Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is facing questions after fundraising with a “female-to-male” top surgeon who previously operated on minors shortly after saying that he does not support sex-change surgeries for children.
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. He is opposing Republican state attorney general Ken Paxton. The seat is critical to both parties’ hopes of holding a Senate majority this next session.
During an appearance on the “Unity Over Division” podcast on June 8, Talarico responded to criticisms that he supports gender transition for minors by stating, “I oppose gender reassignment surgeries for minors.”
Days later, he 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. He said that he no longer performs these surgeries in line with Texas law.
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Speaking with Fox News Digital over the phone, Reid confirmed his participation in the event in support of Talarico. He said that “in the past, on a case-by-case basis, I would do that [female-to-male surgeries on minors] but not since they made it illegal in Texas.”
His practice’s website currently states he “does follow the WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health) standards for patients under the age of 18.”
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.”
“There were occasions where someone would be under 18 and everyone involved in their care agreed that it was the best decision for this patient. But that was, like I said, rare because, for the most part, I like people to make the decision as an adult.”
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. These conditions include that the minor “meets the diagnostic criteria of gender incongruence,” which is “marked and sustained over time,” that the child “demonstrates the emotional and cognitive maturity required to provide informed consent/assent for the treatment,” and that “the adolescent’s mental health concerns (if any) that may interfere with diagnostic clarity, capacity to consent, and/or gender-affirming medical treatments have been addressed.”
WPATH requires minors receiving sex-change surgeries to be “informed of the reproductive effects, including the potential loss of fertility.”
The guidelines also state that while “in most settings, for minors, the legal guardian is integral to the informed consent process … for unique situations in which an adolescent minor is consenting for their own treatment without parental permission … extra care must be taken to support the adolescent’s informed decision-making.”
As Texas attorney general, Paxton notably recently joined the state in the Federal Trade Commission’s suit, which alleges that WPATH “falsely asserts that its recommendations are the result of rigorous scientific procedures and expert consensus, even though WPATH disregarded established guideline- development standards, ignored the results of its own evidence reviews, and removed age limits in response to external pressure rather than scientific evidence.”
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Meanwhile, the website for Reid, who practices out of the Restora Austin Plastic Surgery Centre, says he has “extensive experience in FTM [female-to-male] top surgery.”
The center’s website features a large picture on the top of its page on FTM surgeries showing a young individual ripping a piece of paper with the word “female.”
Reid’s personal website features several before and after pictures of surgically removed breasts. The site states that “with over a decade of experience, he is known for delivering masculine, natural-looking results while providing a patient-first experience.” The website claims that “patients travel from across Texas and the United States because they trust his exceptional skill—and his empathy.”
“Our clinic provides an affirming, inclusive environment where your identity and goals are honored,” says the website.
When asked by Fox News Digital, Reid said he could not recall how many such surgeries he performed. While saying he does not oppose the ban outright, he told Fox News Digital that “a total ban on anything in medicine can be problematic.”
“For the most part, I think the bar should be higher for gender-affirming care or surgery in minority patients, but it shouldn’t be banned because, like I said, there were times where on a case-by-case basis it was the right thing for the patient,” he said.
While Talarico has recently come out against sex-change surgeries for children, 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.
In a podcast appearance that same year, Talarico said the ban stemmed from the “Christofascism” movement. In another speech that year, he said that if Jesus visited the Texas legislature, he would say, “Blessed are the trans children who are bullied.”
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Talarico’s pride fundraiser this June also saw the participation of the Human Rights Campaign’s political action committee, which has endorsed his Senate run. The Human Rights Campaign previously opposed the Texas ban on what it called “evidence-based, life-saving health care for transgender adolescents.” Today, the group holds that “medically-necessary health care for Transgender people (called gender-affirming care) is under threat nationwide.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Human Rights Campaign for comment.
Following his participation in the Austin event, Lone Star Liberty PAC spokesman Gregg Keller criticized Talarico, telling Fox News Digital he “is lying to Texans” by “claiming he doesn’t support child genital mutilation surgeries after fighting for them his entire political career.”
“Talarico is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and his fundraisers last month with radical transvestite surgery activists proves it,” said Keller. “They are bankrolling his campaign because they know he still secretly supports their evil agenda of castrating young boys and amputating the healthy body parts of girls.”
In response, JT Ennis, a spokesperson for Talarico’s campaign, reaffirmed that “James opposes gender reassignment surgery for minors.”
“While billionaire-bought politicians like Ken Paxton spread lies to divide Texans, James will continue to stand up against both political parties to fix this broken, corrupt political system and bring down costs for Texas families,” Ennis told Fox News Digital.
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.”
Referring to Talarico as “Talacreepo,” Cercy told Fox News Digital that the Democrat “has a long history of denying biological reality, opposing protections for kids, and standing with the most radical activists in the country who have no regard for child safety.”
She said that “as Attorney General, Ken Paxton has fought to protect Texas children by defending girls’ sports, taking legal action against those who perform ‘transition’ procedures for kids, defending parents’ rights, and holding institutions accountable when they put ideology ahead of children’s safety.”
“The contrast couldn’t be clearer: Sanity vs. Extremism,” she added.
Fox News Digital also reached out to WPATH for comment.
