On Saturday, Governor Spencer Cox of Utah signed a complete ban on hormone replacement therapy and gender affirming surgery for transgender youth in the state. The bill targets the most vulnerable kids in our country, who face the highest rates of suicide of any group, but to hear him say it, he’s really doing it to protect kids. Yet he had to lie outright to try and make that point.
As a practicing physician I can say very strongly and emphatically that politicians should stay out of the doctor's exam room. Ron DeSantis, Ted Cruz, Spencer Cox and the others have no business interfering with the doctor-patient relationship. They want 'freedom' only when it involves guns, vaccines or wearing masks. Complete hypocrites! Just reprehensible!
One thing is incontrovertible: that party as an entity in no way, no form, no nuance protects children, but weaponized the notion of children to raise money and ire.
I am not a developmental psychologist, an evolutionary biologist, a pediatrician, but in general it is understood that we are not a static species, and we respond epigentically, genotypically, phenotypically, psychosocially to pressures/influences exerted upon us by our environment. We are fluid and dynamic.
We no longer have to strictly hunt and gather in order to ensure propagation of the species.
Our success as an organism allows our psychoneurogenesis to proceed, perhaps in a manner outpacing our functional biology.
Of course, this is just speculation, but we are exploratory, inquisitive and curious creatures; for our fellow humans to seek a pejorative construct for this natural and human inclinations speaks to the baser component of our lot.
We must consistently and unabashedly decline to tolerate that contrived crap.
Christians screaming "protect our kids" when decades of clergy have been sexually abusing children. Sexual abuse has been systemic and rampant in the catholic church for decades. I was raised in a religious catholic home - I will NEVER go into a catholic church again.
I am an advocate for children - how can they think like this when they have allowed the abuse of children for decades?
Protect our kids and STOP this madness, LGBTQ children have such a high rate of suicide. Let them live in peace
This is indoctrination of our children not protection of our children. These people want to teach our children things that are not true --about gays, about transgender people, about race, about abortion, and about who is telling the truth. They are in fact taking away the books that would show the other side and they want to fill our kids textbooks with dehumanizing lies. This should put everyone on high alert. We can not let those who want to stay asleep stay asleep. We need to address what is actually occurring, not deny it and pretend.
I trust a trans gender person a lot more than a radical Christian who is more likely to open up with an automatic rifle than a transgender person who just want's to get on with his/her life rather than slaughter innocent people in a supermarket or a school .
I agree 100%. Thank you for your eloquence and work to support trans and NB people. I’ve learned from trans people in my life that gender-affirming care is lifesaving.
I find it amusing and infuriating at how incoherent their arguments are: parents should have the “right” to be informed of their child’s use of pronouns that are different from their biological sex, but NOT have the right to obtain medical treatment for their child in consultation with medical professionals?!? It’s nonsense.
If these politicians actually believed hormone therapy and gender related surgery was harmful, they would prohibit it for all children and teens. As it is, pumping testosterone into teen boys or silicone (or whatever they use these days) into teen girls' breasts, in either case to make cis kids act out stereotypes more, is not banned. These hateful attacks on trans kids are nothing but evil wrapped into pink and blue bows.
Thank you Jay for your passion and information on this subject. Why is there no word more descriptive than despicable, that certainly applies here. Ruining children's lives to make a buck! Shame, shame, shame on them.
Yes. It is a damn lie. Because what the right (or whomever is really behind this) is really doing is first identifying any and all issues that are the most polarizing and the most deeply emotional. Next they take a stand on those issues that is strict, dehumanizing, antieducational , and against giving help to those who suffer. This enrages the left which is their real aim. This is how they will accomplish their goal of sowing doubt, hate, fear and mistrust among our countrymen, women and children. Divide and conquer. The right are also victimized in this process by being indoctrinated and pumped up to hate the other side. If we don’t see through this warfare of words we will be pied pipered into oblivion.
Just as those who seek to "protect" unborn fetuses - regardless of extenuating circumstances or consequences - conflate their cause with being "Pro-Life," those who seek to arrest the development of gay and trans-gender children pretend they are "protecting" all children from something about which these fear-ridden adults have no knowledge, understanding, or sympathy. It's such a sad irony that we learn of so many people becoming Pro-Choice or supporters of gay and trans-rights only after they themselves experienced the anguish of a relative or friend enduring a crisis - sometimes leading to wonderful successes in overcoming hardship and discrimination, but too often resulting in life-threatening events, violence, or even death. For some people empathy develops only when reality hits home; for others that never happens.
As a practicing physician I can say very strongly and emphatically that politicians should stay out of the doctor's exam room. Ron DeSantis, Ted Cruz, Spencer Cox and the others have no business interfering with the doctor-patient relationship. They want 'freedom' only when it involves guns, vaccines or wearing masks. Complete hypocrites! Just reprehensible!
One thing is incontrovertible: that party as an entity in no way, no form, no nuance protects children, but weaponized the notion of children to raise money and ire.
I am not a developmental psychologist, an evolutionary biologist, a pediatrician, but in general it is understood that we are not a static species, and we respond epigentically, genotypically, phenotypically, psychosocially to pressures/influences exerted upon us by our environment. We are fluid and dynamic.
We no longer have to strictly hunt and gather in order to ensure propagation of the species.
Our success as an organism allows our psychoneurogenesis to proceed, perhaps in a manner outpacing our functional biology.
Of course, this is just speculation, but we are exploratory, inquisitive and curious creatures; for our fellow humans to seek a pejorative construct for this natural and human inclinations speaks to the baser component of our lot.
We must consistently and unabashedly decline to tolerate that contrived crap.
Christians screaming "protect our kids" when decades of clergy have been sexually abusing children. Sexual abuse has been systemic and rampant in the catholic church for decades. I was raised in a religious catholic home - I will NEVER go into a catholic church again.
I am an advocate for children - how can they think like this when they have allowed the abuse of children for decades?
Protect our kids and STOP this madness, LGBTQ children have such a high rate of suicide. Let them live in peace
Thank you for this post Jay
This is indoctrination of our children not protection of our children. These people want to teach our children things that are not true --about gays, about transgender people, about race, about abortion, and about who is telling the truth. They are in fact taking away the books that would show the other side and they want to fill our kids textbooks with dehumanizing lies. This should put everyone on high alert. We can not let those who want to stay asleep stay asleep. We need to address what is actually occurring, not deny it and pretend.
I trust a trans gender person a lot more than a radical Christian who is more likely to open up with an automatic rifle than a transgender person who just want's to get on with his/her life rather than slaughter innocent people in a supermarket or a school .
His "love and respect" is the "thoughts and prayers" you get from the gun humpers.
I agree 100%. Thank you for your eloquence and work to support trans and NB people. I’ve learned from trans people in my life that gender-affirming care is lifesaving.
I find it amusing and infuriating at how incoherent their arguments are: parents should have the “right” to be informed of their child’s use of pronouns that are different from their biological sex, but NOT have the right to obtain medical treatment for their child in consultation with medical professionals?!? It’s nonsense.
Prayers for all those affected. I have had trans friends and trans students for many many years. Let them be who they are. People are people. Period.
If these politicians actually believed hormone therapy and gender related surgery was harmful, they would prohibit it for all children and teens. As it is, pumping testosterone into teen boys or silicone (or whatever they use these days) into teen girls' breasts, in either case to make cis kids act out stereotypes more, is not banned. These hateful attacks on trans kids are nothing but evil wrapped into pink and blue bows.
Thank you Jay for your passion and information on this subject. Why is there no word more descriptive than despicable, that certainly applies here. Ruining children's lives to make a buck! Shame, shame, shame on them.
I'd love to see some tv ads on this as part of suicide prevention ...
Yes. It is a damn lie. Because what the right (or whomever is really behind this) is really doing is first identifying any and all issues that are the most polarizing and the most deeply emotional. Next they take a stand on those issues that is strict, dehumanizing, antieducational , and against giving help to those who suffer. This enrages the left which is their real aim. This is how they will accomplish their goal of sowing doubt, hate, fear and mistrust among our countrymen, women and children. Divide and conquer. The right are also victimized in this process by being indoctrinated and pumped up to hate the other side. If we don’t see through this warfare of words we will be pied pipered into oblivion.
Thank you for writing this, Jay.
Just as those who seek to "protect" unborn fetuses - regardless of extenuating circumstances or consequences - conflate their cause with being "Pro-Life," those who seek to arrest the development of gay and trans-gender children pretend they are "protecting" all children from something about which these fear-ridden adults have no knowledge, understanding, or sympathy. It's such a sad irony that we learn of so many people becoming Pro-Choice or supporters of gay and trans-rights only after they themselves experienced the anguish of a relative or friend enduring a crisis - sometimes leading to wonderful successes in overcoming hardship and discrimination, but too often resulting in life-threatening events, violence, or even death. For some people empathy develops only when reality hits home; for others that never happens.
I am so glad I subscribed to your blog! Just wanted you to know.
Thank you, Jay. This is the most important piece you have written...in my opinion.