Letters to the editor: Transgender legislation
Transgender bills
I’m a licensed therapist and I counsel transgender adolescents and their families. I’m appalled by the three anti-transgender bills, HB 500, HB 509, and HB 465, currently advancing in Idaho’s Legislature. If our lawmakers truly cared about kids and the future of Idaho’s youth, they’d put a stop to these cruel and harmful bills that put trans children at further risk.
While their peers are allowed to focus on grades, activities and friends, transgender youth are often placed in a position to focus on safety and survival. I wish our legislators would attempt to know our kind-hearted and resilient trans youth and seek to help these kids thrive.
Most, if not all, legitimate medical associations agree the best way to treat transgender youth is to affirm their identity and follow through with gender-affirming medical care. When this care isn’t accessible, we put them at further risk of homelessness, substance abuse, and suicide. HB 465 would criminalize doctors who provide such care with up to life in prison.
Please join me in emailing House Speaker Scott Bedke sbedke@house.idaho.gov and Gov. Brad Little at governor@gov.idaho.gov to stop these bills which send a message that the futures of Idaho’s transgender youth isn’t valued.
Jennifer Lamb, Boise
Transgender claims
I’m an endocrinologist, and I am writing to address several inaccuracies in the recent guest opinion by Drs. Swoboda and Duvall.
The authors mistakenly claim that “gender-affirmative care” -- hormones and surgeries -- reduces suicides among gender-dysphoric youth. Not a single quality study has ever demonstrated this. In addition, suicides among fully gender-reassigned adults are 19 times higher than in the general population, further challenging the life-saving potential of these interventions.
The authors incorrectly claim that puberty blockers are safe and reversible. Puberty blockers stop bone growth and arrest many other developmental processes. We do not know if these effects are reversible, because puberty blockers have not previously been used to block normally timed puberty. In addition, roughly 85% of gender-dysphoric youth will have resolution of gender dysphoria if permitted to pass through normal puberty. However, if put on puberty blockers, nearly 100% of children persist with transgender identification, committing them to a path of lifelong medical patienthood.
The tide is turning on “affirmative care”. In the last year, several countries, including the UK and Sweden, have initiated independent investigations over concerns with this risky experimental model of care. With more and more harmed patients and concerned physicians raising alarm, the U.S. will not be far behind.
William Malone, Filer
Transgender
I am a family physician who provides gender-affirming care to patients 8 and above.
Puberty blockers is one of the forms of gender-affirming care. It pauses puberty and avoids traumatic secondary sex characteristics from appearing until they are old enough to start cross sex hormones and develop the features that align with their identity. Patients cisgender or transgender understand their gender identity at age 3-4.
I want Idaho legislators to understand that House Bill 465 is damaging to the health of all Idahoans, but particularly for transgender individuals who are already marginalized in our society in numerous ways. It is contrary to widely accepted medical science and standards of care to make this bill into law. To imprison physicians for doing their jobs is a major government overreach and is unconstitutional. Research shows that transgender youth whose families support their gender identity have a 52% decrease in suicidal thoughts, a 48% decrease in suicide attempts, and significant increases in self-esteem and general health.
Gender-affirming medical care keeps trans youth (and adults) alive, happy and able to contribute fully to our society.
Marvin Alviso, Boise
This story was originally published February 24, 2020 at 1:19 PM.