University with Gender Clinic Funds Study to See if Puberty Blockers Causes 'Lasting' Brain Changes for Kids

The University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) approved a $600,000 grant for a study hypothesizing that puberty blockers used on children will lead to “lasting changes” in the brain, according to documents obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

In 2018, an American Academy of Pediatrics committee, which included a member of UW’s faculty, released a policy on transgender hormone treatments claiming that the effects of puberty blockers are reversible, a claim that has since been widely echoed by trans advocates. The university’s gender clinic already offers hormones to minors, but new documents obtained by the DCNF reveal that the study, which was approved for a $600,000 grant in July, hypothesizes that “short-term” transgender treatments will have “lasting changes” on the brain, internal organs and behavior.

The study was proposed in April to learn more about the effects of cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers on prepubescent rats to “address healthcare challenges” for minors receiving transgender hormone therapy. The study is being conducted by Dr. Walid Farhat, a professor of Urology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Anthony Auger, a professor of Psychology at UW, and Dr. Joan Jorgenson, a professor of Comparative Biosciences.