NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland — Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly used her inaugural appearance on the American Conservative Union’s 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference stage Friday to bring attention to what she believes is a vital issue.

“If you take nothing else away from anything I say tonight, please take this away,” she told the crowd. “Fight.”

Kelly insisted that “parents need to stand up against” popularized transgender ideology and culture that has resulted in minors, in some cases young children, being transitioned with irreversible procedures and medications.

“You can’t remain silent to protect your reputation or how people feel about you,” she pleaded with parents listening.

Kelly explained that the consequences for children who undergo surgeries to alter their bodies or take medications to prevent puberty are too dire.

The prominent conservative podcast host wasn’t always so passionate about the issue of transgenderism and the effect of gender ideology on children. However, when she noticed that it developed from a “very small niche mental health issue” into a social “contagion,” she felt the need to take a stand.

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Kelly now believes it is “the women’s rights issue of our time.”

Concerns over the increase in minors undergoing gender transition treatments and surgeries have led to 22 states passing laws against them, with several of these laws being held up in court.