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"Since the bill passed, four young people in her program have attempted suicide." https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/after-arkansas-passes-its-trans-ban-parents-and-teens-wonder-should-we-stay/2021/04/23/74c822f0-9d34-11eb-8005-bffc3a39f6d3_story.html?tid=ss_tw
There seems to be a lot of confusion about what gender-confirming therapy is. Would it help to have a quick explainer? #Thread
An Arkansas lawmaker argued the bill -- which makes it illegal to prescribe gender-confirming therapy for trans teens under 18 -- would “protect children from making mistakes that they will have a very difficult time coming back from.” That seems to be based on incorrect info
Trans kids are often horrified at the idea of going through the "wrong" puberty. Transgender boys can become suicidal at the thought of menstruating or developing breasts. Trans girls desperately want to avoid developing facial hair and a masculine body shape.
So what are the medical options for trans kids? One is puberty blockers, which delay puberty and are totally reversible. If a kids stops taking them, the puberty process resumes. So if lawmakers are worried immature kids are making irreversible decisions, they're not.
Some type of gender-confirming therapy cause permanent changes. If a transgender boy takes masculinizing hormones, for example, that can cause him to go through male puberty, gaining more muscle mass. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2018/1201/p645.html
Gender-affirming therapy has mental health benefits for trans kids, including "psychosocial outcomes after puberty suppression and subsequent gender-affirming hormone therapy. Delayed treatment may potentiate psychiatric stress and gender-related abuse."
Does giving hormones to trans kids have risks? Yes. Any hormonal therapy carries risks. Doctors say this is not a simple decision for anyone. One risk is that bones could be thinner, weaker than normal. https://www.stlouischildrens.org/conditions-treatments/transgender-center/puberty-blockers
Are there risks to allowing teens to undergo gender-confirming surgery? Yes. That's why doctors typically tell kids to wait until 18. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4522917/
