Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is facing questions after fundraising with a surgeon who previously operated on minors. Talarico, a progressive Democrat, state lawmaker and Presbyterian seminarian, is running a highly competitive race to flip a Texas Senate seat for the first time in decades.

Pediatric Gender Treatments

Talarico recently participated in an Austin “Pride for Talarico” fundraiser that featured Dr. Dustin Reid, a female-to-male breast surgeon who confirmed with Fox News Digital that he previously operated on minors in “rare” cases prior to Texas banning the practice.

Reid clarified that, in line with WPATH’s guidelines, he previously performed FTM surgeries on minors, saying “it was rare but not completely unheard of.” WPATH’s “Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People” state that the association recommends health care professionals suggest “gender-affirming medical or surgical treatments” for adolescents only when said minor meets a set of conditions.

Talarico has recently come out against pediatric gender treatments for minors, but he voted against a bill banning the practice in Texas in 2023. Around the same time, he said the ban on transgender surgeries for minors “infuriates me” and listed it as one of “the most dangerous” bills passed in Texas.

Response to Criticisms

In response to criticisms, JT Ennis, a spokesperson for Talarico’s campaign, reaffirmed that “James opposes pediatric gender treatments for minors.” Meanwhile, Madison Cercy, a spokesperson for Paxton’s campaign, asserted that Talarico “is willing to sacrifice common sense at the altar of his extreme ideology, only to turn around and lie to Texans about the positions he has supported his entire career.”

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.