On Tuesday the Minnesota House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee heard a bill that would allowthe state to take emergency custody of children with gender dysphoria if their parents do not consent to subjecting them to so-called “gender affirmation healthcare” such as puberty-blockers and cross-sex hormones. In the style of California’s recent law making California a “sanctuary state” for gender transitions for minors, this bill would also allow minors to travel to Minnesota to receive these “treatments” without parental consent, posing a threat to parental rights and the well-being of children, not just in our state, but across the nation.
(Click here to watch powerful testimony from MFC’s Rebecca Delahunt and True North Legal’s Renee Carlson on this bill)
Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones have been found to have serious and often lifelong side effects. These include:
· Loss of speed processing and memory
· Bone density loss and stunted growth
· Sterility and loss of sexual function
· Increased risk of heart attacks, ischemic strokes, and pulmonary embolisms
Furthermore, studies claiming that these treatments are beneficial are questionable at best. A recent review of the evidence found that the studies supporting puberty-blockers and “gender transition” for minors rely on “low to very low quality evidence” in order to support their conclusions.
The mental health outcomes are no better than the physical outcomes. Although proponents often claim that “gender transition” is necessary to improve a young person’s mental health, the best studies show that opposite is true. A recent study from the Heritage Foundation even found that states that allow minors to access treatments without parental consent actually saw an increase in youth suicide rates after cross-sex treatments became available.
It is perfectly right and reasonable for any parent to look at the health effects associated with puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones and refuse to subject their child to these experimental treatments, especially considering that the vast majority of children with gender dysphoria grow comfortable with their biological sex by adulthood if they do not undergo transition. Under this bill, parents who make that decision out of concern for their children’s well-being could have their children taken away by the state. This bill treats concerned, loving parents as if they are abusers, simply for refusing to subject their children to risky treatments that are not evidence-based.
This egregious violation of parental rights puts vulnerable children at risk. A recent case in Virginia exposed the tragic injustice of putting a radical agenda ahead of the rights of parents and the well-being of children. With the help of school employees, 14-year-old Sage “transitioned” behind her parents’ backs. Shortly after, she ran away and fell victim to sex trafficking. When the FBI found her, her parents were informed she would not be returned to their custody because they had not “affirmed” her transition. Instead, she was sent to a state-run home where, because the state “affirmed” her self-proclaimed male identity, she was placed in male housing where she suffered further abuse. Her parents did not regain custody until nearly a year later. Sage no longer identifies as male.
Parents in other states have faced similar treatment, and many have lost their children for good while their children have been ushered into a life of medical interventions and health complications in service of a false narrative. Children and teens who are struggling with gender dysphoria deserve to be treated with compassion and dignity. As so many detransitioners have discovered through years of regret, any attempt to build an identity for oneself that is at odds with biological reality will ultimately end in disappointment, frustration, and pain. It is never compassionate to affirm a lie and encourage people to do things that harm their physical and mental health.
