For years, criticizing gender reassignment surgeries for minors would unleash a cancel campaign over being “transphobic” and intolerant. The media amplified such attacks. Then the issuance of the Cass Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People led countries to significantly curtail such procedures in Europe. However, many academics in the United States continue to push back on the Cass Report and the effort to curtail transitioning procedures for children. Now, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons has published a position statement recommending that surgeons delay gender reassignment surgeries until a patient is 19-years-old.
The ASPS represents more than 11,000 physicians around the world.
The release notes that:
“Available evidence suggests that a substantial proportion of children with prepubertal onset gender dysphoria experience resolution or significant reduction of distress by the time they reach adulthood, absent medical or surgical intervention. Evidence regarding adolescent onset presentation, which has become increasingly common since the mid-2010s, is more limited but similarly does not allow for confident prediction of long-term trajectories.”
This is an extension of a statement issued last year that added the specific age recommendation.
As many parents have argued, that “resolution” is part of maturation for many children. However, the complaint is that psychologists and other experts push parents to begin gender transitioning while children are still minors, often warning that failure to do so could lead to the death of their children by suicide.
That complaint was at the heart of a case this month that led to the first major verdict against doctors for such surgeries. In New York, a jury awarded $2 million to Fox Varian, 22, over the double mastectomy performed on her while she was a minor. Psychologist Kenneth Einhorn and surgeon Simon Chin were held responsible for failing to follow the standards of care of reasonable doctors.
First, to establish my bona fides, I believe it is self evidently true that anyone who believes they are the “wrong” gender is, by definition, delusional. Mentally unstable. Colloquially, they are a nutbag.
I also fully support banning “gender reassignment” surgeries for minors.
That said, I don’t agree that the jury reached the right verdict in the New York case. The surgery was lawful. I suspect both the minor daughter and her guardians received counselling from psychiatrists and/or other mental health professionals before their consent to the surgery was granted.
The mother now claims she was pressured. Sorry, but regardless of whatever pressure she felt, it was always her responsibility to act in the best interest of her minor child. At the time she consented to the surgery I suspect she sincerely believed she was acting in the best interest of her child.
This strikes me as a case of the mother and daughter having regrets for their own poor choices. And now they are shifting the responsibility for their bad decision to the surgeons.
I’m not certain that the age of consent for these procedures should not be 21, not 19, but the recommendation certainly represents significant progress.
Here’s a short list of various dysphoria’s children endure while growing up.
Gender Dysphoria:
Body Dysphoria (Body Dysmorphia): Obsession with flaws.
Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD): Intense reaction to criticism.
Seasonal Dysphoria (SAD): A recurring state of low mood and unease that arrives with the change of seasons.
Social Dysphoria: A persistent feeling of not fitting in, being “weird,” or existing on the periphery of social groups.
General “Puberty Blues”: The feeling of being uncomfortable in one’s skin.
Existential Dysphoria: Being overwhelmed by the vastness of the universe or the inevitability of death.
Species Dysphoria: Children or adolescents may feel they should have wings, a tail, or paws, and may experience distress.
Maybe you can recall one or two from your childhood. All the psychologists know about these. Little effort is made to address them, except the gender variety. Kids grow out of the others- even the gender variety. However, the gender one makes HEADLINES, MONEY, and gives CONTROL. This is the why.
“a short list of various dysphoria’s children endure while growing up. ”
Good point. I would add my observation that many or most “social media” sites are deliberately designed to emphasize and exacerbate the common exaggerated perception of personal flaws, mainly by juveniles, but others with neuroses are not immune. To me, that isn’t an incidental feature; feeding negative delusions is their business model.
That was me, Don U. Wannano – the “save my name, etc.”) feature failed to work as expected.
They use parental consent as their cover to perform these surgeries while it is other “doctors” that advise these parents into these horrific acts.
PS. Can a parent consent to a child getting cigs? Going to a strip club? Not going to school?
WHAAATTTT? You mean let a child determine when to slice off some anatomy at the behest medical QUACK’s might not be in the best interest of the CHILD and society that will pay later with a medically engineered psychopath? COME ON MAN – The Dems need to stay on message that any WACKY IDEA IS A GOOD IDEA!!!
To permanently disfigure and sterilize a child or adolescent is nothing short of child abuse. In addition, while the effects of the associated medications have been extensively studied in adults, where are the randomized clinical trials studying their effects on children? Of special importance in children, long term effects need to be defined: what happens after ten to twenty years requires ten to twenty years of follow-up to assess.
Glad to see this statement and hope others follow. The biggest thing pushing this trans surgery in medical circles is money. Plenty of well known academic centers rushed to be part of “gender affirming treatments” and set up centers to push this all through.
The statement issued here is a first step in breaking the monolith of American Medicine in stopping the trans push. The American Academy of pediatrics still pushes gender affirming care as do others. The American College of Physicians, OB Gyn and Surgery also need to be brought to heel.
It’s in the medical school faculties also.
Day to day physicians outside of the medical centers and power structure are far more skeptical of gender affirming care. Hefty malpractice suits are probably the best and most efficient means to bring this false edifice crashing down.
Wow, it took a Major Medical Group to “come out” and tell us what every sane person in American already knew.
Glad to see the fake “trans” movement is collapsing. Is normalcy around the corner?
Finally some rare sanity coming from a medical association.
We know that young brains do not fully form until the mid-20s, so allowing children to make life-altering decisions, when they are not yet mature enough to purchase beer, cigarettes, or firearms, makes little sense. Society is fine telling young people they are not old enough to carry a gun, or get a tattoo, or drive a car, but can mutilate themselves. That’s illogical and hypocritical. Give children a chance to grow up and make decisions not out of haste or submission to the powerful trans supremacists, and if adults choose to have these surgeries, let them.
Don’t forget the girls parents were involved in the decision. Plenty of blame to go around.
I wish for a change in the health system, requiring a health panel of professionals and non-professionals to question gender surgeries for under 21 year olds and those with mental issues. Yes I’m aware of the privacy rights issue. Can’t leave something this serious in the hands of one person.
Much of that blame falls on the education cabal and politicians that exclude parents from knowing their child’s torment until it’s too late to address it through counseling.
They are addressing children’s fantasies and temporary mental confusion (that they’ve encouraged and in the vast majority of cases will resolve itself in time) with permanent disfigurement surgery.
These same “enlightened” folks are, in large part, are calling for shredding the Constitution and banning law enforcement. They seek a country with no societal guardrails.
“Don’t forget the girls parents were involved in the decision. Plenty of blame to go around.”
Absolutely correct. However, historically, the majority of aging parents were at least partially dependent on their adult children for support into their advanced years, and did not subsist on government doles (debatable contributions to same notwithstanding). That gave them an incentive to raise children who could successfully compete as adults. Maybe a return to those historical roles and values would also restore those incentives, provide at least a partial solution to the issue you cite, and possibly to many others, as well.
Again, Don U. Wannano. Getting used to the comment section, sorry.
I agree 100%. I would add to your list something that is not on it yet. Hopefully in the coming years we will start to see restrictions on social media and phones for children. To me, they are just as potentially damaging to youth as all the others on your list.
Could it have to do with the 2 million dollar lawsuit (not enough $$ in my opinion) won yesterday? And it names the psychologist and surgeon in the lawsuit. Hit them in the pocketbooks, and NOW we will see this BS come to an end.
“position statement recommending that surgeons delay gender reassignment surgeries until a patient is 19-years-old.” Even 19 year old is still too you young to decide.
A 19 year old is as dumb as a rock and easily gullible.