UK high court rules kids younger than 16 can't consent to gender transition drugs

It’s a good thing to note that kids do not have the maturity to assent to this; I have a good friend whose niece already went through a double mastectomy. People need to remember this cannot be reversed when body parts are in biohazard bags.

Next step ought to be a very serious look at the regret rates for adults, and the degree to which the screening steps fail. This is one place where 95% confidence is not sufficient, and given the extraordinarily high rates of suicide attempts among transsexuals, it’s arguable that they’re not getting anywhere near that good. It’s not just Walt Heyer.

[Bert Perry]…given the extraordinarily high rates of suicide attempts among transsexuals, it’s arguable that they’re not getting anywhere near that good.

Suicide rates aren’t indicative. If they are high, the advocates will say it’s because of societal shaming and transphobia, not because of the transition itself.

Agreed that suicide rates do not solely indicate regret with transition surgery, but they do map pretty well to “whatever my problem was, this didn’t cure it.”k No?

Regarding transphobia, it would probably be a good thing to separate out at least two phenomena that would be labeled that way. The first is that which activists want you to contemplate; overt acts of bigotry directed against transsexuals. The second is in the category represented by a eunuch monk in The Canterbury Tales: people’s innate recognition that “trans” people do not fit nicely into the categories where we know what to do with them.

And along those lines, that needs to be a big part of the counseling given to those considering transition; that it does not empower someone to really function as a “native-born” member of that sex.

It’s worth noting that I’ve seen multiple people who’ve taken the drugs report irreversible changes with them—lengthening of the vocal cords and deepening of voice, facial hair not seen in their mothers, suppression of growth of breasts, etc… It’s almost as damaging as surgery. We would infer that growth of the sexual organs and breasts/hips is not just a function of the hormones, but also depends upon the sequence in which they are supposed to grow. In other words, if you don’t allow puberty to go on at age 14, it’s going to be very different if you start allowing it at age 20.

To draw a picture, we don’t allow kids below age 16 to drop out of school because of the damage it will do to their employability—and that is really reversible, as many who have completed GED courses and gone on to college and productive careers can attest. Why should we be allowing minors to do irreversible things like this?