Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy Withholds $9.7 Million NIH Study Showing Puberty Blockers Did Not Improve Youth Mental Health

Oct 23, 2024, 02:47 PM

According to a report by The New York Times, Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy, a prominent gender clinician at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, has decided not to publish the results of a long-running study on the effects of puberty blockers in transgender youth. The study, which received $9.7 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), aimed to determine whether puberty blockers improve the mental health of gender-distressed children. Dr. Olson-Kennedy stated that the findings did not show mental health improvement and expressed concern that releasing the data could lead to it being "weaponized" by opponents of gender-affirming care. Critics argue that withholding taxpayer-funded research is unethical and impedes informed decision-making regarding the treatment of transgender youth. The study's results have remained unpublished for nine years despite ongoing debates over pediatric gender treatments.