U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville asked President Joe Biden’s nominee for the National Institute of Health director about whether it’s good policy to promote certain transgender treatments for minors.
Dr. Monica Bertagnolli testified during her Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee confirmation hearing Wednesday.
“Being an educator, this really touches me,” Tuberville (R-Auburn) said to Bertagnoli. “The NIH funded a recent study about the psychosocial functioning in transgender youth after two years of hormones.
“According to the letter NIH sent to Ranking Member Cassidy and me, the research seeks to understand the physical and psychosocial effects of medical intervention to evaluate the effectiveness of existing medical treatments already in use among transgender youth. As you know, two young people committed suicide who were part of this study.”
Tuberville expressed frustration over the NIH’s response to the study in question.
“That’s obviously a tragedy – but what concerns me even more is the fact that the NIH was funding this research,” he said. “And beyond that, I believe the NIH even called the study a success. That’s sick. It sounds to me like the NIH totally dropped the ball on quality control and oversight.
“So, if confirmed, how will you make sure nothing like that ever happens on your watch?”
Bertagnoli wouldn’t address the transgender issue specifically, but said her job is to “do no harm.”
“First, that we serve all people, all people, all walks of life, and that we really are here to achieve the health of all,” Bertagnoli said. “But that, number two, any research that we do that involves human beings, people, is conducted according to the highest ethical principles so that we make sure that the research is intending to do no harm, to achieve benefit, and is done in ways that have maximum respect for the dignity of people.
“If confirmed as NIH director, I will affirm to you that that will be my mode of action and my highest priority for all human research.”
Tuberville has been leading the effort in the Senate against the Biden administration’s policy on Title IX, which he believes removes protections for female athletes in college.
He also questioned Bertagnoli about the lack of trust in the institution due to their response to the COVID 19 pandemic.
“The NIH used to be a universally respected, non-political organization before COVID, but that trust has been broken, especially in rural parts like my state of Alabama,” he said. “You’re from rural Wyoming. So, you get the real perspective and you understand just how much people in those parts of the country in particular have lost confidence in our public health institutions. They feel totally overlooked. What would you do as NIH Director to help gain back some of that respect in rural areas?”
Once again Bertagnoli didn’t answer the question directly, but just gave a general response about helping and educating patients.
“Two things,” Bertagnoli said. “Number one, I believe deeply in the doctor-patient relationship. That has incredible value, that is trust. A patient comes and puts their life in the hands and their health in the hands of their doctors. And anything that we can do to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship is something that we should pursue to the fullest extent possible.
“And then second, I believe in education at all levels … Patients joining us in research to the fullest extent possible, not science here and people here, but people joining us to do science. I think that also engenders great trust in the process if it’s done in a respectful and appropriate way.”
