First appeared on FOX: A new report by a conservative think tank has laid bare the scale of today’s “booming” sex-change surgery industry – a multi-billion dollar industry that’s continuing to grow and raising a range of concerns.
According to a new report from the American Principles Project (APP), the transgender “medical” industry is fast growing into a massive system, with total revenue from transgender drugs and surgeries estimated to exceed $4.4 billion in 2023. That figure could exceed $7.8 billion by 2030, according to the study.
““My organization, the American Principles Project, has been concerned about transgender issues as they relate to children for quite some time,” APP president Terry Schilling told Fox News Digital.
“We know it obviously has physical and psychological effects, but we wanted to understand why this industry is growing so much, why such a small population is getting so much attention and so much media – so much positive attention in our cultural sphere. And we quickly realised there’s a lot of money here.“
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Protesters for Kentucky Senate Bill SB150, known as the Transgender Health Act, cheer on a speaker during a rally on the lawn of the Kentucky State Capitol on March 29, 2023 in Frankfort, Kentucky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
The report estimates that lifelong cross-sex hormone use could cost up to $300,000, while sex-reassignment surgery could cost $150,000, with potentially harmful side effects from sex-reassignment surgery, including cancer, nerve damage, chronic pain, sexual dysfunction and mental health issues, driving up medical costs even further.
The report explains that medical institutions that offer gender reassignment surgery, including Cedars-Sinai, the University of Michigan Board of Regents and Mount Sinai Health System, are estimated to have made more than $100 million in revenue from gender reassignment procedures in 2022, while pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and AbbVie made $74 million and $51 million, respectively.
“We’ve known about a lot of the negative health effects and side effects for years, but there’s really no explanation for why people still recommend it,” Schilling told Fox News Digital.
“I believe that most people are generally good people and don’t want to harm others. So what motivates people to undergo these procedures and to recommend these painful procedures to others that cause so much impairment and harm? And when you realize there are billions of dollars at stake, the idea becomes easier to understand.”
The report said 1.6 million Americans currently identify as transgender, including 300,000 people between the ages of 13 and 17.
“Given the profitability of this industry, health care professionals are likely to continue to recommend and perform these drugs and procedures as long as they feel they will not be held accountable,” APP said in a press release.
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“But many who have discontinued their transitions are beginning to regret it or face serious health problems as a result of their transition. Their public stories and potential lawsuits may ultimately bring about a reckoning for the industry, and lead to transgender medicine following the same path as the lobotomy.”
Schilling told Fox News Digital that the report’s estimates are likely conservative, with pro-trans activists boasting the industry could be worth more than $200 billion a year, bigger than the film industry.
“I really wanted America and the world to know how much money is going into this industry,” Schilling told Fox News Digital.
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“It is critical that the American public knows what’s going on — the harm these practices are causing and the reality of the financial incentives that allow the industry to continue to exist despite the consequences,” Schilling said in a press release.
“And policymakers must recognize that they cannot stand by and do nothing while the victims in this industry pile up. Increased accountability may one day put an end to this misconduct, but we should not wait for that to happen. Government action is needed, and it must happen quickly.”
Fox News has reached out to Pfizer, AbbVie, Cedars-Sinai, the University of Michigan Board of Regents and Mount Sinai Health System for comment.
