Gender Affirming Care for Minors

At 15, a girl may not or must have permission to:
get a tattoo, get married, buy cigarettes and alcohol, get on a plane, sign legal contracts or file lawsuits, sign a will, buy real estate or apply for a mortgage, rent an apartment, buy a car, open a bank account or take out a loan, vote, join the military, bet on the horses, apply for a credit card, donate blood, serve in public office, etc., but there are those who advocate she should be allowed to have her breasts removed because she self-diagnoses as "trans." Say what?!?
Those who advocate for the Gender-Affirming Care model believe:
- once a child announces an identity of "trans," there is no need to investigate possible underlying physical or psychological comorbidities.
- a teenage girl has enough foresight to know that transitioning will not negatively impact her future.
- that there's no reason to be concerned that at 20, 25 or 30 she might want children and, God forbid, breastfeed them.
- that any concerns, particularly from parents, for teens' decision-making regarding future desires or irreversible surgery is crazy talk.
Here's what I can't wrap my head around -- members of the medical profession going into an OR and being party to removing the perfectly healthy breasts of a teenage girl. If I were in their scrubs, I would refuse to participate, even if it cost me my job.
If we're going to skip down the path of "Affirming Care," what's next?
- Okay to remove arms and legs from those diagnosed with Body Integrity Dysphoria?
- How about gastric bypass surgery for anorexics who identify as "fat?"
Where should the lines be drawn? How about some consistency?
There are various forms of Dissociative Identity Disorders and they are all treated using standard psychological practices -- until recently, gender being the exception. Why is that?
Particularly among the young, the rise in transgenderism appears to be a Social Contagion. Fortunately, there is now pushback from psychologists and even from many who chose reassignment treatments.
When it comes to minors, the sooner gender reassignment surgeries go the way of lobotomies and the Affirmation Model goes the way of Recovered-Memory Therapy the better.