‘Those Groups Are Politicized’: Utah Gov. Cox Rejects American Medical Institutions Approval Of Trans Procedures For Children

 Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox denounced three American medical institutions and agencies on Sunday as “politicized” when asked about the state’s decision to halt children accessing so-called gender-affirming care.

Cox told CBS’s Face the Nation that the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics have all become partisan on the issue for claiming “gender-affirming care” is clinically appropriate for trans-identifying adults and children,

“All very political groups,” he said. “I believe that they are politicized — those groups are politicized … on this issue. It’s impossible to get unbiased information out of the United States right now on this issue. I just don’t believe it.”

Utah passed a bill earlier this year that placed an indefinite moratorium banning doctors from harming children with life-altering transgender procedures until more data on its effectiveness becomes available, joining at least 18 other states that have also restricted children from accessing medical actions.

Cox said in a news release upon signing the legislation that it affects “our most vulnerable youth requires careful consideration and deliberation.”

“While we understand our words will be of little comfort to those who disagree with us, we sincerely hope that we can treat our transgender families with more love and respect as we work to better understand the science and consequences behind these procedures,” he said.

Cox told CBS that the state has yet to set an end date for the pause.

“This is such a charged topic that it’s been impossible — I believe — to get good information here in the United States right now,” he said. “Because half the country doesn’t want to touch it, and the other half is convinced that they already know the answer.”

The governor added that he has been looking to European countries as an example, where several have recently adopted restrictive measures on prescribing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and transition surgeries for minors.

“Looking at Sweden and Finland and France and the UK, other countries where they don’t have the same culture war battles that we’re having here, where it’s, you know, it’s either too political or you know, you can’t say anything about it, to see what they’re finding out,” Cox said. “And they’re also pushing pause.”

Cox has been toeing the gender culture war line since Utah residents elected him two years ago.

Last year, the governor vetoed a bill that would have barred male students who identify as the opposite sex from playing female sports, citing research pointing to high suicide risk rates.

“I don’t understand what they are going through or why they feel the way they do,” Cox said, according to NBC. “But I want them to live. And all the research shows that even a little acceptance and connection can reduce suicidality significantly.”

Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro roasted Gov. Cox last year after a video emerged showing the top state official sharing his preferred pronouns with a high school student during a virtual town hall event from the previous year.