Dartmouth Health Children’s Francis B. Lim Liberty, MD, Medical Director, Pediatric and Adolescent Transgender Program, Keith J. Loud, MD, MSc, Medic- in- Chief, Jessica A. Smith, MSN, APRN, Coordinator, Pediatric, Adolescent and Young Adult Transgender Health Clinics.
Political misinformation and disinformation are being used to slander transgender and gender-nonconforming youngsters all over the country. For example, the term” Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria” ( ROGD ) is being used in social and traditional media to discredit the decisions and life experiences of trans people. ROGD is not a treatment of clinical or mental illness and is not used by medical professionals.
However, many states have restricted or banned access to care for transgender individuals, state legislatures, including New Hampshire, are considering enacting related laws that are not based upon clinical assessments and do deny important treatments. Politics that are based on misinformation and judgment are bad for everyone. We are writing to discuss the full story of the gender-affirming care provided to young people in New Hampshire.
Initially, this treatment has been attainable for years. It’s hardly new. Next, it is always delivered in an age- correct way and with proof- based therapy protocols. Third, when minors under the age of 18 seek this attention, decisions are made over time in conversation with doctors and other health professionals and with the engagement and acceptance of parents or guardians.
Typically, when examining gender identity, one must go beyond the prescripted cultural notions of masculinity and femininity to consider gender differently. As Blair Peters, MD, a plastic and reconstructive doctor, information,” It is an important thing to understand with female personality and exploration of female personality, there’s no right or wrong result, and there’s no right or wrong place. We should encourage people to ask questions and come up with their own answers, but we should n’t be so invested in their answers or what they think is their most authentic version of themselves.
Approximately 300, 000 youth ( ages 13 to 17 ) in the United States ( less than 0.8 % of the population ) identify as transgender or gender- diverse. ( Williams Institute, 2022 ). Only a small percentage of these young people will use medical or surgical procedures to confirm their gender identity.
At Dartmouth Health Children’s, we give every patient and child a rigorous and thoughtful evaluation of care and attention. Gender-affirming care begins with acknowledging a person’s gender identity and can be provided in any setting. Respect is a universal sign of respect when used correctly and affirmatively.
Every major U. S. medical and mental health organization, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychological Association, recognizes that affirming and supporting gender identity is essential medical care for transgender and gender- diverse youth.
Some people will transition socially, changing their name, clothing, or other outward appearance from the gender assigned to them at birth. People will try to adapt their bodies to their gender identities, taking both male and female hormones as well as medications that can detect pubertal changes if needed early. Such medical procedures are only taken into account for minors after a thorough multidisciplinary evaluation that includes a specially trained mental health professional. No minor leaves a doctor’s office on their first visit with a prescription. At Dartmouth Health Children’s, no one else in New Hampshire has ever undergone gender-affirming genital surgery on children under the age of 18. Adults are permitted to participate in the state’s rare surgical procedures.
When masculinity and femininity are defined and enforced, we perpetuate outdated notions of gender roles. Fundamentally, gender identity is a decision of an individual. In New Hampshire, minor patients, their parents, and their doctors should decide together on what aspects of gender- affirming care are appropriate for them.
