A cardiologist and professor at the University of Michigan Medical School is publicly supporting his employer's decision to suspend gender transition procedures for children, citing insufficient scientific evidence and potential long-term health consequences.
Dr. Venkatesh Murthy recently authored an essay for Independent Women criticizing the university's faculty senate after it passed a symbolic resolution demanding that Michigan Medicine reinstate the treatments. The faculty senate includes professors from various university departments, with Murthy emphasizing that many members lack medical credentials and have no connection to the medical school.
Michigan Medicine announced last August that it would discontinue administering puberty suppression drugs and opposite-sex hormones to gender-confused minors in response to federal guidance.
Murthy argues the hospital system made the appropriate choice given the questionable research supporting these medical interventions.
"While major U.S. medical organizations continue to endorse 'gender-affirming care' for minors, including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, the evidence base for these interventions in children and adolescents is increasingly recognized as weak," Dr. Murthy wrote.
The cardiologist referenced the Cass Review, an exhaustive investigation commissioned by England's National Health Service that recommended suspending the distribution of transgender medications to young people.
"The review found most studies backing 'gender-affirming care' to be of low quality, with insufficient long-term data on outcomes like mental health improvement, rates of detransition, or risks such as bone density loss, infertility, and potential cancer links," he wrote.
Drawing upon his specialized training in heart medicine, Murthy issued warnings about the cardiovascular complications associated with these chemical treatments.
He wrote:
"As a cardiologist, I am particularly alarmed by the cardiovascular risks these interventions pose to developing young hearts. Cross-sex hormones, such as estrogen in biological males or testosterone in biological females, are known to alter lipid profiles, increase blood clotting, and elevate the risk of thromboembolic events, stroke, myocardial infarction (heart attack), and hypertension.
Multiple studies and reviews have documented these dangers: estrogen therapy may raise the likelihood of venous thromboembolism and ischemic events, while testosterone can worsen blood cholesterol and promote abnormal thickening of the heart muscle (cardiac hypertrophy). In adolescents, whose cardiovascular systems are still maturing, these effects could compound over a lifetime, potentially leading to premature heart disease—the leading cause of death worldwide."
Beyond medical considerations, Murthy raised concerns about academic disconnection from mainstream American opinion. According to The College Fix, most Americans reject surgical and hormonal interventions for gender-confused youth, yet university faculty appear dismissive of these widespread reservations.
"At a taxpayer-funded public university like ours, especially one in a purple state, faculty governance should reflect not just internal ideologies but responsibility to scientific evidence and the communities we serve," he wrote. "Michigan voters and families deserve assurance that the doctors who serve them at their public medical center do no harm and respect their views."
Murthy urged his fellow academics to recognize the declining public confidence in medical professionals and adopt a more modest approach.
This controversy is not Murthy's first clash with academic consensus. Back in 2021, he publicly questioned a research paper that temporarily halted college football over COVID-related cardiac concerns. Despite one of his Michigan Medicine colleagues having co-authored the study, Murthy joined other scientists in challenging its conclusions.
Protecting American children from experimental medical procedures with inadequate safety data represents sound governance that prioritizes evidence over ideology. Taxpayer-funded institutions must answer to the families and communities they serve rather than capitulating to activist faculty members pushing divisive gender politics. An America First approach demands that public universities place the well-being of young Americans above political pressures and unproven treatments that may cause irreversible harm.
