CNN host denies lawyer, argues trans kids don’t understand long-term consequences: ‘Some of them get it’

CNN’s Brianna Keilar argued Wednesday that some transgender children may fully understand the possible long-term effects of gender reassignment treatments, such as sterility or an increased risk of heart attacks.

Kristen Wagoner, president of the Alliance Defending Freedom, spoke with Keilar about the Supreme Court’s oral argument in US v. Skrmetti, which involved Tennessee’s ban on puberty blockers and transgender surgeries for minors. ADL is a Christian legal organization that represents other states in similar cases.

Although the issue centered on trans minors, Keilar repeatedly attempted to claim that “ADF is not just focused on the children” but also on trans adults, which Wagoner denied.

The host also asked, “Have you ever thought that these anti-trans laws and attitudes might not age well?”

CNN anchor Brianna Keilar pressed ADF President Kristen Waggoner on a recent Supreme Court case involving a ban on transgender treatment for children. (CNN screenshot)

Study showing puberty blockers don’t improve children’s mental health not published for fear of ‘weaponization’

“I think a lot of people are confused about this topic,” Keilar continued. “They don’t know where they stand on this. But where is the space for a conversation about this?”

“And I love that we’re having a conversation right now, and that’s what today was about. Because the ACLU and the Biden administration have taken this matter to the U.S. Supreme Court and said there is no room for this debate,” Wagoner said.

Wagoner accused the ACLU and the Biden administration of trying to “constitutionalize all of American life” by claiming there is a constitutional right for children to receive transitional procedures, adding that children are wary of future negative impacts probably not aware of it.

“Which child or girl knows whether they want to have a child in the long term, what effects testosterone has on their uterus or whether taking medication increases their risk of a heart attack?” Wagoner asked.

“Some of them do,” Keilar interjected.

“No, no…” Wagoner replied, shaking his head.

“None of them? “None of them?” said Keilar.

Activists for and against trans rights protest in front of the US Supreme Court before the start of the USA v. Skrmetti case on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“As we know from science, it’s about not putting ideology above evidence. And that’s exactly what’s happening here. 85% of all children who reach puberty say they are gender-confused, over 85% of them. These children live in harmony with their bodies and in harmony with their gender. “Science tells us that you put them on a one-way street to live as the opposite sex for the rest of their lives and they will still have the experience of being a lifelong patient,” Wagoner responded.

Wagoner also told Fox News Digital: “It is radical to suggest that children can consent to dangerous procedures that stop the normal and healthy development of their bodies and often have irreversible and tragic consequences. While common sense tells us this, science tells us this too.” “Evidence-based medicine should take precedence over gender ideology.”

A New York Times column argues that children should be able to change gender because they “need the freedom to make mistakes.”

Wagoner’s “CNN News Central” segment appeared the day after trans ACLU attorney Chase Strangio, who argued the case before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, acknowledged that minors cannot consent to such procedures.

ACLU attorney Chase Strangio appeared on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” on Tuesday. (CNN screenshot)

“What is happening here is not the children agreeing to this treatment. It is the parents who consent to the treatment,” Strangio said Tuesday. “And as a parent I would say: When our children suffer, we suffer. And these are parents who love their children, who listen to the advice of their doctors in the general medical community and do what is right for their children, and the state of Tennessee has overruled their judgment.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP