Sanity From The Medical Profession

On Thursday, The  Epoch Times posted an article about a recent statement by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS).

The article reports:

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is warning about “unknown and unknowable long-term risks” it says are inherent to “gender-affirming care” in minors, adding that the consequences of gender transition surgery are irreversible.

“Gender-affirming” procedures include so-called puberty blockers, sex hormones, and surgery, such as castration, penectomy, and mastectomy, the nonpartisan professional association noted in its Feb. 20 official statement outlining its stance on “gender-affirming care” for children.

The AAPS warns that gender transition procedures are “generally irreversible and have a high probability of causing sterilization.” The procedures also “commit a patient to a lifelong need for medical, surgical, and psychological care.”

Such procedures in minors also are medically and ethically contraindicated due to a lack of informed consent, the AAPS stated.

“Physicians and medical professionals should refuse to be mandated or coerced to participate in procedures to which they have ethical or scientific objections or which they believe would harm a patient.”

Founded in 1943, the organization represents doctors in all specialties nationwide and seeks to preserve the practice of private medicine. Over the years, the group has been a strong proponent of patient autonomy and freedom of discourse in medicine.

The article notes:

The association maintains that while medical, surgical, and other methods can be used to alter the physical appearance of a person’s body, they can’t change a person’s biological sex.

Biological sex is determined at conception by genotype, and with the exception of rare circumstances that could result in ambiguous genitalia, biological sex is “indeed obvious” and is correctly identified at birth, the AAPS states.

Biological sex, or genotype, then determines the role of a person in reproduction.

Please follow the link above to read the entire article. It represents some common sense in a time when those who consider themselves trendy are doing harmful things to our children.

We Need To End This Practice

On Friday, American Greatness reported the following:

A new peer-reviewed study has revealed the true extent of efforts to promote life-altering “gender transition” surgeries to children, with a staggering increase in “top surgeries” altering children’s chest areas over the last several years.

The Daily Caller reports that the study, conducted by Dr. Galen Perdikis, Dr. Salam Al Kasis, and Rishub Karan Das, determined that between the years 2016 and 2019, “the annual number of gender-affirming chest surgeries increased by 389 percent.” The study was published by the pediatric network of the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on October 17th.

The 389 percent increase translates to roughly 1,130 total surgeries performed on children under the age of 18, according to the study. “Top surgery” refers to the alteration of a child’s chest area, most commonly involving girls having their breasts removed because they believe they are boys. As such, the study shows that the vast majority of cases involved girls, with 1,114 of the surgeries being performed on females, with the remaining 16 involving boys receiving artificial breasts to appear feminine.

“Psychiatric conditions were the most common comorbidities,” the study reported. “21.1 percent of patients had anxiety and 16.2 percent had depression. Only 19.9 percent of adolescents who underwent chest reconstruction used gender-affirming hormone therapy.”

The article concludes:

“Transgenderism” is the debunked ideology that falsely claims there are more than two genders, and that anyone can suddenly change their gender at any time. Advocates of transgenderism have called for allowing underaged children to make their own decisions about their body and gender identity without the consent of their parents, and thus to undergo such procedures as surgeries and hormone-blocking therapy, which are known to cause irreversible mental and physical damage.

This medical practice is harming our children. It needs to be stopped immediately. If an adult chooses to attempt to change their gender identity, they are old enough to make that decision. However, a child should not be allowed to make such a major, irreversible decision on their own.