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Posted: 2023-12-07T04:22:56Z | Updated: 2023-12-07T17:57:42Z

Megyn Kelly promised Wednesday night that the moderators of the fourth and final GOP primary debate would dig into the issue of gender-affirming care for transgender kids. But her pledge quickly devolved into many of the Republicans onstage attacking queer Americans and repeating dog whistles about vulnerable youth.

Kelly asked former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie about a law he signed in 2017 that required the state to adopt regulations around trans kids. But she used the moment to press Christie on his stance on gender-affirming care for minors, an issue that has become a dangerous political cudgel during the campaign.

The surgeries done on minors involve cutting off body parts at a time when these kids cannot even legally smoke a cigarette, Kelly said during a question on health care for trans youth. Kids who go from puberty blockers to cross-sex hormones are at a much greater likelihood of winding up sterile. How is it that you think a parent should be able to OK these surgeries, never mind the sterilization of a child?

Arent you way too out of step on this issue to be the Republican nominee? she concluded.

Kellys statements are not backed by medical guidance. Most trans youth do not even begin to medically transition until adolescence, and treatment begins with puberty-blocking drugs or hormone therapy, not surgery. To start puberty blockers in most cases, a person must show a lasting pattern of gender nonconformity or gender dysphoria and be able to understand the treatment and consent, according to the Mayo Clinic .

The AMA also found that trans youth receiving gender-affirming care had dramatic decreases in depression and suicidal ideology in the year after they began.

Christie, who has come out against transgender health care bans, pushed back on Kellys assertion, saying Republicans believe in less government, not more. He added that he trusted parents to make more decisions about their kids, without the government telling them what those values should be.

I believe there is no one who loves my children more than me, Christie said. Not some government bureaucrat.

.@megynkelly goes after Chris Christie for his stances on trans surgeries for kids: \"How is it that you think a parent should be able to ok these surgeries, never mind the sterilization of a child, and aren't you WAY to out of step on this issue to be the Republican nominee?\" pic.twitter.com/jZiLs4xPyS

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.@megynkelly goes after Chris Christie for his stances on trans surgeries for kids: "How is it that you think a parent should be able to ok these surgeries, never mind the sterilization of a child, and aren't you WAY to out of step on this issue to be the Republican nominee?" pic.twitter.com/jZiLs4xPyS

Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) December 7, 2023

But Kellys comment Wednesday opened up the floor for the other three candidates to express extreme anti-trans views. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis equated gender-affirming care overseen by a childs parents and their doctor as cutting off their genitals and mutilating these minors.

Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy went a step further, declaring transgenderism a mental health disorder.

And former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley stood by her comments that gender-affirming care should be withheld from children until they are 18. She later called the issue surrounding trans students playing on sports teams that are in line with their gender identity the womens issue of our time.

Kellys comment is part of her long-standing attacks on the queer community. She has called health care for trans kids a weird form of conversion therapy and misgendered trans people because shes done with using correct pronouns.

Within the first few minutes of this GOP debate, Ro DeSantis and Nikki Haley are already arguing about \"genital mutilation\" and trans kids.

Megyn Kelly moves on, but adds: \"Trust me, were coming back to this issue.\" pic.twitter.com/wStgjcFtgh

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Within the first few minutes of this GOP debate, Ro DeSantis and Nikki Haley are already arguing about "genital mutilation" and trans kids.

Megyn Kelly moves on, but adds: "Trust me, were coming back to this issue." pic.twitter.com/wStgjcFtgh

Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) December 7, 2023

The Republican Party has fiercely adopted trans health care as a political rallying cry in recent campaign cycles, pushing more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in 2023 alone, according to the ACLU .

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The American Medical Association , American Association of Pediatrics and American Psychological Association have all declared gender-affirming care essential to the well-being of trans kids, urging politicians to stay out of the debate.

And even though anti-trans laws are not a politically popular idea, the GOP has embraced them anyway , to the detriment of queer youth .

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Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.

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