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Six Republican senators on Thursday sent a letter to National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Monica Bertagnolli, requesting information on an unpublished NIH study on the effects of puberty blockers on transgender minors. 

The study, which began in 2015, found that the use of puberty blockers did not necessarily translate to better mental health in the patients. However, the lead researcher told the New York Times in October that the reason for that could be that the children used in the study were already doing well to begin with. The outlet noted that in earlier descriptions of the project, she had indicated roughly a quarter of the subjects were struggling with mental health issues. 

The team leading the study said it opted not to publish the results out of fears that it would be distorted by opponents of transgender care for minors. 

“I do not want our work to be weaponized,” lead researcher Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy told the outlet. “It has to be exactly on point, clear and concise. And that takes time.” 

The Senate Republicans however said they were concerned about the lack of transparency in failing to publish the results, and accused Olson-Kennedy of withholding the findings because they likely “do not support her political agenda.”

The letter requests that the agency produces each annual progress reports that the NIH has received for the “Impact of Early Medical Treatment in Transgender Youth,” study no later than Dec. 19.

“While we recognize that this particular study is observational, we remain concerned that minors lack the ability to fully understand the lifelong outcomes of the interventions studied in this project and provide their consent,” the senators wrote. “Further, taxpayers have the right to know the outcomes of the research they fund, particularly when the intervention studied has life-altering impacts.”

The letter was signed by GOP Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Bill Cassidy of Louisana, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, and Mike Lee of Utah.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.