A new poll shows that a clear majority of Americans do not support so-called “transgender” procedures for children under the age of 18.
According to Just The News, the poll from Noble Predictive Insights reveals that 58% of voters are against any kind of medical procedure that seeks to alter a child’s gender identity, including hormone therapy, puberty blockers, or surgery.
By contrast, a mere 10% said that they support the idea of children going through with such procedures if they want to, and 21% who said children should go through with them if they have their parents’ permission. Along gender lines, 62% of men were opposed to any kind of transgender treatment, as were 54% of women.
“What’s surprising – for how much you hear about it, how much it is in your face – you look at the public opinion data and there’s definitely not a majority who are in support of this,” said Mike Noble, the founder and CEO of Noble Predictive Insights. “Six in ten are saying, ‘That’s a non-starter.'”
Along political lines, Democrats were clearly more likely to support such procedures than Republicans: Among those who describe themselves as “a strong Democrat,” 22% said children should be allowed to undergo such treatment on their own, while 40% supported doing so with their parents’ permission. Only 23% were against such procedures altogether, and another 15% remained “unsure.”
Voters’ responses were also heavily dictated by those who had children and those who did not. Among voters who said they have a child under 18, 64% were against transgender operations.
“The people who were the least on board were people who had children under the age 18,” Noble pointed out. “The ones who are the most supportive are the ones who never had children.”
The poll was conducted from July 31st to August 3rd. The poll sampled 2,500 respondents, consisting of 1,000 Republicans, 1,000 Democrats, and 500 independents.