Indiana U. med school trains residents in ‘gender-affirming medical treatment’

Indiana University School of Medicine offers an LGBTQ+ health track to residency students to train them in “gender-affirming medical treatment.”

The health track is “intended to supplement the clinical training of residents interested in and committed to the whole-person care of sexual and gender minority patients,” according to the school’s website.

Further, “selected residents are offered experiences during residency in clinics that serve the LGBTQ+ community and graduate with advanced skills like gender-affirming medical treatment.”

Dr. Kazia Parsons, one of the program’s first graduates in 2020, told The Fix during a phone call that IU was “acutely aware” of the political implications involved in providing such training during her residency.

She said that, to the best of her knowledge, the program remains active.

Parsons also strongly defended the program and the research supporting “gender-affirming care.”

“We have all the research in the world that I actually trust, coming from reputable sources, that these procedures, by and large, are incredibly helpful for patients, are largely successful in helping to eliminate large portions of dysphoria, and there are much lower regret rates than any other type of so-called plastic surgery,” she told The Fix.

Parsons, who has been involved in the LGBTQ+ community since college, now runs her own private telehealth practice in Texas, focusing on queer healthcare.

“When these surgeries are used appropriately, there is diagnostic and standard criteria for who these procedures are appropriate for and that includes within age groups as well,” she said.

“The mischaracterization that children are mutilated without any parental consent or informed consent is just sort of ridiculous on its face, even taking away all the nuance,” Parsons said.

However, some experts disagree. A leader for a medical advocacy group told The Fix via email that medical schools and hospitals must re-evaluate their current policies on treating minors experiencing gender-related distress.

Do No Harm Medical Director Kurt Miceli said that studies such as the recent HHS report, which raised concerns over “gender-affirming care” for minors, deserve “careful attention from both medical schools and hospitals.”

Still, ideological pressures continue to run deep in many academic and clinical environments, the doctor said. 

For that reason, physicians and educators committed to evidence-based practice must remain vigilant against advocacy-driven narratives that downplay the harms of transgender medical interventions for minors. Training should stay firmly anchored in rigorous scientific standards, not political agendas, he said. 

Dr. Miceli also told The Fix that Do No Harm hopes to see biology reinforced in medical education.

“Medical schools should ground their teaching in biology and objective scientific reality, including a clear understanding of sex as binary. They should also make clear that children and adolescents experiencing gender‑related distress can benefit from high‑quality psychosocial support, not medical and surgical interventions that carry lifelong consequences,” he said. 

Asked about the HHS report, Dr. Parsons said that she was unsure how it would affect IU’s LGBTQ+ track.

“I think if the staff is committed to queer medicine and committed to giving their students an opportunity for diverse and just education, then I think the program will stand and allow residents to have that level of education, which I think is completely appropriate,” she told The Fix. “If they decide to cave and bow down to political pressure instead of prioritizing education, then it won’t.”

Indiana University School of Medicine has not responded to multiple media inquiries in the past month from The Fix, including two emails and a phone message requesting updates on the status of the program and the number of students enrolled.

An appeals court in Indiana ruled in favor of a ban on “gender-affirming care” for minors in 2024.