CitizenLink / Focus On The Family posted a piece commenting on a draft update of The Endocrine Society's Endocrine Treatment of Transsexual Persons: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline. In The Endocrine Society's draft update, the organization proposed the following:
We recommend that adolescents who fulfill eligibility and readiness criteria for gender reassignment initially undergo treatment to suppress pubertal development.
From CitizenLink:
...Caleb H. Price, research analyst at Focus on the Family, said young people are in no position to make a decision of this magnitude.
"Teenage years are marked by a confusing maze of feelings that wax and wane on a daily basis," he said. "It is unconscionable for a professional group to push hormone treatment that alters - perhaps irrevocably - natural physical development.
"The endocrinologists have clearly been hijacked by activist groups, lost their credibility and entered into ethical bankruptcy. They've capitulated to the political correct notion that gender is a social construct and can be changed."
The problems with that Caleb statement are many, but to let me highlight a few.
First and perhaps foremost, FOTF's Caleb isn't an endocrinologist, but he feels confident in substituting his judgment for those of a society of endocrinologists. That's a lot of righteous hubris.
Secondly, Caleb makes the assumption that the youth in question are fickle in how they perceive their own gender identities. I know from talking to folk at Trans Youth Family Allies, health care providers, other trans people, and my personal experience that these youth aren't fickle in how they perceive their own gender identities. If an individual youth was fickle in his or her gender identity, that would be the reason for a healthcare gatekeeper to state that a particular adolescent didn't meet the eligibility and readiness criteria for this treatment.
Also, transyouth aren't making healthcare decisions on treatment on their own. By framing the treatment schema as FOTF's Caleb does, he implies that's exactly what's happening. Does he really, honestly believe that parents and medical professionals aren't involved in the decision making process? Does he really believe that youth make these decisions on their own? In my opinion, this is yet another example of FOTF's less than honest framing of issues.
And lastly, while Caleb and most medical and healthcare experts on trans people agree that gender can't be changed, Caleb doesn't agree with what scientific evidence seems to be indicating regarding how sex and gender don't always match. As Zoe Brain over at AEBrain documents, there is scientific evidence that sex (what's between the legs) and gender (what's between the ears) don't always match; there is a growing body of evidence that people's brains can be cross-gendered from their bodies.
As usual, Focus On The Family appears very willing to substitute their organizations' interpretation of the Bible for good science, good healthcare, and/or good public policy.
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Related:
* It's How Jesus Would Treat Trans People, Right?
* According To CitizenLink/Focus On The Family, There's "A New Type Of Predator" -- Men In Dresses
* Kevin Moore's Take On Colorado's "Bathroom Police" |
