The Alaska State Medical Board is requesting that the state legislature ban transgender medical treatments for minors due to insufficient safety and efficacy data. 

The seven-member medical panel sent a letter to the Alaska House and Senate in Juneau last week following a board meeting during which it adopted a resolution saying that treatments including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures are “lacking legitimacy as standard medical practice” for minors. 

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“The Alaska State Medical Board opposes hormonal and surgical treatments for gender dysphoria in minors due to insufficient evidence of long-term benefits and risk of irreversible harm,” reads the panel’s statement. 

The board’s resolution also said that they support “psychological support and counseling as safer alternatives.”

Although the board’s resolution has no legal authority in and of itself, the medical board is responsible for overseeing licensure for medical professionals in the state. 

There has been growing skepticism within the medical community regarding the safety and efficacy of hormonal and surgical treatments for minors with gender dysphoria.

The British National Health Service published a comprehensive report, led by pediatrician Hilary Cass, that found only flimsy evidence supporting medical transition to treat gender dysphoria in minors. Last May, the NHS permanently prohibited the prescription of puberty blockers to treat gender identity conditions in minors.

But the issue has continued to be politically volatile across the country, playing a particularly key role in the 2024 presidential campaign. 

Fulfilling campaign promises, President Donald Trump issued an executive order early into his current term to defund what he calls “chemical and surgical mutilation” of minors through gender transition medical procedures. 

A federal district judge earlier this month extended a preliminary injunction pause on the order following a lawsuit brought by Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington. 

Alaska’s legislature has a long history of forming bipartisan coalition governments, with Republican and Democrat members working together on policy goals. The request for legislation could jeopardize the fragile partnership.

A bill introducing civil liability for physicians who performed gender transition procedures or treatments on minors was introduced last year, but it did not advance out of committee. 

Anchorage area Democrat Sen. Löki Tobin told the local outlet Anchorage Daily News that she is concerned about violating privacy rights through legislation banning particular types of medical treatment. 

“We have clear legal guidance that is not necessarily a path we should all explore,” said Tobin. 

Members of the state medical board are selected by the governor, Republican Mike Dunleavy, but must be confirmed by the state legislature. 

Two current board members are up for legislative confirmation hearings, and the body is currently short one physician.