Alberta claims that there were 2,700 requests for testosterone therapy in 2022–2023, but she is unsure of the precise number for gender-affirming care.
The state is implementing these policies across various ministries to limit the options children and youth have before potentially making life-altering and frequently irreversible decisions, according to Sam Blackett, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s spokesperson.
As the government moves to outlaw medical treatment for transgender minors, provincial data show that the majority of breast surgeries carried out on children in Alberta are related to gender dysphoria.
In the state of Alberta, 26 “top” surgeries on patients under the age of 18 were recorded in 2022–2023. While 18 surgeries were carried out for other health conditions, such as pain management or breast cancer, eight of those were performed to treat gender dysphoria.
Premier Danielle Smith declared last week that Alberta would enact the country’s strictest limitations on adolescents’ gender transitions. For young people under 18, all gender-reassignment procedures, both “top” and “bottom,” may be prohibited. Minors are already prohibited from having so-called bottom surgeries (altering genitalia) on a national level.
“No matter how well-intentioned and earnest, early encouraging or enabling children to change their biology or biological growth puts that child’s future at risk, which I, as premier, am not comfortable allowing in our province,” Smith said last week.
The lack of “top” surgeries for gender dysphoria, according to Dr. Kate Greenaway, a transgender health care specialist, casts doubt on Smith’s policies.
“It has a little bit of showmanship, don’t you think? To sort of bring attention to the surgical part, which is really not a big deal when we’re talking about this pediatric group of gender-affirming treatment patients,” said Greenaway, the medical director of the transgender-specialty office with offices in Toronto and Calgary.
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Even for those seeking chest surgery, even if they are adults, she claimed, it can be challenging to find a surgeon to carry out the procedure.
According to Greenaway, “Part of the conversation is a little moot for me because when people come to us at any age wanting chest masculinization (breast removal), that is already really difficult to have with people in Alberta because we simply don’t have the resources to offer it.”
Smith even stated last week that she planned to bring in physicians in Alberta who specialize in trans adult surgery.
Smith expressed concern over the possibility that “top” surgeries for minors might occur in the future when she spoke on CTV’s Power Play on Sunday. She acknowledged the rarity of these procedures and the impossibility of “bottom” operations for younger patients.
According to Smith, “There have been some businesses advocating for those procedures to be done younger and younger, and I guess I’m not comfortable with that.”
The state is implementing these policies across various ministries to limit the options children and youth have before potentially making life-altering and frequently catastrophic adult decisions, according to Sam Blackett, Smith’s spokesperson, via email.
The low rate of “top” surgery for gender dysphoria, according to Greenaway, suggests that the government’s new plans are primarily political in nature.
Greenaway remarked, “I think it’s a way to get political support and I think traction on it, but I don’t think that it is based on the reality or the situation that is actually happening in Alberta.”
In addition, Alberta wants to outlaw hormone therapy and puberty blockers for kids under 15, while just allowing it on kids 16 and 17 with parental approval and under the care of a doctor or psychiatrist.
According to the Alberta state, there were 2,700 requests for hormone therapy between 2022 and 2023. However, it is unknown how many of these requests were for cancer treatments, endocrine disorders, or other medical conditions, such as gender-affirming care.
According to the government, therapies for conditions other than gender dysphoria are thought to account for the majority of requests.
For Greenaway, these limitations are the most worrisome.
Greenaway remarked, “That is a significant change that we haven’t seen anywhere in this country and would really go against all the medical evidence and international and national guidelines on how to treat youth.”
For instance, the goal of puberty blockers is to delay the onset of puberty so that minors have the chance to choose their gender before the irreversible changes brought on by puberty set in.
The ship has sailed, according to Greenaway, “You can’t wait until someone is 16 and then block puberty.”
According to data gathered by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), 66, or 7% of all double mastectomy procedures carried out for gender-affirming care in 2022–2023, excluding Quebec.
According to privacy restrictions, CIHI was unable to offer a breakdown of each province.
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