Megyn Kelly’s remarks to Bill Mager about transgender children are going viral

Megyn Kelly spoke with the talk show host and comedian Bill Maher on Friday’s hot political topics, including fascism and gender-affirming care for transgender children, their exchange about the latter circulated in a video clip on X, previously Twitter.

Based on the discussion about global fascism and what is the second potential Donald Trump the presidency may look, Kelly, ex Fox News the master continued HBO‘s Live with Bill Maher that “almost as important, perhaps as important, is what we do with our children with this transsexual madness. That’s pretty much my only problem. We cut off healthy body parts from young children — 100 percent we do.” The audience can then be heard reacting to Kelly’s comment.

Maher replied: “We definitely do. That’s what it is. I don’t know what it’s about.”

AND video segment Kelly and Maher’s exchange, shared by Eric Abbenante, a filmmaker and comedian, had more than 3.8 million views on X as of Saturday afternoon.

Gender-affirming guardianship has become a contentious political topic, as more than half of the nation’s states have enacted laws and policies that limit youth access.

Republicans have long said that banning gender-affirming care would protect children from making harmful lifelong decisions before they can decide whether they want to fully transition. Meanwhile, advocates of gender-affirming care say that denying access to these services can cause long-term suffering and mental health problems for children and adolescents who cannot live in a body that you feel as your own.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) A survey released earlier this month found that in 2023, 3.3 percent of U.S. high school students would identify as transgender, and 2.2 percent would identify as queer.

A study by researchers at the Harvard T. Chan School of Public Health, published in June, found that sex-affirmation surgeries on minors (referring to a topic raised by Kelly) are rare.

Using data from 2019, the study reported no gender confirmation surgeries for transgender teens under the age of 12. Among 15- to 17-year-olds, the rate was 2.1 per 100,000 and 5.3 per 100,000 for adults 18 and older.

Most gender-affirming teen care is non-surgical and may include counseling, hormone therapy, and puberty blockers. According to the Mayo Clinic, puberty blockers “do not cause permanent physical changes. Instead, they stop puberty,” noting that when a person stops taking the blockers, “puberty starts all over again.”

“Kids who are bullied or sexually abused, or who are going through normal puberty and are uncomfortable with their bodies, will tell their parents, ‘I’m not sure, maybe I’m confused about gender.’ They’re going to send them to a psychiatrist or a psychologist that our organizations, the American Psychiatric Association and everybody else that’s involved in licensing, have said you have to confirm, confirm is the only standard,” Kelly said Friday.

The former Fox News host added that “the child is receiving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones that sterilize the child.”

Cross-sex hormones, which are different from puberty blockers, are usually testosterone and estrogen and can be used to alter the body.

Newsweek reached out to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for comment via email on Saturday.

According to the APA website, there are several areas of evidence that define medically approved treatment options as “puberty suppression for adolescents with gender dysphoria and gender-affirming hormones such as estrogen and testosterone for older adolescents and adults. Medical confirmation is not recommended for prepubescent children, some adults (and rarely teenagers) may undergo various aspects of surgical confirmation.

Later in the discussion, Maher asked Kelly if she accepted and understood that there were transgender people, to which Kelly explained, “I have some (transgender people) in my family. I have nothing against people who actually have gender dysphoria and genuinely struggle with it… that’s another issue; it’s about children, and then about women’s space in sports.”

Kelly was candid on her podcast, Tthe megyn kelly show, and on social media that transgender women competing in women’s leagues create an unfair advantage over biological girls and women and therefore should not be allowed

Supporters of allowing transgender athletes to compete in accordance with their gender identity argue that sport should be inclusive and accessible to all, regardless of gender identity, stressing the importance of equality and non-discrimination, pointing out that transgender athletes often face significant barriers in sports, including social stigma and discrimination.