Transgenderism:
15-year-olds To Get Sex-change Operations!
July 9, 2015
The list of things 15-year-olds are not legally allowed to do in Oregon is
long: Drive, smoke, donate blood, get a tattoo -- even go to a tanning bed.
But, under a first-in-the-nation policy quietly enacted in January that many
parents are only now finding out about, 15-year-olds are now allowed to get a
sex-change operation. Many residents are stunned to learn they can do it without
parental notification -- and the state will even pay for it through its Medicaid
program, the Oregon Health Plan.
"It is trespassing on the hearts, the minds, the bodies of our children,"
said Lori Porter of Parents' Rights in Education. "They're our children. And for
a decision, a life-altering decision like that to be done unbeknownst to a
parent or guardian, it's mindboggling."
In a statement, Oregon Health Authority spokeswoman Susan Wickstrom explained
it this way: "Age of medical consent varies by state. Oregon law -- which
applies to both Medicaid and non-Medicaid Oregonians -- states that the age of
medical consent is 15."
While 15 is the medical age of consent in the state, the decision to cover
sex-change operations specifically was made by the Health Evidence Review
Commission (HERC).
Members are appointed by the governor and paid by the state of Oregon. With
no public debate, HERC changed its policy to include cross-sex hormone therapy,
puberty-suppressing drugs and gender-reassignment surgery as covered treatments
for people with gender dysphoria, formally known as gender identity disorder.
HERC officials refused repeated requests by Fox News for an interview and
even gave Fox News inaccurate information about the medical director's work
schedule.
Oregon Health Authority officials directed Fox News to their website. It
shows transgender policy was discussed at four meetings in 2014. It was passed
without any opposition or even discussion about teenagers' new access to
undergoing a sex change.
Gender dysphoria is classified by the American Psychiatric Association as a
mental disorder in which a person identifies as the sex opposite of his or her
birth. It is rare, affecting one out of every 20,000 males and one out of every
50,000 females.
According to a 2008 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, "most children with gender dysphoria will not
remain gender dysphoric after puberty."
Dr. Paul McHugh, who led the Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Department and still
practices, said Oregon's policy amounts to child abuse. "We have a very radical
and even mutilating treatment being offered to children without any evidence
that the long-term outcome of this would be good," McHugh said.
Dr. Jack Drescher, a member of the APA who worked on the Sexual and Gender
Identity Disorders Work Group, says treatment for gender dysphoria has received
a lot more attention in recent years. He said this year New York changed its
policy to cover cross-sex hormone drugs and sex-reassignment surgery for
Medicaid recipients who are at least 18 years old. He thinks Oregon is offering
the treatment too early.
"Children age 15 may not fully understand all the consequences of the
procedures they are undergoing," he said.
Jenn Burleton disagrees. She underwent a sex-reassignment surgery and started
the Portland non-profit group TransActive. She said requiring parental consent
would lead to more suffering and teen suicide attempts.
"Parents may not be supportive," Burleton said. "They may not be in an
environment where they feel the parent will affirm their identity, this may have
been going on for years."
The science is unsettled. A 2010 Murad study concluded "very low quality
evidence suggests sex reassignment ... improves gender dysphoria and overall
quality of life." The authors admitted the evidence was "sparse and
inconclusive."
Lisa Maloney, a parent and Scappoose, Ore., School Board member, is
outraged.
"To know that taxpayers are now on the hook for that, that a child can do
that without their parent's knowledge or information or consent, parents have
absolutely no say, that's appalling," Maloney said.
The Oregon Health Authority could not say how many Medicaid recipients have
been treated for gender dysphoria since the new policy took effect in January.
Oregon has 935,000 people enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan. HERC assumes
between 14 and 112 of them may be gender dysphoric. It estimates the total cost
of adding cross-sex hormone therapy, puberty-suppressing drugs and sex
reassignment surgeries to the coverage will be no more than $150,000 per year.
But HERC also believes the state will save money due to fewer suicide
attempts. It estimates there will be one less suicide attempt per year. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the average cost per
suicide attempt in the U.S. is $7,234.
But Dr. McHugh says a sex-change operation, especially for young people with
gender dysphoria, is never appropriate.
"We can help them if we begin to explore with them and their families what
they're fearing about development, what they're fearing about being a young boy,
a young adolescent appropriate to themselves."
Related Links:
* PC world insanity as 4-year-old is granted sex change operation
* Norway to Launch Bill Allowing 6-Year-Olds to Change Gender
* Proposal: Let 12-Year-Old Swedish Kids have Sex Change
* Government trying to switch teen’s sex without parental consent
* Minnesota Mother Sues After Son Receives Hormone Treatments
* Transgender hormones to help parents change their children’s gender
* Planned Parenthood helping transgender patients with sex changes