Trans Child or a Dead Child? – No to Ru-486 – American Family Association of Indiana
Some Facts on a Hot Button Issue
Last week, on the last day for bills to pass out of their chamber of origin, the Senate had some lengthy and heated debates on a variety of important cultural issues involving children. One of those was Senate Bill 480. This bill prevents experimental gender transition drugs and surgeries on minor children in Indiana. Thankfully SB 480 passed with a strong 36-12 vote.
There were a lot of things said on the Senate floor claiming undeniable benefits for those who attempt to change their gender with medical interventions. This claim was made in the committee hearing as well. Many parents thought that they were presented with “either a transgender child or a dead child” (from suicide). This is the false choice the left presents because they will not allow the countercultural possibility that mental and spiritual help leading to acceptance of one’s actual biology is possible. (In fact, many children grow out of gender confusion during puberty.) Sadly, this lie of “a trans child or a dead child” (if one doesn’t embrace trans confusion) is emotional manipulation that could lead to a dead child. How? Contrary to the cultural narrative, transitioning doesn’t improve long term mental health or reduce the suicide risks for the gender confused.
Last week I noted that the longest study ever, (30 years) of those who transitioned, found that their mental problems did not disappear after their procedures. Mental health counseling, depression and suicide rates remain drastically higher (19X) than the public long after their surgical and drug interventions.
Here are a few other items that counter claims made by many opponents of SB 480:
“Transgendered men do not become women, nor do transgendered women become men. All become feminized men or masculinized women, counterfeits, or impersonators of the sex with which they ‘identify.’ In that lies their problematic future.” – Dr. Paul McHugh, distinguished service professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
“Scientifically speaking, transgender men are not biological men and transgender women are not biological women. The claims to the contrary are not supported by a scintilla of scientific evidence.” – Dr. Lawrence Mayer a scholar in residence in the Department of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a professor of statistics and biostatistics at Arizona State University.
Regarding research, here is how The UK Guardian summarized the results of a review of more than 100 follow-up studies of post-operative transsexuals by Birmingham University’s Aggressive Research Intelligence Facility:
“None of the studies provides conclusive evidence that gender reassignment is beneficial for patients. It found that most research was poorly designed, which skewed the results in favor of physically changing sex. There was no evaluation of whether other treatments, such as long-term counseling, might help transsexuals, or whether their gender confusion might lessen over time.
In 2014, a review of scientific literature was done by Hayes, Inc., a research firm that evaluates the safety and health outcomes of medical technologies. Hayes found that the evidence on long-term results of sex reassignment was too sparse to support meaningful conclusions and gave these studies their lowest rating for quality:
“Statistically significant improvements have not been consistently demonstrated by multiple studies for most outcomes. Evidence regarding the quality of life and function in male-to-female adults was very sparse. Evidence for less comprehensive measures of well-being in adult recipients of cross-sex hormone therapy was directly applicable to [gender dysphoric] patients but was sparse and/or conflicting. The study designs do not permit conclusions of causality and studies generally had weaknesses associated with study execution as well. There are potentially long-term safety risks associated with hormone therapy, but none have been proven or conclusively ruled out.”
Even the Obama Administration came to similar conclusions. In 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services revisited the question of whether sex reassignment surgery would have to be covered by Medicare plans. Despite receiving a request that its coverage be mandated, they refused, on the grounds that there was very little evidence that it benefits patients. Here’s how they put it:
Based on a thorough review of the clinical evidence available at this time, there is not enough evidence to determine whether gender reassignment surgery improves health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries with gender dysphoria. There were conflicting (inconsistent) study results—of the best-designed studies, some reported benefits while others reported harms. The quality and strength of evidence were low due to the mostly observational study designs with no comparison groups, potential confounding, and small sample sizes. Many studies that reported positive outcomes were exploratory-type studies with no confirmatory follow-up.
Given all this, the odds are very high that a person with a mental confusion problem could mutilate their body or take dangerously high levels of hormones and still wind up with the same problems they had before these risky experimental procedures. There is no reason for minor children in Indiana to take these risks. SB 480 needs to pass in the House.
How Your Legislators Voted
Last week I mentioned several key bills passing their first chamber. Here are the roll calls to see how legislators voted on these important cultural matters:
Senate Bill 12 – Matter Harmful to Minors in Schools – https://iga.in.gov/documents/cc7beb23
Senate Bill 350 – Free Speech for Pastors & Counselors – https://iga.in.gov/documents/eb616682
House Bill 1001 – Budget Kinsey Institute Defund Amendment – https://iga.in.gov/documents/615730e9
House Bill 1407 – Parental Rights – https://iga.in.gov/documents/639ca24c
House Bill 1569 – No Tax Dollars for Prisoner Transition Surgeries – https://iga.in.gov/documents/c816c2c8
House Bill 1608 – Protecting K-3 Students from Adult Human Sexuality Information – https://iga.in.gov/documents/e73988c5
IN Attorney General Stands for Life
Walgreens pharmacy has responded to a letter signed by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, and 19 other state Attorneys General, noting that their stores will not dispense the abortion drug Mifepristone in Indiana, or the other states represented. Mifepristone is commonly known as RU-486. The AGs also sent the letter to CVS. (No response yet.) The AG letter threatened legal action against the two chains if they brought RU-486 into their states.
The Biden Administration’s FDA has recently taken steps to expand access to the deadly drug including through the mail. The letter was in response to the Biden Administration’s effort to circumvent Indiana’s abortion restrictions.
In their Own Words:
“Children are like wet cement whatever falls on them makes an impression.” – Haim Ginott, child psychologist
