The questions we receive more than all others have to do with how best to respond to friends, family members, and neighbors who struggle with gender dysphoria. The rational case for humans as either male or female is strong, as are arguments from history, biology, law, and theology. However, arguments that would’ve been considered obvious not that long ago often seem to go nowhere with someone desperately reaching for answers or affirmation.
Scientific advances are based on self-correction, criticism, and dissent. This is vital for fixing bad theories and identifying mistaken assumptions. On the transgender issue, more than any other right now, dissenting voices are silenced. Though such scientific malpractice is reversible, it is not so for those whose identities, lives, and very bodies are now being experimented on. For them, much of the damage will be permanent.
A new wave of studies in recent years paints a rosy picture about the benefits of medical transitions for people with gender dysphoria. So much so that, as Paul Dirks recently wrote at Public Discourse, “lifelong experimental medicalization, sterilization, and complete removal of healthy body parts ... is no longer a rarity. It is the recommended treatment for gender dysphoria.”
On Sunday, CBS' 60 Minutes spoke with individuals who come out as transgender and then – months or years later – change their minds.
At a recent conference, a formerly transgender person argued that Gender Dysphoria should be treated as a mental health issue instead of a physical condition.
South Dakota lawmakers have recently introduced a bill that would prohibit doctors from performing gender transition procedures on minors.
