Dr. Norman Spack, who is a pediatric endocrinologist, started a new clinic at Children's Hospital Boston, with the goal of delaying puberty in children so they can decide whether they want a male or a female body.
In an interview done at Boston Globe, Spack is asked, "At what age do you give kids drugs to delay puberty?"
His answer was, "The puberty-blocking drugs work best at the beginning of the pubital process, typically age 10 to 12 for a girl and 12 to 14 for a boy. Stopping puberty is, in itself, a diagnostic test. If a girl starts to experience breast budding and feels like cutting herself, then she's probably transgendered. If she feels immediate relief on the [puberty-blocking] drugs, that confirms the diagnosis."
These treatments for children, not only change their physical appearance, but as he explains to his young patients, could also leave them sterile for life.
The biggest challenge is the issue of fertility. When young people halt their puberty before their bodies have developed, and then take cross-hormones for a few years, they'll probably be infertile. You have to explain to the patients that if they go ahead, they may not be able to have children. When you're talking to a 12-year-old, that's a heavy-duty conversation. Does a kid that age really think about fertility? But if you don't start treatment, they will always have trouble fitting in. And my patients always remind me that what's most important to them is their identity.
The problem some are seeing with this is that in previous reports, Spack is alleged to have admitted that only about 20 percent of children who claim to have a confusion over their gender hold those feelings in adulthood.
Spack says that he became committed to this cause because he had met transgendered people in their 20s who were in good shape socially but were having trouble getting their physique to conform to their identity.
Mass Resistance, a pro-family organization, is a vocal critic of this, stating, "We don't think that demonic is too strong a word to describe this. It brings us thoughts of the Nazi doctors who thought they were doing good things."
This delaying of puberty is being done and children as young as 12 have already been given these treatments.
Readers can decide for themselves whether they think a 12 year old is mentally mature enough to make life altering decisions, which could leave them without the ability to produce children later in life.
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