We are alarmed to learn that the Virginia Medical Board is proposing to prevent therapists from using non-invasive psychotherapy to help our gender-confused children.
“Conversion therapy” bans, such as that proposed by the VMB, would prevent therapists from examining underlying psychosocial issues to help children understand and accept their bodies, identities, and feelings. They impede therapists from doing their job as responsible professionals and pose an unconstitutional restriction on their right to free speech.
Despite claims to the contrary, there are no objective tests or biomarkers to prove a person’s gender identity. Gender identities are based entirely on feelings that may change with time, brain maturity, and non-invasive therapy.
This proposed ban would require therapists to accept children's asserted identities at face value and affirm them as if they were actually the opposite sex. "Affirmative care" often leads to body-altering hormonal and surgical interventions.
These hormonal treatments on children are experimental. The medical literature on the health effects of hormonal interventions “in the pediatric/adolescent population is completely lacking.” The drugs used are based on low-quality evidence, or no evidence at all. The consequences of these hormonal treatments include potential sterility, sexual dysfunction, thromboembolic and cardiovascular disease, and malignancy
Puberty-blocking drugs, such as Lupron, have been known to cause long-lasting health problems, including bone loss and disease. Over 41,000 adverse reports have been filed with the FDA.
A 2018 study of long-term risks of puberty blockers found that “the majority of subjects reported long-term side effects … while almost one-third reported irreversible side effects that persisted for years after discontinuing treatment.”
Studies of the impact of cross-sex hormones on adults have shown that males taking estrogen are at high risk for deadly blood clots. Females taking testosterone have an increased risk of hypertension, increased red blood cell counts, breast and ovarian cancer. Both males and females are at increased risk of myocardial infarction and death due to cardiovascular disease. These health consequences might well be irreversible. The full extent of the harms to young developing brains and bodies remains unknown.
If children are given cross-sex hormones after their puberty is blocked at Tanner Stage 2,. they will be sterilized
The only long-term follow-up study of adults who medically transitioned found substantially higher rates of overall mortality, suicide, suicide attempts, and psychiatric hospitalizations among adults who surgically transitioned. We simply don't know the future outcomes for children.
Children should not receive body-altering interventions on the basis of feelings, self-diagnosis, and unprovable identities. Medically transforming their bodies to comport with their feelings is the ultimate "conversion therapy." Those are the non-evidence based and harmful practices that the VMB should propose banning, not non-invasive talk therapy.
The Kelsey Coalition is a non-partisan, unfunded, volunteer-run organization whose mission is to promote policies and laws that protect young people from medical and psychological harms. Our membership includes concerned professionals and hundreds of parents of children who identify as transgender.