sex change Archives - DOES GOD EXIST? TODAY

May 15, 2024May 14, 2024

Medicalized Child Abuse?

One of the most inflammatory issues of our day is the question of children who decide they want to change their gender. A team led by Dr. Hilary Cass, a renowned British pediatrician, recently produced a 388-page report based on four years of research into trans care in Britain. The UK’s Sunday Times reported that “Trans activists have bullied politicians and doctors into embracing ‘medicalized child abuse’ and cowed dissenters into silence.” That is a challenge to the same groups in America, but some public school counselors should be added to the group of abusers.

The number of British children referred for transgender drug and surgery treatments rose from 250, mostly boys, in 2012 to 5,000, mostly girls, in 2022. The concerns of medical experts like Dr. Cass are not because they are transphobic but because they are starting to see the consequences of medical sex-change procedures. The treatments for “gender dysphoria” have lifetime effects, including a loss of bone health and fertility, making the subjects lifelong patients for medical treatment.

The Times newspaper points out that the problem is likely more serious than anyone realizes because 6 out of 7 gender treatment centers refused to give data to researchers. Although this report is from Britain, we suspect the situation is worse in the United States. We have been personally involved in a case where a school counselor led a 14-year-old child to have puberty blockers and surgery. The cases we have had contact with involve children who needed psychological help in dealing with relationships.

Attempting to change God’s creation and design of the human reproductive system will cause children a great deal of pain and uncertainty. We suggest that medicalized child abuse is not the way to help disturbed children find their identity and live meaningful lives. We will see an increase in evidence for the destructive nature of medical gender-changing treatments for young people. God’s design works, but in today’s world, many reject God’s plan.

References: cass.independent-review and The Week for May 3, 2024, page 14.

May 21, 2022May 20, 2022

Moral Implications of Sex Change

A moral issue facing teenagers in America today is whether to change their birth sex. Some young people claim that their gender is misapplied. In other words, some girls claim they are actually boys, and some boys claim they are girls. In addition to legal and relational issues, there are also moral implications of sex change.

Medical procedures are now available using drugs and surgery to implement the sex change some feel they should have. The cause of these feelings is highly complex and may involve environmental factors, social pressure, identity issues, the breakdown of the nuclear family, or just a social fad.

The trend has become very complicated on many levels. One area affected is sports competition which began with sex-changed Russian athletes who seemed to have an advantage in certain sports. In the legal area, parents of girls have brought court cases claiming they have been denied scholarships and awards because a transgender athlete had the body of a male. There are also cases where the sex of a child was changed without the parents’ permission or knowledge.

The Bible clearly spells out God’s design of male and female. To change the sex of a child with surgery, puberty blockers, and hormones means they will need a constant regimen of drugs for the remainder of their life. While court cases are swirling, many in the medical profession are concerned because the long-term effect is unknown. For that reason, Alabama and Arkansas have passed laws making it a crime to administer or prescribe these procedures and drugs to a child under the age of 19.

We have laws to protect people, such as requiring the use of seat belts, but the question of where human rights begin and end is often not very clear. We sympathize with parents and children who are struggling with this issue. Unfortunately, the implications are often not spelled out in advance, and the moral implications of sex change are large.

Reference: Wire Reports for May 10, 2022, in the South Bend Tribune on that date (page 8A).

November 29, 2021November 19, 2021

Treating Gender Dysphoria

What response would you make to a 14-year-old girl who has decided she is really a boy and wants doctors to surgically remove her breasts and put her on a puberty blocker and hormone therapy regime? The UCLA School of Law and the American College Health Association tell us that the number of girls seeking treatment to have their sex changed has risen dramatically. In 2008, it was one in 2,000, and in 2020, it was one in 20. There are now over 50 clinics treating gender dysphoria in the United States. There was one in 2007.

Many young people have severe depression issues and are frequently suicidal due to gender dysphoria. Experts debate the cause of this phenomenon while treatments being used are causing more problems. The question is how to go about treating gender dysphoria. Many transgender cases are due to social contagion as friends influence a young person to “come out” as trans. There are online forums of trans teens with large numbers of participants.

An increasing number of transgender persons regret their decision to change their gender. Some have even sued clinics for rushing them into the decision to change without adequate counseling. Many times other mental health issues are involved. Having your testicles or breasts removed is irreversible. Also, the drug treatments are for life and have side effects that may be medically difficult to manage.

The Bible says God created male and female (Genesis 1:27). The original plan works, but surgery, drugs, and a rejection of God’s design have changed that. The tragic result sometimes leaves innocent victims who are negatively affected by what others have done.

The real complication is that treating gender dysphoria has become a political issue. For example, The Week magazine (October 29, 2021, page 11) carried an article about LGBTQ activists committing violence against scientists and doctors who have suggested applying caution regarding medical intervention in trans situations.

Christians must respond to this with love, compassion, and caring. We should do everything we can to help everyone enjoy the blessing of being a confident male or female in an age of confusion and frustration.