“Common sense” is the one thing the free world has been missing most in recent years. And if there is any hope of restoring it, that hope lies with American conservatives and the new administration now leading the United States.

For decades, leftist ideologues have declared war on common sense—not directly, but through a sophisticated mix of propaganda, fake science, and clever rebranding. One of the most egregious examples of this deception is what they call “gender affirming care.” What it is, both in medical terms and plain language, is chemical castration.

Let us be very clear. Nothing is affirming or caring about giving powerful drugs to minors that block their natural development. These are the same drugs used to castrate violent sex offenders chemically. Yet they are being injected into confused children, often with federal funding, and sometimes even without the knowledge or consent of a parent or legal guardian.

Leuprolide is one such drug. It is classified as a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist. In plain terms, it suppresses hormone production. It is used to reduce testosterone in boys and to suppress estrogen in girls. This is not some new, innovative therapy—it is the same drug used for decades to castrate adult male sex offenders in prison chemically.

For a young boy who identifies as transgender, Leuprolide is used to suppress testosterone, halting the onset of male puberty. For a young girl, it halts menstruation and the development of breasts. This is not care. This is not a pathway to mental health. This is the deliberate medical disruption of healthy biological development.

And who is pushing it? Organizations like Planned Parenthood, which receive hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer funding. They provide hormone therapy and puberty blockers like Leuprolide to children and teenagers under the guise of “gender affirming care.” They claim to be empowering children, but what they are doing is administering the same chemical protocol used to neuter violent predators.

Here are the facts. Social transition—changing a child’s name, pronouns, and clothing—can begin at any age. Puberty blockers are typically introduced around age 8 to 14. Hormone therapy starts as early as 14 or 15. And while most surgical interventions are limited to adults, there have been growing calls by progressive activists to make irreversible procedures available to minors in select cases. The slippery slope is real—and it is steep.

On January 28, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to begin rolling back access to gender transition procedures for minors. The directive called on federal agencies to prohibit the use of taxpayer money for treatments like puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in individuals under 18. It was a bold step in defense of children and parental rights.

Predictably, over 80 House Democrats condemned the order. They accused Trump of endangering lives and violating constitutional rights. Some even introduced legislation to expand access to these controversial treatments. But they missed the point entirely.

This is not about access. This is about protecting children from irreversible harm. Puberty blockers and hormone therapy carry long-term physical and psychological consequences. No child is in a position to fully understand the impact of such life-altering decisions. That is why the American people voted for change. They voted for leadership to bring back reality, medical integrity, and accountability.

The truth is plain to see. “Gender affirming care” is a euphemism. A smokescreen. A rebranding of chemical castration for minors. The same drugs used on criminals are being repackaged as compassionate therapy. That is not science. That is abuse.

This is a cultural and political trap. The left wraps harmful practices in flowery language to deflect criticism and criminalize dissent. But words do not change facts. The drugs are the same. The outcomes are the same. And in the years ahead, the lawsuits will be the same—only the victims will be younger.

President Trump’s executive order is a course correction. It is not an attack on anyone’s identity or expression. It is a policy rooted in the belief that childhood is not the time for permanent medical intervention. It is a message that federal dollars should not subsidize experimental treatments. It defends parental rights, bodily integrity, and common sense.

We are not alone in this fight. Around the world, people are waking up to the horrors being done in the name of progress. In the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Finland, authorities have begun restricting access to puberty blockers and reexamining the medical ethics surrounding gender transition for minors. The pendulum is swinging back toward reality.

Americans are leading that charge, and those of us who still believe in truth, science, and family are watching with hope. We are counting on the new administration to follow through, stand firm, and expose every lie disguised as compassion.

Because at the end of the day, this is not about left versus right. It is about adults protecting children. It is about rejecting propaganda. It is about saying no to a system that wants to neuter our sons and sterilize our daughters in the name of ideology.

The free world depends on truth. And the truth is this: it is not gender affirming care. It is chemical castration. 

George Harizanov is the CEO of the Institute for Right-Wing Policies in Sofia, Bulgaria.