By Larry Page, Executive Director Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council via The Baptist Trumpet
The American College of Pediatricians (ACP) has issued a warning to educators, policy-makers and others whose work involve children. The message is simple and straightforward — do not set policy and adopt curriculum that teaches the young that transgenderism is normal.
Transgenderism is defied as “a state or condition in which a person identifis with or expresses a gender identity that
differs from the one which corresponds to the person’s sex at birth.” Since the condition of transgenderism is classified as
a mental illness, to teach it as being normal and to promote it as being a healthy alternative is child abuse, so says the ACP.
In its report, the national doctors’ organization said that, “Facts — not ideology — determine reality.” The report further explained that “No one is born with an awareness of themselves as male or female; this awareness develops over time and, like all developmental processes, may be derailed by a child’s subjective perceptions, relationships and adverse experiences from infancy forward. People who identify as ‘feeling like the opposite sex’ or ‘’somewhere in between’ do not comprise a third sex.
They remain biological men or biological women.”
When an otherwise healthy child believes he or she is a member of the opposite sex, that indicates a psychological problem requiring treatment of the mind, not the body. In other words, it is a mental issue and not a physical one. The psychological condition is known as “gender dysphoria,” once called gender identity disorder. It has been recognized as a mental disorder by the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.
Research shows that most children who are gender confused accept their biological sex after they pass naturally through
puberty transition. However, if prior to puberty, the gender confused children are given puberty blockers to help them
mimic the other sex, the gender confusion will not only likely continue but will be further reinforced with the introduction of
cross-sex hormones during later adolescence. Those misguided professionals who want to “help” those children find their “real” identities by providing them with cross-sex hormones are consigning many of them to a life of confusion, despair and serious consequences — both physical and mental. Cross-sex hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen, must be administered regularly if any semblance of being the other sex is to be maintained. Those drugs are linked to high blood pressure, blood clots,
strokes, cancer and other serious health conditions. Also, higher rates of suicide among adults, up to 20 times greater,
are associated with the use of crosssex hormones and so-called sex reassignment surgery.
Those facts underscore the reality that gender dysphoria is a psychological issue, not a physical problem. The ACP reiterated the main point when it said, “Conditioning children into believing a lifetime of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex is normal and healthful is child abuse.” (llp@arfaith.org)
