“Policy makers and the media are doing no favors either to the public or the transgendered by treating their confusions as a right in need of defending rather than as a mental disorder that deserves understanding, treatment and prevention.” Now that’s the statement of a very brave man because he just delivered a fatal blow to the notion that our society should buy into the transgender-advocacy juggernaut that is sweeping the U.S.
Dr. Paul McHugh, former Chief of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital, speaks clearly on the issue of transgenderism and sex-reassignment surgery in a recent article that he wrote for the Wall Street Journal. Here are some lines from the article:
Then there is the subgroup of very young, often prepubescent children who notice distinct sex roles in the culture and, exploring how they fit in, begin imitating the opposite sex. Misguided doctors at medical centers including Boston’s Children’s Hospital have begun trying to treat this behavior by administering puberty-delaying hormones to render later sex-change surgeries less onerous—even though the drugs stunt the children’s growth and risk causing sterility. Given that close to 80% of such children would abandon their confusion and grow naturally into adult life if untreated, these medical interventions come close to child abuse. A better way to help these children: with devoted parenting.
At the heart of the problem is confusion over the nature of the transgendered. “Sex change” is biologically impossible. People who undergo sex-reassignment surgery do not change from men to women or vice versa. Rather, they become feminized men or masculinized women. Claiming that this is civil-rights matter and encouraging surgical intervention is in reality to collaborate with and promote a mental disorder.
This is an article that you’ll want to read thoroughly and keep on file to share with friends and family. This is not a topic that is going to go away soon and you need to be prepared to respond appropriately; so get ready.
You can read the entire Wall Street Journal article here: http://online.wsj.com/articles/paul-mchugh-transgender-surgery-isnt-the-solution-1402615120
Another article by Dr. McHugh: http://www.firstthings.com/article/2004/11/surgical-sex