what!? conversion therapy does not work. if you, your child, and your doctor all agree that the best thing for them is a lobotomy, should that be allowed?
is there evidence that puberty blockers work? IIRC the original report is the only one that reported an effect and subsequent studies done more carefully show no net effect more than potential selection bias and plenty of physiological repercussions
anecdotally, my trans friends who took puberty blockers and eventually started hormones are happier for it, and my trans friend who was sent to conversion therapy jumped in front of a train (and lived, and is well now).
the literature is relatively sparse on puberty blockers, though. i found a review [0] which is inconclusive, but points to better psychosocial outcomes at the expensive of factors such as bone density and emotional stability.
i do think it's crucial to point out that the dichotomy is not "puberty blockers vs. nothing", but "puberty blockers vs. gender dysphoria". i recently read a piece about the extremely poor treatment of an SRS patient, who reflected 10 years later and claimed she'd still go through the treatment to have had the surgery, as she would likely not be here otherwise. the description of the surgery frankly made me dizzy with unease (and i work in the surgical OR). it's a sensation i imagine is not at all unfamiliar to trans people. as i understand it, they are born with this unwanted operation performed in advance, and live through this, and eventually an unwanted puberty.
the issue is then, how do we alleviate this? conversion therapy is conclusively, not an answer. puberty blockers are inconclusive, from what i understand, but the research which has been performed points to lower suicide attempt rates among trans kids.
Oh the better take is “my medically trained and board certified doctor says my kid needs a medical procedure but some 80 year old state congressman who needs his grandkids to unlock is iPhone says I shouldn’t, so I won’t”
No medically trained and board certified doctor that isn’t driven more by their hypocritical convictions than their Hypocratic oath has ever said a kid should be forced to engage in heterosexual activity against their will.
If you have found a non-trained and never certified or licensed effectively voodoo practitioner willing to make that sort of utterly immoral and malign recommendation, then you’ve sought them out because you’re just as or more delusional than they are.
> Oh the better take is “my medically trained and board certified doctor says my kid needs a medical procedure but some 80 year old state congressman who needs his grandkids to unlock is iPhone says I shouldn’t, so I won’t”
I was specifically addressing the “medically trained and board certified doctor”, and you’re coming back at me with an LPC… an LPC is many things, but three things they almost never are are a) medically trained, b) certified by any medical board, or c) a medical doctor. Except in the most lunatic of states they are neither qualified to, nor legally allowed to, prescribe any medical treatment or intervention, they can only provide (in this case, bad and entirely unhelpful) psychotherapy.
Lastly, if you, your child, and your “doctor” all agree that “pray the gay away” is a good idea, you and your “doctor” are both completely delusional and guilty of child abuse, while your child is absolutely a victim of that abuse.