The Economist advocates caution about gender in favor of apolitical science

For many Americans, The Great Tragedy of Trans Rights It is the story of how Republican governors and state legislatures stigmatize some of society’s most abused people, often cynically seeking votes. This newspaper shares its dismay at these sinister tactics. In a free society it is not the government’s responsibility to tell adults how to live and dress, what pronouns to use or what to do with their bodies. However, within that first tragedy there appears to be a second, this time a well-intentioned one. And so The Economist dedicates a cover story and an important profile to transgender minors, one of the most taboo subjects of our time. on different sides of the Atlantic Ocean, Medical experts have evaluated the evidence for treating children and adolescents with gender dysphoria. “This treatment is life-altering and can lead to infertility. The consensus in America is that medical intervention and sex confirmation are beneficial and should be more available.” Across Europe, many countries now believe such interventions need to be studied further and that, in the absence of evidence, they should be used sparingly. The Europeans are right.”

The English weekly is therefore taking a cautious stance. One estimate found that there were more than 42,000 new diagnoses of gender dysphoria in 2021, triple the number in 2017. Provides medical assistance Medications that block puberty and sex hormones (Testosterone for girls and estrogen for boys, used in about 10 percent of cases.) but also mastectomy and, very rarely in children under 18, the construction of genitalia from skin flaps or pieces of intestine. “The goal is to align the patient’s body with the way they think about themselves.” American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP, the highest US body responsible for children’s health) Creation of a committee on “gay health and well-being” for “children of different genders”. Four of the six panelists — Jason Rafferty, Brittany Allen, Michelle Forcier, and Ilana Scherer — work in children’s clinics prescribing puberty blockers to 10-year-olds. The resolution, which represents the AAP’s official position, was authored by a single physician, Rafferty, and has not been reviewed by anyone else within the organization. “The AAP thought mutants were the next crusade for civil rights and they let themselves be fooled,” a veteran AAP doctor told the Free Press of Bari Weiss.

The health systems of Great Britain, Finland, France, Norway and Sweden, the most gender-avant-garde in Europe, lined up against this line: Everyone raised the alarm, calling the treatments “experimental” and calling on doctors to exercise “extreme medical caution.”. In London, the Tavistock Clinic, the only one dedicated to changing the sex of minors, was closed by the British Health Service. In Sweden, Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm has discontinued treatment.
Twenty years ago, the typical patient was a male with a long history of dysarthria. Children and adolescents with psychiatric problems other than dysphoria were excluded from treatment. The Economist concludes that “most patients these days are teenage girls”. “And when medical professionals raise their concerns, they are denigrated as transphobic and, in some cases, faced with personal and professional disdain. Medical science should not operate this way.”