In an interview with ABC about so-called trans youth, Levine said outright that it's possible for children to be born in the wrong bodies, to "feel" like they are meant to be the opposite sex, and to go through "the wrong puberty." Each of these statements is a dangerous lie.
To "feel" like the opposite sex means to relate to the sex-based social stereotypes of the opposite sex, it does not mean that a person actually is the opposite sex. There is no such thing as "the wrong puberty." In fact, in the vast majority of cases, puberty solves the problem as brain and body receive hormones that bring a child from childhood into adulthood. Denying a person natural puberty denies them the ability to grow into a healthy, functioning adult.
Levine was featured in a segment on ABC News that portrayed gender-confused children as righteous crusaders for civil rights and their parents as heroes for having the courage to let their children direct their own experimental medical treatment.
"The treatment options for gender-affirming care for transgender youth," Levine tells ABC, "really are evidence-based." What Levine doesn't say is that the "evidence-based" options are seriously in question.
Many nations in Europe have stopped offering sex changes for children and have removed their support for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, which posits that there should be no age limit for gender transition.
ABC praises Levine, a diversity-hire formerly known as Richard, a pediatrician, and Biden's assistant secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services under Xavier Becerra, as "the highest ranking openly transgender federal official in the country." Levine was made a four-star admiral of the public health service, and in public appearances always wears the admiral's uniform.
Levine grew up male, underwent natural puberty, went to medical school, married, and fathered children before determining that he'd rather present full time as a woman and embarked upon that change. Now that Levine is 65-years-old, Levine has undertaken a new mission: making sure American kids can make the decision he made as an adult before they've even had a chance to grow up at all.
"What would you say to people who think they're being reasonable," the ABC host asked, "by saying 'why can't children just wait until they're 18?'"
"Adolescence is hard," Levine said, "and puberty is hard. What if you're going through the wrong puberty? What if you inside feel that you are female, but now you're going through a male puberty?"
Levine then lied and said that for "pre-pubertal children, there are no medical procedures done. The standard of care allows them to explore that with therapy." While Levine likely meant that there are no surgeries being done, no genitals removed, no breast tissue amputated– that's reserved for ages 13 and up– there are puberty blockers given to children before they reach that stage.
Once children's natural development is halted, they are more likely to go on to cross-sex hormones. If a child goes from puberty blockers prior to the Tanner Stage 2 stage of development and then goes on to poison themselves with the hormones of the opposite sex, many changes become irreversible. Trans doctor Marcia Bowers, who operated on reality TV star and early transitioner Jazz Jennings, said that in Bowers' experience, boys who go on puberty blockers and then cross-sex hormones are never able to orgasm. Jennings is one of those who, after blockers, estrogen, and vaginoplasty, has never and will never have an orgasm.
Levine was asked about the bills that have been proposed or enacted in more than 20 states that are designed to prevent minors from being drugged or otherwise medically interfered with in service to sex changes. Levine is opposed to those laws, despite the fact that Levine was able to have a normal sexual life. Levine has also spoken favorably about being a father and raising children.
But apparently, Levine doesn't want American children who are confused about their gender at young ages to have that chance. When asked about the "harm" posed by these bills, Levine regurgitated trans activist talking points.
"Gender-affirming care is medical care," Levine said, as though speaking it made it true. "Gender-affirming care is mental health care. Gender-affirming care is literally suicide prevention."
This talking point, that kids will kill themselves if they are denied medical sex changes, is pervasive among trans activists. There has been substantial research, however, that debunks this narrative, and people who have gone through transition have attested to the fact that, when seeking care, their healthcare providers have told them to just say they would kill themselves if they don't get it. There is also reason to believe that the cause of suicidality among trans youth is not about gender identity, or the social stigma of that as is often claimed, but underlying issues. Gender dysphoria is often a symptom, not a cause.
"A supportive adult," Levine said, "can make all the difference. Now one might hope that might be a parent or a relative. Sometimes it's a teacher or a coach or a religious adviser or someone else in their life."
Levine has pushed gender ideology from the Department of Health and Human Services, and has used the position to advocate for more LGBTQ indoctrination in schools and in medical programs. But Levine, in essence, is a monster who has experienced all of what life has to offer and now wants to deny that to young people in order to justify his own transition and existence.
Levine should be removed from office and denied the ability to practice pediatric medicine. Levine has no place as an adviser to the federal government, to parents, to young people, or to the nation.