Fred was diagnosed with ADHD with autistic traits at age 4 and struggled with depression and anxiety as he got older. He was expelled from three different special-needs schools due to behavior problems and is now an 18-year-old New Jersey high school student who lives with his parents.
Fred had resolved to take hormones; but before he did, his parents wanted to make sure that his dysphoria wasn't temporary or influenced by his friend's condition. In March, the program informed them the waiting list was a year long. "It’s criminal what Planned Parenthoods all over the country are doing," Fred's mother, a New Jersey pediatrician, told the Free Beacon. "And most people have no idea this is happening."
Planned Parenthood is one of the largest and fastest-growing providers of transgender hormone therapy in the United States. Between 2021 and 2022, clinics in the greater area of Portland, Oregon, saw nearly a 400% increase in gender-transition care visits, according to annual reports. Affiliates in Ohio observed a 544% increase during the same time frame.
"There are 15-year-olds I work with who are much more mature than average and can make these kinds of decisions," she said. "But there are also 20-year-olds who are struggling in various ways that make them less able to give informed consent."