recommend trans youth who want to undergo fertility preservation temporarily stop treatment in order to freeze eggs or sperm. But a recent case report from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center suggests that going off hormone blockers may not always be necessary. According to the report, published last year, a 16-year-old trans boy was able to have his eggs preserved without stopping hormone blockers. Five of his eggs were harvested, and four were successfully preserved, according to the report, published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine.
While it was only one case and the retrieval was small, the findings were significant, considering more people are transitioning earlier in life, according to Dr. Stephanie Rothenberg, the fertility doctor who treated the teen. But she said the procedure still posed challenges for a young person, who was struggling with dysphoria. The teen was unwilling to go off blockers, she said, and required extensive counseling over a period of several months to prepare him for potential side effects.
“It was a big discussion with a lot of counseling and just making sure that everybody was on the same page about the fact that we just didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Rothenberg, who is now at Pacific NW Fertility in Seattle.
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While the teenager remained on hormone blockers, he did experience one period and developed a small amount of breast tissue during the fertility process, she said. And while it was his choice to undergo treatment with his parents’ support, she said the teen still struggled with dysphoria.
“He has several mental health care providers, so we were able to coordinate support for him; he also had an extraordinarily supportive family,” she said. “But I think that he felt prepared that that was going to happen, and then ultimately, it was very challenging for him.”
In an email to NBC News, Pang said the results of the Pittsburgh case study are “new and encouraging information” for dysphoric teenagers who wish to preserve eggs, but he said the sparse number of eggs retrieved are unlikely to result in a future baby.
“Until there are more cases reported, and until cases which ultimately result in successful pregnancy and live births are reported, I continue to have significant concerns about whether fertility preservation can truly be accomplished while these pre-pubertal teens are treated with puberty suppression drugs,” he wrote. “The bottom line is that fertility preservation isn’t just about being able to freeze a few eggs; fertility preservation is the ability to freeze eggs which can ultimately be used successfully to achieve a successful pregnancy and live birth of a healthy baby.”
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Transgender girls may be able to have sperm preserved prior to hormone treatment, depending on the progression of endogenous puberty at the time, according to Rothenberg. In an email, however, she said there have been no reports to date of any attempting to preserve sperm while on hormone blockers, and that success would likely be “quite low” unless blockers are discontinued.
While the impacts of hormone treatment on fertility remains uncertain for these teens, specialists who work closely with trans youth stress the importance of the mental health benefits they offer. Not only do these treatments prevent them from having to undergo unnecessary surgical interventions in the future — such as mastectomies and facial feminization surgeries, which cost thousands of dollars — they help reduce youth suicide attempts and depression, and give them the ability to function at school free from discrimination and the constant nagging of their own dysphoria. These benefits, experts argue, should not be outweighed by concerns over fertility. Such concerns, according to Olson, are often “rooted in the idea that procreation is the most important thing about somebody’s life.”
“That’s not true for a lot of trans people,” she said. “I’m not saying it’s not important — I’m not certain that it is more important than people have the opportunity that blockers bring them.”
High out-of-pocket costs for fertility care
For trans dads, there are many routes to fatherhood.Some trans men may become pregnant unintentionally, believing that testosterone treatment will prevent pregnancy (testosterone does not completely block ovulation, especially if it’s not being taken regularly). Others may temporarily halt testosterone to get their eggs frozen in the hope that a female partner or surrogate will someday carry their child through in vitro fertilization. Some may decide to get pregnant intentionally before or after their transition (stopping testosterone temporarily if that’s the case). Others may choose to adopt. And many never desire to have children at all.
Chris Rehs-Dupin, his wife and their two children.Courtesy Chris Rehs-Dupin
Rehs-Dupin, who transitioned shortly after his daughter was born, said he decided to get pregnant only because his wife was unable to do so at the time. He said pregnancy did not make him feel dysphoric, but he feared how other people would judge him.
“I feel like I was put in the position where it was just like this isn’t even going to happen because it’s not what’s supposed to happen,” he said of his struggle over the decision. “Like, this is my wife, she wears dresses, she should carry the babies. I want to be a man, I’m going to be a man, I shouldn’t do it. It took her not being able to carry for me to be able to have one of the most important and valuable experiences of my life, and I just feel like society doesn’t set us up to make that decision.”
Still, the cost of fertility preservation poses major obstacles for gender dysphoric patients regardless of where they are on their path to parenthood or transition.
Only 10 states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island) have laws that explicitly require health insurance plans to cover fertility preservation for patients who may lose their reproductive capacity due to treatment for a medical condition. While cancer treatment is the most common, these laws typically also apply to treatment for gender dysphoria, according to David Farmer, a spokesman for the National Center for Transgender Equality. Similar bills have been proposed in several other states, and a federal bill — the Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act — has also been proposed, he said. Introduced in 2018, the federal measure would require private health insurance plans covering obstetrical services to include infertility treatments, and would extend coverage to federal employees, members of the U.S. military and veterans.
“In addition, federal and state laws prohibit discrimination based on sex (including on the basis of transgender status), disability, and other arbitrary factors. If a health plan covers fertility preservation when treating some medical conditions but not others, that could potentially constitute discrimination,” Farmer said in an email. “Unfortunately, many health plans still do not cover fertility preservation, including Medicare, military and veterans’ health systems, and federal employee plans.” The Access to Infertility Treatment and Care Act, if passed, would change that, he added.
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As a result, few health insurance policies cover fertility treatments for trans men, and they often pay hefty out-of-pocket costs to have their eggs frozen. A single fertility treatment, on average, costs about $15,000, with an added cost of $275 a year for egg storage. What’s more, there is no guarantee that the treatment will result in pregnancy.
“That’s the biggest thing, especially when they are paying out of pocket, and we’re using thousands of dollars worth of medication,” Rothenberg said. “That’s a big risk that they have to take.”
Hardiman said he and his wife paid over $20,000 out of pocket for their fertility care, but he said his kids are worth it.
“It’s unreal,” Hardiman said of his son and his daughter. “Sometimes I look at them and can’t even believe it. They are just miracles and both awesome.”
Transgender fertility study sheds light on testosterone’s impact
Trans men who stopped taking testosterone for an average of four months were found to have similar egg yields to cisgender women.
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