Planned Parenthood has seen its transgender treatments business soar in recent years as demand for the life-altering services skyrockets across the country.
The transgender medical business has become increasingly lucrative as it swells into a multi-billion dollar industry.
According to data published by the organizationโs regional branches, Planned Parenthood has seen a major boom in demand for transgender treatments, many of which create patients/customers for life.
Planned Parenthood firstย began providing hormone treatments for transgender patients in 2005.
Since then, 41ย out ofย 49 regional branches have provided transgender services as of 2022.
However, in just the last three years, the number of treatments provided has soared.
Planned Parenthood has become dramatically more involved in the gender hormone industry.
According to data obtained by the Daily Caller, the number of transgender services performed and/or visits related to transgender treatments at Planned Parenthood clinics increased by roughly 125% between 2020 and 2022.
According to the outlet’s report, some of the clinics have refused to make their data public.
However, regional branches that made their data available collectively saw 17,036 visits in 2020 spike to 38,337 in 2022.
Michael Artigues, president of the American College of Pediatricians, explained that the increase seen over the last few years is likely due to several factors.
The massive financial incentives for treatment providers as well as transgenderism becoming a growing โsocial phenomenonโ have seen the industry boom, Artigues notes.
โYou have to be concerned about the fact that thereโs always money involved, for sure,โ Artigues said.
โAnd youโve got to question whether or not theyโre discerning if someone, in particular minors, have a legitimate condition that requires treatment like gender-affirming therapies, as opposed to a social phenomena and or simply mental health problems.โ
While the national Planned Parenthood organization does not publicize data on visits related to transgender medical services, such as gender hormone therapy, 12 of the 41 regional Planned Parenthood branches have released relevant data over the past three years.
The regional offices varied in how they tracked gender services, with some tracking gender hormone therapy appointments and others tracking visits to their โgender-affirming careโ programs.
However, many of the regional Planned Parenthood organizations that published their data saw a substantial increase in visits and/or services performed for transgender individuals.
Many clinics currently offer โTransgender Hormone Therapyโ including estrogen, testosterone, and puberty blockers.
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, which has clinics located in California and parts of Nevada, hadย 1,041 โgender-affirming care visitsโ in 2020 before jumping.
In 2022, this number ballooned to a staggering 4,378 visits, according to its annual reports.
The number of visits eventually soared to 9,288 in 2023.
According to its website, the clinic offers hormone therapy for patients who are 18 years and older, or for patients 16 to 17 years old who obtain parental consent.
Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, located in Oregon, recorded 344ย transgender medical visits in 2018-2019 andย 533ย in 2019-2020.
That number of visits went up toย 1,066ย in 2020-2021, and the following year it was nearly four times higher atย 4,129ย visits.
Nationwide, Planned Parenthood saw over 35,000 patients for hormone replacement services appointments in 2021, NPRย reported.
The organization did not disclose the exact number of gender-related visits in its 2022 annual report but instead listed them under โother procedures,โ which totaled 256,550 appointments and included services like โpediatric care โฆ other adult preventive care, and high complexity visits, including infertility services.โ
Several branches said that their transgender services were some of the fastest-growing areas for their clinics.
Planned Parenthood Illinois said in its 2022ย reportย that its transgender hormone therapy is โgrowing faster than any other service.โ
The report also noted that โgender-affirming care requires a lifelong continuum of social, psychological, behavioral and medical care.โ
Stella OโMalley, psychotherapist and executive director ofย Genspect, an international group that advocates for a โhealthy approach to sex and gender,โ told the Daily Caller that she believes Planned Parenthood has gone from the โmedical model, where doctors are bound by the principle to โfirst, do no harm,โ to a more business-like approach that lets the buyer beware.โ
โThe problem with this is that very vulnerable people who are at their lowest often need guidance and support, not a business-like exchange,โ OโMalley said.
โDoctors arenโt shopkeepers.
“They are paid very well because theyโre in positions of responsibility, and so they need to meet these responsibilities by being sensitive to the needs of the patient.
“A one-size-fits-all approach that fast-tracks most patients onto a medicalized pathway is profoundly inappropriate.โ
Overall, theย cross-sex surgeryย market is projected to be worth $5 billion in 2023,ย accordingย to Grand View Research, thanks in large part to more and more Americans identifying as transgender.
The cost of routine medical visits for a patient on gender hormones would also be significant.
Only a few of the affiliates list prices for their gender services, however.
Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri lists a โself-pay fee for a visitโ at $250, with additional costs added for any lab work, accordingย to its website.
All follow-up visits are $200, plus costs to cover lab work as needed.
Planned Parenthood Pasadena & San Gabriel Valley estimates costs of up to $262 for the first visit, as well as $35 for hormone injection training and up to $48 for lab work,ย accordingย to its website.
Any follow-up visits can cost up to $202.
As of 2022, Planned Parenthoodย Metropolitan New Jersey said that its new patient consultation for transgender hormones ranged anywhere from $92 to $206, while follow-ups were slightly lower, going from $65 to $173,ย accordingย to a welcome packet.
Scott Newgent, a detransitioner and founder of TReVoices, an organization that works to stop the medical transitioning of children, is warning that the nature of gender hormone treatments, which must be taken continuously for the remainder of a patientโs life, creates potential repeat customers for organizations like Planned Parenthood.
โIt doesnโt matter if they decide to transition or stay trans or whatever,โ Newgent said.
โTheyโre going to need those synthetic hormones for life.
“Thatโs a huge business model.โ
Doctors have also raisedย concerns over the ease with which one can get a prescription for hormone treatments at Planned Parenthood.
The Columbia Willamette affiliate, for instance, saysย on its website that it provides hormone treatments for patients 18 years and older and does not require a letter from a counselor or doctor recommending hormones for gender dysphoria.
Patients can get a prescription after the initial hour-and-a-half appointment.
Erica Anderson, who is transgender and the former president of the U.S. Professional Association for Transgender Health, said that patients have circumvented more traditional methods of getting hormones because it takes too long, opting to go to Planned Parenthood instead,ย accordingย to the Washington Free Beacon.
The Caller also reviewed an additional eight branches that released only partial data in their annual reports between 2020 and 2022.
Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest recorded onlyย 22 โgender-affirmingโ hormone therapy telehealth visits in 2020 but did not include any data regarding in-person healthcare center visits for hormone therapy in its annual report.
In 2021, the branch sawย 829 telehealth and healthcare center visits for gender hormones, and in 2022 hadย 2,426, according to its annual reports.
Planned Parenthoodโs St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri saw 238 visits between July 2020 and June 2021 as it rolled out its โtransgender care program,โ according to its annualย report.
Between July 2021 and June 2022, visits for hormone therapy jumped toย 1,657.
Planned Parenthood California Central Coast reportedย 299ย โgender-affirming careโ initial and follow-up visits for the fiscal year 2019-2020 but loggedย 746ย only two years later in its annual report for 2021-2022.
Planned Parenthood Wisconsin in 2020-2021 hadย 488ย hormone therapy visits, but that number jumped toย 730ย in 2021-2022.
Planned Parenthood Great Northwest reported onlyย 659ย โgender-affirming hormone careโ visits in 2018 within the first six months of opening its gender program.
However, in 2022, the number increased to a staggering 12,814 visits amongย 5,926ย patients.
While the Great Northwest branch absorbed the Indiana and Kentucky regions in 2021, those organizations did not list the number of transgender services they provided in their previous annual reports.
There are serious health risks from transgender hormone treatments; minors canย becomeย infertile if they receive puberty blockers.
Meanwhile, those who transition later could suffer from other conditions such as bone deterioration after trying to come off testosterone.
โWomen that get on testosterone for a long period, and then get off of it, their bones deteriorate,โ Newgent said.
โSo I have to get back on testosterone to have my bones safe, but then I have to deal with the other sides of it.
“So thereโs all these medical complications that come with it.โ
Planned Parenthood published a series of videos in July acknowledging that patients who takeย estrogen hormones are at a higher risk of blood clots in the lungs, brain, and legs.
Risks forย testosterone therapy include blood clots, low blood sugar, high cholesterol, and liver issues, according to the videos.
Planned Parenthood also suggests that patients receiving hormone therapy should look into โfamily planningโ options, noting that infertility is a potential side effect.
Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, chairman ofย Do No Harm, a group of medical professionals that oppose โradicalโ ideology in health care, warns that clinics should act more responsibly regarding patients’ needs.
Planned Parenthood should โprioritize evidence-based medicineโ and encourage patients, specifically children, to get โintensive psychiatric assessment and careโ instead of offering puberty blockers, Dr. Goldfarb said.