...Recent years have seen a “sharp rise” in the number of American youth ages 13 to 17 who say they identify as the opposite sex or as non-binary. This growing population of gender-confused adolescents is nearly double what it was just five years ago.
The sharp rise comes amidst a global and national debate around the correct standard of care for the treatment of gender confusion in minors. Some European countries were using an unproven protocol tried in the Netherlands referred to as “gender-affirming care.” This experimental approach treats children who express discomfort with their sex with drugs (such as puberty blockers and wrong-sex hormones) and surgeries (such as mastectomies). Although there is no evidence that these hormonal and surgical changes to a child’s body produce improved mental health outcomes, there is growing evidence of permanent physical damage, including loss of bone density, greater risk of disease, and infertility.
Recognizing the failure of the “gender-affirming” approach to achieve improved outcomes — and spurred by the lawsuit of a young woman who was prescribed puberty-blocking drugs at just 16 years old — countries such as Sweden, Finland, and England have made a clear U-turn away from some or all of these questionable protocols. After thoroughly reviewing the reliable evidence, these countries concluded that the risks of “gender-affirming care” far outweigh any potential benefits.
Instead, they are returning to psychological and psychiatric care as the starting point for addressing gender confusion in children — a model known as “watchful waiting” — noting that gender dysphoria in teens could be just a “transient phase” which should not be mishandled with radical, life-altering drugs and surgeries....
...Following the lead of Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, and even western European nations, states should examine the best science and evidence rather than succumbing to harmful activist-driven ideology. This will not only preserve the constitutional right of parents to pursue non-invasive psychological treatment options, but it will also save children from the lifelong irreparable harms of being rushed down a direct pipeline from social transition to sterilization.
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Originally Posted by midcan5
