Trans care group removes age guidelines for puberty blockers, disfiguring sex change surgeries
A leading trans health association’s latest guidelines omitted minimum age requirements for gender-confused youth to obtain puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones or genital mutilating surgeries, a major change from earlier editions.
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) released its Standards of Care 8th Edition in the International Journal of Transgender Health earlier this month. The journal published a correction on Thursday, removing sections related to "suggested minimal ages" for offering so-called “gender-affirming care” or “surgical treatment,” such as experimental puberty-blocking drugs and performing operations such as breast amputations on girls and removing boys' genitals.
WPATH did not respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment about the changes.
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In Chapter 6, the new guidelines claim that “chest masculinization surgery,” better known as a double mastectomy, can alleviate “chest dysphoria” in girls who are led to believe that in order to be happy, they must remove their beasts.
The guidelines further argue that boys suffering from gender dysphoria can obtain “improved psychosocial functioning” if they allow a surgeon to perform a vaginoplasty by removing penis tissue to create a fake vagina.
“While the sample sizes are small, these studies suggest there may be a benefit for some adolescents to having these procedures performed before the age of 18,” the new guidelines claim.
Among 20 surgeons affiliated with WPATH, more than half said they have "performed vaginoplasty [on] minors," according to a 2017 study titled “Age is Just a Number” that was published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. One surgeon said he had performed the surgery on a boy as young as 16.
The new guidelines also suggest that obtaining parental consent should not be a requirement before minors undergo disfiguring surgeries or obtain cross-sex hormones or puberty blockers that stop their natural development.
“We recommend when gender-affirming medical or surgical treatments are indicated for adolescents, health care professionals working with transgender and gender diverse adolescents involve parent(s)/guardian(s) in the assessment and treatment process, unless their involvement is determined to be harmful to the adolescent or not feasible,” the guidelines state.
The trans health group claims that the “primary goal” is to help youth work alongside their parents or caregivers regarding “important gender care decisions.” It adds, however, that the “critical evaluation process” must determine if there are cases where parents have rejected their “child’s gender needs.”
“In these situations, youth may require the engagement of larger systems of advocacy and support to move forward with the necessary support and care,” the new guide advises.
In an opinion piece published in The Christian Post earlier this month, Brandon Showalter noted that "minors are being surgically disfigured under the banner of a non-existent “gender identity” in clinics and hospitals around the country.
He added that the corporate press that has largely supported the movement to halt puberty and give children puberty blockers will not be able to "feign ignorance" ... as more and more de-transitioners who were sterilized and disfigured as minors start to raise their voices and as others around the world begin filing lawsuits against the medical institutions that harmed them."
