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Rand Paul grills trans nominee Rachel Levine on 'genital mutilation' during hearing, slammed as 'transphobic'

Rand Paul said, 'American culture is now normalizing the idea that minors can be given hormones' and then allegedly compared transgender surgery to genital mutilation

Senator Rand Paul's (R-KY) questions slammed as transphobic after he criticized President Joe Biden’s health nominee, Dr Rachel Levine, who would be the first openly transgender federal official if confirmed by the Senate. Levine, the Pennsylvania Secretary of Health and Biden’s pick for Assistant Secretary of Health, faced a line of questioning from senators during her confirmation hearing. However, Paul’s remarks over underage kids taking hormone blockers have angered several.

During his questioning, Paul reportedly compared children taking hormones or undergoing gender-confirmation surgery to genital mutilation. It should be noted here that public health organizations like WHO condemn genital mutilation. In 2020, Levine shared a news article from CNN which talked about puberty blockers and how they can be "life-saving" drugs for transgender teens. She wrote back then, "A new study has found that #Transgender youth with access to a puberty blocker have decline in chances of suicide + #mentalhealth problems now and in the future. This study is important because it's the first to show this specific association." So when Paul attacked Levine over support for gender-confirmation surgery for minors, several on Twitter started to slam him.

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Rand Paul's remarks

Paul said, “American culture is now normalizing the idea that minors can be given hormones to prevent their biological development of their secondary biological characteristics.” Paul added that Levine has reportedly supported minors taking hormone-blocking medications, even after their parents have expressed their concerns about the biological transition.

“I’m alarmed that you’re not saying they should be prevented from making decisions to amputate their breasts or genitalia,” Paul said. “We have always said that minors do not have full rights—will you make a more firm decision on whether or not minors should be involved in these decisions?”

After allegedly comparing transgender surgery to genital mutilation, Paul asked Levine whether she believes “that minors are capable of making such a life-changing decision as changing one’s sex?”

Levine stated that she would be pleased to answer questions about puberty blockers and gender transitioning in minors in the future if the Senate confirms her nomination. But her response was deemed unsatisfactory by the senator who said, “None of these drugs have been approved for this... There are no long-term studies, we don’t know what happens to them. If you’ve ever been around children, 14-year-olds can’t make this decision.”

Paul’s questions angered several public figures, including Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the chairwoman of the Senate Health Committee, who criticized Paul and asked everyone to treat the nominees with respect and requested them that their questions should focus on qualification rather than “ideological and harmful misrepresentations".

“Rand Paul is a complete knob”

After the video surfaced where Paul was seen asking disturbing questions to Levine, several political figures and the general audience slammed him. One user wrote, "@RandPaul
- I'm a transgender adult. There are millions of us all over the world. We were all transgender children once. We know what it was like. You don't. What you're doing is a crime against humanity and it certainly isn't based on principles of limited government." Another one had a similar response to him, "You are only asking because she is transgender- every case is different and MANY minors have their parents ‘wishes’ over ridden in regards to health care - if you were a ‘real’ dr you would know that!"

Another fellow user tweeted, "Children don't receive surgery such as that. Puberty blockers ensure the child doesn't go through extreme depression & anxiety by developing to a gender they don't identify with. You should know this already." Another tweeted, "I think Rand Paul is a complete knob.....but to be fair, his question is NOT out of line.....if MY child experienced gender dysphoria, I sure as hell wouldn't want the government involved, PERIOD. This should be between the minor, the parents, and the doctor." Another wrote, "Rand Paul just went on an unhinged transphobic rant when questioning Dr. Rachel Levine, who is transgender. It's always interesting how libertarians claim that people should be left alone, but then expect everyone to conform to their personal views."
 

However, there were some who seemed to be in support of Paul's questioning. One such user wrote, "Thank You Rand Paul & God Bless You for standing up for parental rights on transgender issues for minors. Rachel Levine should be rejected as nominee for assistant health secretary and not be allowed anywhere near the Dept of Health & Human Services."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.