The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released a 400-page report condemning gender-affirming care for transgender youth, yet refused to disclose who wrote it. This is unacceptable.

When a federal agency publishes a report that could directly impact the health and safety of young people across the country, the public deserves to know who is behind it.

What are their qualifications?

What evidence did they rely on?

Were they independent experts or political appointees?

Right now, we have no answers.

Instead of transparency, we’ve been told the authors’ names are being withheld “to help maintain the integrity” of a post-publication review process. But anonymous authorship undermines integrity, not the other way around—especially when the report contradicts the guidance of every major U.S. medical association.

This report could be used to justify dangerous policies that strip transgender youth of essential medical care. If it was written behind closed doors by ideologues or individuals with no relevant expertise, the public has a right to know before it is used to influence laws, school policy, or healthcare access.

We demand that HHS immediately release the names, credentials, and affiliations of the report’s authors. Public health policy must be built on facts and transparency—not secrecy and political agendas.

 
 Photo: Evan Vucci/AP