An overwhelming majority of Americans support restrictions on the ability of mentally unwell minors to obtain puberty blockers and hormonal treatments, a new survey finds.
Over two-thirds (71 percent) believe children under the age of 18 should not be prescribed puberty blockers or hormones, an issue that featured heavily in Republican campaigns from President-elect Donald Trump on down, according to a new poll from the New York Times and Ipsos.
Similarly, almost 80 percent of respondents said males should not be allowed to compete against females in women’s sports, including two-thirds of Democrats surveyed. A plurality of respondents, 49 percent, also said society has gone too far in accommodating people who identify as transgender, compared to 21 percent who said society has not gone far enough.
Trump successfully hammered Vice President Kamala Harris on the campaign trail for her past advocacy for giving illegal-immigrant prisoners access to transgender procedures. It was the culmination of a broader GOP offensive against progressive activists and physicians who believe mentally disturbed teenagers should be allowed to undergo life-altering hormonal treatments and surgeries to conform with their gender identity.
The Supreme Court is set to take up the issue of states banning transgender procedures for minors later this year. A growing amount of evidence suggests that transgender operations do not improve the mental health of minors experiencing gender dysphoria. Internal documents from WPATH, the leading advocacy organization for transgender medical procedures, found that the group knew the treatments were experimental and that minors could not fully consent to them.
The Times and Ipsos polled Americans on a variety of issues Trump is focused on and found that the American people like Trump’s policy agenda more than the man himself. Trump is promising to enact mass deportations on day one of his administration and has long believed America should reduce its engagement overseas.
The poll determined that 55 percent of Americans favor mass deportations for all illegal immigrants, and 63 percent support deportations for those who arrived illegally in the past four years. When it comes to deporting illegal immigrant criminals, 87 percent of Americans are behind the idea. Those totals follow record numbers of illegal immigration under President Biden and high-profile violent crimes by illegal immigrants such as the brutal murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.
The Times and Ipsos also found that 60 percent of Americans think the country should pay less attention to conflicts overseas and put more effort towards problems at home. On that note, a slight majority of respondents, 51 percent, said the U.S. is sending too much aid to Ukraine for its conflict against Russia. About the same amount, 53 percent, said the U.S. is providing Israel with too much money for its multi-front war in the Middle East.
Overall, Americans are deeply cynical about the political system, regardless of political affiliation, the survey shows. A staggering 72 percent said the government is mostly working to benefit itself and the elitesm and 59 percent said the political system has been broken for decades. A plurality of respondents, 41 percent, do not expect Trump’s policies to make much of a difference in their lives.
The Times and Ipsos poll sampled 2,128 American adults from January 2-10 with a 2.6 percent margin of error either way.