The current model for transgender “care” (I use that term loosely!) in most hospitals and gender clinics is an immediate affirmation of the person’s feelings (which are subjective and can’t be trusted because we have a sinful nature) and a complete social transition (new name, pronouns, etc.), quickly followed by hormones or puberty blockers. Now, you may think this sounds extreme and as if providers are rushing into “treatment” without considering other variables. Well, the founding psychologist of the first pediatric gender clinic in the United States thinks so too!
This woman, Laura Edwards-Leeper, has been working with youth suffering from gender dysphoria since 2007 and even helped develop the “practice guidelines for working with trans-identified individuals.” She still believes that transition is the best course of action for some patients, so she certainly doesn’t have a biblical worldview when it comes to understanding male and female, but she says that “the population has changed drastically.”
Instead of seeing patients who have suffered for years with feelings of gender dysphoria, she’s seeing more and more young people who are rushing into “transition” without providers taking the time to deeply assess them, consult their parents, etc. She says that those who want to slow down and take time are having to leave the field because of accusations of being “transphobic”—even though they agree with transgender ideology but are just concerned with the breakneck speed at which young people are transitioning!
It’s clear that this is not about “science” or truly caring for hurting people—it’s about an ideology (and a destructive one at that).
It’s clear that this is not about “science” or truly caring for hurting people—it’s about an ideology (and a destructive one at that).
Consider, for example, a new position paper just released by the American College of Pediatricians. They reviewed dozens of studies and found that “providing gender transition procedures to minors with gender dysphoria does not lead to an improvement in mental health.” The lead author of the study said in an interview with The Christian Post,
There is a high incidence of adolescents who come into this medical care who have previous history of depression or anxiety or autism or other medical or psychological concerns . . . And those issues have to be dealt with first . . . It’s just crucial that they receive the mental health services and support that they so desperately need.
The study also raised concern that “parents, along with health care and educational professionals, who support the transgender ‘transition’ of children and adolescents are, in fact, contributing to increased depression by appearing to validate to the children that ‘something is wrong with their body and biological sex.’”
Transgender “care” is anything but care—it’s an unbiblical ideology being put into practice. It hurts the very people it claims to help (and, along the way, it hurts many other people, including the families of these children and the women and girls who must now share their private spaces with men and boys!).
We speak out because we care about every single person.
Christians need to continue speaking out against this destructive but extremely popular (and financially lucrative) practice. Now, contrary to what the media says, we don’t speak out because we hate transgender individuals or because we’re just “transphobic.” No, we speak out because we care about every single person.
You see, these confused individuals are people made in the very image of God as either a male or a female (Genesis 1:27). And no amount of social transition, hormones, or surgeries will ever change their identity as a male or as a female—it’s literally written into every single cell of their body in their DNA! The answer is not a gender transition. No, the answer is the truth of God’s Word, beginning in Genesis, and the gospel of Jesus Christ that gives us a new identity grounded in Christ and what he accomplished for us on the cross. We need to understand that sin has affected everything, including our bodies, which is why we need to judge everything we believe or feel against the absolute authority of God’s Word.
I encourage you to learn more about the gospel, identity, and Genesis in this article from AiG’s Avery Foley, “Transgender Solution Comparison: Surgery vs. the Gospel,” or in a brand-new book from AiG’s Executive CEO Martyn Iles, Who Am I? Solving the Identity Puzzle.
Get More Answers on Answers News!
This item was discussed Wednesday on Answers News with cohosts Dr. Georgia Purdom, Bryan Osborne, and Roger Patterson. Answers News is our weekly news program filmed live before a studio audience here at the Creation Museum and broadcast on our Answers in Genesis YouTube channel and posted to Answers TV. We also covered the following topics:
- What are “flue” whales?
- “Paleothermometer” gives clues about “dino-killer” asteroid.
- Do new fish show convergent evolution?
- And more!
Watch the entire episode of Answers News for February 14, 2024.
Be sure to join us each Monday at 2 p.m. (ET) on YouTube or later that day on Answers TV for Answers News. You won’t want to miss this unique news program that gives science and culture news from a distinctly biblical and Christian perspective.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken
This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.
