- In the final weeks of the campaign,

Vice President Joe Biden isdoubling down on his support

for the transgender movement.

At a virtual LGBTQ Summit, hepromised to win full rights

for the transgender communityand advance LGBT rights

around the globe.

And at his town hall onThursday, he told a mother,

who said her eight year olddaughter was transgender,

that he supports children whowant to change their gender.

- The idea that an eight year old child

or a 10 year old child decides, you know,

I decided I want to be transgender.

That's what I think I'd like to be.

It'll make my life a lot easier.

There should be zero...

- President Trump has not been speaking

about transgender issueson the campaign trail,

but his administration hastaken some strategic action

that includes reversing an Obama mandate

that allowed students thatidentify as transgender

to use the opposite sexbathrooms in schools

and a military policy that limits

transgender service members.

Dr. Ryan Anderson is asenior research fellow

at The Heritage Foundation

and author of "When Harry became Sally,"

responding to the transgender movement.

Dr. Anderson, thank you for joining us.

What is your response tothe vice president saying

that eight year olds shouldbe able to change their gender

with no discrimination?

- No adult should be doinganything to confuse a child

about who they are withthe body that they have.

We are our bodies, and weshouldn't be suggesting

to young people that they might be, quote,

"trapped in the wrong body,"

or that we should beblocking their puberty,

or we should be givingthem cross-sex hormones.

That's what all of thisis ultimately about.

It's about children whodon't feel comfortable

in their own bodies, and thenadults suggesting to them

that their truth might be

that they're actually the opposite sex,

and that modern medicine couldthen transform their body

to align it with the opposite sex.

What we as adults should be doing is

to be helping children feelcomfortable in their own bodies,

not creating confusion.

- If there's no discrimination,

does that mean thatchildren can then decide

on medical interventions likepuberty blockers and hormones?

- Well, of course, no one isin favor of discrimination,

but what's happening here is that liberals

are using that word discrimination to say

that any disagreement about transgenderism

is discrimination.

So if you disagree with pubertyblocking drugs for children,

if you disagree with crosssex hormones for teenagers,

they then accuse you of,quote, discrimination.

We should just reject thatframing of the question.

What we have here is a disagreement.

I think it's bad medicine to give a child

puberty blocking drugsto delay or to prevent

their natural biological puberty.

I think it's bad medicine to give a child

the opposite sex hormones, right?

That's not discrimination.

That's a disagreement of thenature and purpose of medicine,

the nature and purpose ofhealing, wholeness, right?

And so I think we needto have the conversation

along those lines.

What's actually gonnabring healing, wholeness,

happiness, fulfillment tochildren who are struggling

with their gender identity,not hijack the language

of the civil rights movement.

- Dr. Anderson, how doesenabling eight year olds

to make their own genderdecisions affect parents' rights?

- Sure, I mean, theseare intimately related,

because let's say you are theparent of an eight year old

with gender dysphoria, andthe government now says

your only option is to treat them

as if they're the opposite sex.

Your only option is to givethem puberty blocking drugs,

cross sex hormones.

Obviously this isn't justbad news for that child,

but this is bad newsfor parental authority

and for parental rights.

Ultimately, what we want is forevery child and every parent

to be able to seek outassistance for that child

to feel comfortable withhis or her own body.

We don't want the governmentgetting in the way here

and preventing good medicine,good therapy, good counseling

from taking place

- Biden's comments on this,

they don't seem to begetting much attention.

Why do you think that is?

- Well, the media largelywants to give a pass to people

who are in favor oftransitioning children.

I think most people in the media realized

that this is something thatthe vast majority of Americans

are not on board with.

That whatever you may thinkabout an adult transitioning,

the vast majority of Americans think

that children should begiven the time and the space

to continue growing anddeveloping in their own bodies.

And so while America mightbe divided on the question

about adult transitioning andadult transgender questions,

when it comes to kids,Americans understand

that we really shouldn'tdo anything to interfere

with their bodily developmentor, for that matter,

to interfere with theirpsychological development,

give them the social environment,the school environment,

the family environment inwhich they can feel comfortable

with their own bodies.

Don't transform the body.Don't corrupt the environment.

- All right, Dr. Ryan Andersonwith The Heritage Foundation.

Thanks for your time, sir.

- Thank you.