Pre-Pubescent Transsexuals

There is a growing debate amongst psychiatric/psychological professionals as to whether pre-pubescent transsexuals ought to have hormone treatment and sexual-reassignment surgery prior to the onset of puberty. The argument is that such treatment would prevent the action of inappropriate hormones during early adolescence and avoid the need to later reverse their effects. For example, in most jurisdictions at present a male child who is convinced that he is truly a female goes through puberty and varying degrees of masculinization due to the work of androgens (e.g., muscle growth, facial and body hair growth, genital development, etc.) only later to have to have all these effects reversed through hormone therapy and surgery. If, the argument goes, the action of "inappropriate" hormones could be prevented and surgery performed prior to adolescence, life for such individuals would be much simpler and more satisfying later in adolescence and adulthood.

Holland now permits such pre-pubescent treatment, but not without controversy - including the question of who has the right to request and give consent for such treatment; the child, the parents, the state? So what do you think? Should such treatment be made available to children who request it? Should parents have the final say? And within what context are some of the issues that need to be considered in?

 

I really don't think a pre-pubescent child should be able to make such a huge and controversial decision like that that will drastically change the rest of their lives and the way that people treat them.

It would also be fucked up if a parent decided this for their child.

 

I wouldn't agree that a prepubescent child is fully aware of WHAT he or she is yet in the first place, and even if they thought they knew, they've experienced so little of life, and the opposite sex, that they could quite easily change their mind later.

I wouldn't agree with children being able to receive this, even with parental consent. To many confounding variables that could change their mind; after all they are basing this decision on life experiences thus far.. which quite frankly isn't enough experience to make the decision.

 

I think it should be mandatory that they be 18 before such a decision is taken seriously.

 

Well, given that most if not all transsexuals will tell you that they knew from a very young age that they were not in the right body, I don't see a problem with it. You have to realize that the sooner a person starts HRT, the higher the chance that they go on to live a normal life as their desired sex. I obviously don't think we should be giving 6 year olds sex changes. However, a person starting HRT before they hit puberty will develop the way they want to. A person starting to transition at 18 years old has already undergone most of the changes their body is going to endure during puberty. That person will almost never be 'passable' without going through EXTENSIVE cosmetic surgery on top of a sex change (not cheap by the way). Yeah there should be a screening process, and a designated time of therapy with a good psychologist before being given HRT. There's a process to it.. it isn't like you can just walk in and say "I'm transgender, give me drugs".

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Petras
I'll leave this here

 

umm...
It should be unlawful for any parent to consign their child to these kinds of medical 'treatments' before the children are old enough to make the decisions themselves. you think a 13 y/o know's what should become of their body in the longterm? LOLOL. get real.