It’s sick how disgusting some of the minds of america are. Just wait until we become the next rome, because we didn’t stick to our godly roots.

This doctor is nuts and i don’t care what anyone says you have to let these kids at least grow up to adults to make such a big choice.

This is complete garbage and another example of what has happened since the medical community continues to try to soldier on without God!!! Humanism = man is the measure of all things. This is what they want and adhere to.

These are some really sick and perverted Doctors. The physician who thinks that the twins prove that this is a medical concern sounds like a complete fool. I feel sad for these children when they are adults and realize that physicians with a political view butchered them.

It is disgusting, degrading, and just plain wrong yo’.

some people need to understand that some things are just wrong even if there are no laws against it.

This disgusts me!

Its just cosmetic surgery. If a kid isnt happy with its gender, and its OK with the parents, who are we to tell them what to do? Naturally some would say this is wrong and abusive. As long as no laws are being broken….live and let live. I personally think its an atrocity!!!

They can say what they want, transgenderism is a birth defect. A girl is born who’s body should’ve been a boy and vice versa. I’m happy to see medical science finally recognizing this and doing something about it. I know someone personally who has felt that he has been in the wrong body all his life. Since his earliest memories. He is 11 years old now and having a great deal of difficulty fitting in to the life his parents, particularly his father feels he should belong. “He” is a beautiful little girl, but in a year or two “he” is going to be a troubled young man. Children don’t make this stuff up.

Transgender is hard to understand in adults, much less in children. I don’t know if a sex change is appropriate for those who are cognitively not fully developed – which does not come until mid-20s for many – but to allow a child to live in the role of the opposite gender should not be a problem. And delaying the onset of puberty can benefit these children, giving them time to make up their minds. The sex change may not be appropriate, but delaying puberty can help. To discriminate against transgendered people in general or children specifically is exactly that – discrimination!

you have got to be fu&*(( kidding….

Minors cannot consent to a legal contract, drive a car or be married and have no business acting out about their born gender. It is evil that these same kids are being permanently maimed by parents and doctors who wish to suspend reality because of their own psychoses.

This article made my heart ache. Our children already face almost insurmountable odds with all the negative external, evil forces. Now there is someone who offers a totally barbaric option to a child who seems to not “fit in.” Where is God in all this? I think this physician is playing God. I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but families do not treat their children “identically.” I just hope this physician and any parent who would even consider this option will come to their senses before they create even deeper problems for our precious children. I know that for eternity they will have to answer for their choices.

i’m always amazed by the number of people who truely believe that God’s works can somehow be ‘improved’ by humans….hehehe.

Clearly the 2nd coming of Christ is near

Doesn’t the test with identical twins, one of which thought she was a boy, DISPROVE that it’s an innate gene? If they’re identical, it means genetically identical. So even if they grew up in the same environment (something that cannot be guaranteed – since no one can prevent absolutely neglect, verbal, emotional or sexual abuse which would disrupt the natural development of sexual integration) it can’t be an innate cause since one identical twin developed this identity disorder and the other didn’t.

My seven year old thinks he is a fire engine. I hear there is a garage that does a procedure…..

How horrible!!! How many of us wanted to be the opposite gender when we were kids? What about all the tomboys out there who grew up to be beautiful, graceful women? The sissy boys who grew up to be great, sensitive, men? This is a sin against God Almighty, and these kids will be the victims.

Any idiot who contends its all in the mind and society in cross gendered people is either blind or in massive denial. A 5 yr old doesn’t choose to be different, the same 10 year old doesn’t choose to be different, they just are; at that point their sexuality isn’t mandated by what is around them. Science has proven cross gendering is genetic whether the nay-sayers believe it or not. And trying to brainwash someone into believing they are something they are not is just abusive.
As to the treatments, I don’t think it is a good choice. Children are growing and learing and changing and sometimes, they do change. But forcing the issue one way of the other (treatment to prevent puberty or brainwashing to convince them they are wrong) shouldn’t be done until they are adults. Be supportive of your childrens feelings, don’t judge and don’t treat; just help them and they will make the right choice for themselve when they are able, as adults

I hope this goes no farther than a story. How barbaric and sick have humans become that we think we can take the place of God in altering the human body of which God gave us. These children need love and counseling, not surgery. This doctor will pay his dues on judgement day….

We’re a nation where unborn children are murdered for convenience, for “woman’s right to choose”, and for a lack of faith that God has a bigger plan in mind. So, I am in no way surprised that a liberal city such as Boston (whose liberal citizens have since perverted the national history & original intent of the founding fathers) is now resorting to such child abuse under the guise of “medical treatment.”

There is NO proof that “transgenderism” is a genetic trait. It, along with homosexuality, is a choice made by an individual, who after many choices to deny reality and blame everyone but themselves, has resigned themselves to the excuse that they were born this way.

To say that a child, as young as 3 years old, has the frame of mind to want a sex-change operation, and then to permit such operation/therapy as a parent or so called “medical professional” (one who is out for personal gain and notoriety), is simply ungodly, barbaric, and downright demonic.

Go ahead…prove me wrong. I dare you.

I just wonder, how many of these so called transgendered children are from same sex couple homes? Could it just be possible, that these parents are using their children as pawns to further their deviant lifestyles?

All I can say is wow!!!!

Most normal children have coping issues with the reality of puberty. But if the definition of psychosis is beleiving that which is not real, changing these poor mentally disabled kids is not treatment but a capitulation to their disorder.
These children can’t buy a car, sign a contract or vote, but they get to make this kind of permanent decision? Their parents and doctors SHOULD be brought up on abuse charges….the behavior is so much more evil than drugs or polygamy!

It is not up to a parent or a doctor to decide what sex a child “should” be, the decision is in God’s hands. Maybe instead of introducing new drugs and hormones to these confused children, we should be introducing the Word of God to them.

Sorry, but having quotes from Mat Staver in a news article on a health/medical topic is a bit absurd. Providing the insight of doctors, psychiatrist, or patients is helpful – commentary by some fundie lawyer is just a distraction.

good for them!! this has been a stigma too long!! these people need a good hospital and doctor they can go to and people know what sex they really are at a young age..and it should be addressed early instead of suffering in the wrong body into their 30’s or older

This is crazy. How can we permit a child who is 7 years old to make a decision that will change his life. I’m a Christian and believe that God created man and woman. If a child is not permitted to vote or drink at a certain age. How can we permit a child to make a decision to change his sex. Which I am against at any age. We are messing with the creation that God created.

I think the parents and the doctor performing these acts are sick. This needs to be stopped and these children need help quick! We need to bring up a generation that is secure about their identity and that is devoted to our Father God. God has given us these children to raise and to show them the way back to our Father God. God made you a male, then I believe you are intended to be a male. God has a purpose for all of us and if we don’t wake up and see the truth on what it is the enemy will steal our generation. God Bless.

My children were not old enough at age 14 to decide which parent they would live with, and this was established in a court of law. How can you say a child of 7 is old enough to determine their entire sexual future? I wanted to be a boy when I was little, some of us were tomboys and boy stuff was much more fun. I out grew that and am quite happy being a woman. Thank God you weren’t around or I might have been turned into a boy and never have known the fufillment of being a Mom.

What kind of sick freak would take thier child for a sex change?
I think this doctor should be jailed as a threat to children!

NOW THE HOMOSEXUAL MOFIA IS OUT TO TURN OUR CHILDREN INTO TRANSVESTITE FREAKS!
ITS A SICK AND DISTURBING WORLD THESE PEOPLE LIVE IN!

I’d say the homosexualization of children has gone a tad far now. Not only are they pushing adult sex on five year olds; now they are chopping their giblets at seven years old.

If US families continue to let social engineering radicals get away with this sexual abuse of kids in the name of homosexual adults, it is really going to be a road of sorrow and regret ten years from now when we have to face the aftermath. Being called bad names by radicals for standing up against the radicals’ child sex agenda is nothing compared to what the kids are going to suffer at the hands of these radicals.

Wake up! Doctors are now sexually mutulating manipulated children in the name of mainstreaming and normalizing adult gender bending! Having been a mom, I know that I had the power to influence my kids to think and do just about anything. I know the power of influence that activist school teachers have on kids as well. Families better protect them – NOW!

This is barbaric, evil & unChristian.

There are people out there who fantasize about being some sort of amputee. They want limbs or parts of limbs amputated because that’s how they would feel better about themselves.
These people are immediately prescribed heavy drugs, counseling and other “Re-education” of their brain to accept they way they look and feel good about themselves. IOW, they’re treated like mental patients.
Yet, if you want to cut off your penis or remove your uterus, and alter your body with hormone injections to make you feel better, the doctors are all with you. Apparently, drastically transforming your body from the molecular level up is perfectly acceptable, but asking the doctor to remove a leg, well… you’re just being crazy!!! WHY?
The gay lifestyle is shoved down our throat (pun intended) every turn because a small minority thinks that it’s all normal.
Everything living has only one common goal: to procreate. If it can’t it dies, becomes extinct. So being homosexual is UNNATURAL and WRONG.

I guess these children should be albe to drink, smoke, vote and what else an adult could decide, why do we even parents. This Doctor is sick children cannot even explain what sex is let alone determine if they want to a girl or boy. He should be jailed as well as the parents.

This is outrageous.

Poor little boys & girls that “feel” like the opposite sex simple need confident, self assured parents to come alongside them, tell them they love them, and inform them that in fact they are a boy/girl. The biology is there. All the rest of the sexuality-oriented mindgames people force-feed kids are a pile of PC garbage that the depraved push on everyone else in order to try to make themselves feel better about their own depravity.

Any parent or physician that participates in this should be charged with a crime. Call it child abuse of assult, either way it’s harmful and damaging. In Massachusetts you even can’t get a Tattoo until your 18 years old, even if a parent gives consent. But, it’s okay for a physician to perform a sex change, chemical or physicial, without restirctions. This is insane!

This is absolutely OUTRAGEOUS!!! A child at seven years of age has no idea at all what they “want” to be sexually, or in any other realm of life. How many times in a year does a child change their idea of what they want to be in a job when they grow up?

This doctor is a quack and only in it for the money; surely he doesn’t have any child’s best interest at heart. For ANY parent to even allow a child under the age of eighteen to consider this is unfit. I was a severe tomboy as a girl (and still am!). I am so glad this wasn’t an issue when I was young – I might have been mutilated into a man, and not have the fabulous husband I have.

This is SICK.

When I was a kid, I wasn’t confused- I knew I liked girls. But the boy who, in kindergarten, wanted to play super heros as wonder woman is… surprise… gay! People are what they are. What’s barbaric is not letting them accept who they are and live as such. Bless those doctors for fixing those kids! Your god must have taken a sick day when they were born.

This is the result of Atheism. Is this not the same state that has been electing Ted Kennedy for what, 40 years? Hey Ted give someone else in your district a chance.

TERM LIMITS would revolutionize the political system.

As a father of a child with gender identity issues it has been crystal clear from around age 3 that my child was made differently. He is one of 3 sons, all of which have been raised in a loving Christian and conservative home with loving parents and never any neglect of any form. Two of my three sons act completely normal and masculine while the third is completely a girl in every way. The Christian community seems to, and probably always will, have the hardest time with this issue, but their assessments and recommendations are harmful, out of date and out of touch. To listen to a simpleton like Falwell’s group or James Dobson, I could cure this if I only rough housed with my son more or if he had stronger male role models. In our case this is totally and completely false and I worry the life my son will endure because of the misinformation of the religious right and closed minded people from all backgrounds who will subject him to ridicule and worse. He didn’t ask to be made like this, so the least we can do as a society is to be open minded, educate ourselves and find ways to help him, not make him feel like a monster. My wife and I have chosen to wait until our son gets a little older to explore options and I think age 7 seems a little too young for a child to make any kind of rational decision on an extreme transformation like this but I clearly think this Doctor is providing a service that is necessary in some cases and at some ages.

Please! We don’t let children vote, drink or smoke cigarettes because they are too young to make that kind of decision.
Most states don’t allow a child to get a piercing or a tattoo until they are 18 without parental consent.

Next thing you know if a 12 year old wants to start becoming a prostitute of his or her own choice somebody will try to make it legal.

How many times does a kid decide, I want to be a fireman, just to change their mind in a year and become an astronaut, then when they are 15 they want to be a rockstar, skateboard hero or a sniper in the Corps.

Get real doctor “lets make a name for myself”…..

How amusing and politically correct.
The funniest thing will be the good doctor, his lawyership and the little patients’ parents standing before the White Throne and trying to justify their actions. Love to be around to hear that. Hope they pack their asbestos underwear.
The “adults” supposedly know the difference between right and wrong. Their problem. The kids…collateral damage.
Lass’ ihn, Lass’ ihn.
The books will balance.

I find this Doctor to be very disturbing. Shouldn’t he be helping them to find out why they feel the way they do, instead to giving them sex changing medications!!!!! This is quite disgusting!!!!!!!!!!

up till age 7 or 8 my daughter wanted to be a boy, she dressed like a boy, acted like a boy, tried to tell people she was a boy. She’s now 12 and she’s alllllllllllllllll girl. It’s a phase they go through and to put kids on drugs for every little thing in thier lives rather than teach them to cope is assinine. WTF. I wanted to be a duck when I was a kid, good thing my parents have the brains the good Lord gave them. That Dr. is a $$$ monger and nothing more, he should be ashamed of himself.

This is absolutely OUTRAGEOUS!!! A child at seven years of age has no idea at all what they “want” to be sexually, or in any other realm of life. How many times in a year does a child change their idea of what they want to be in a job when they grow up?

This doctor is a quack and only in it for the money; surely he doesn’t have any child’s best interest at heart. For ANY parent to even allow a child under the age of eighteen to consider this is unfit. I was a severe tomboy as a girl (and still am!). I am so glad this wasn’t an issue when I was young – I might have been mutilated into a man, and not have the fabulous husband I have.

By the way – a person can’t decide whether they are a Democrat or a Republican until the age of eighteen, they can’t enlist in the military until the age of eighteen, they can’t drink until the age of nineteen or twenty-one, why the hell should they be able to pick a sex change until the age of eighteen.

This is SICK.

Well society has finally revived the lost cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, the most ludicrous idea. Why not human cloning now, it’s only the logical next step, build kids in the laboratory, make sure they’re the right sex they are supposed to be. It seems modern medicine has advanced to the Deity level. Unbelievable!

and Nero stroked his fiddle bow as Rome slowly burned

This article has made me sick. A wonderful hospital like Children’s allows this garbage to go on? This forces me to seriously reconsider my annual donation. Surely there are more worthy institutions.

We are a sad and sick society that just keeps getting sadder and sicker.
God help us!!

I feel it is totally wrong for doctors and parents to play God. God does NOT make mistakes. Who are parents and doctors to think God has made a mistake by giving a child the wrong gender!!!

This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard all day. My preschool aged boy talks about how he is “mommy”, and my toddler girl is a tomboy at times. Should I take them to Boston and start their treatment right away? This is sick, disgusting, wrong on so many levels. God made my boy a boy and my girl a girl. I’m pretty sure He knew what he was doing.

Good gracious, I wondered how long it would be until the knuckle dragging religious nuts would come out and post their Dogma and ignorance . . . obviously it didn’t take long. Please evolve. And while your at it, read the whole Bible and live by every barbaric word in it (slavery, rape, murder, torture, etc.) or keep your unsophisticated opinions to yourself. “God please save me from your people”

The doc is no-doubt more troubled than his patients.

A shining example of why this country may get Barry Hussein Obama as president.

Who are doctors or parents in thinking that God has made a mistake is the gender He gave these children and that they can fix it. I think this is totally wrong because God does NOT make mistakes.

Wow. What IS this world coming to? As a professional in the field of psychology I am amazed and disappointed in this man. Where have this country’s eithics and morals gone? All I can say right now is…wow.

PURELY BARBARIC!!!! What parent would even entertain such an idea is beyond human comprehension!

Supposing that these youths are prepared to “decide” their gender for themselves, is it time to allow them to choose whether to enter the military, drink alcohol, vote in election? If the child is prepared mentally and physically to “decide” their gender, is it time to let them judge whether or not to attend school? Should they ever have curfews? Should we resist their joining gangs?

Were the children in Hitler’s Juniors allowed to freely choose for themselves? Were they fully informed about the political and social view of their beloved dictator? Had they the emotional and mental experience which only years of life can bring?

Does anyone remember what happened in Nazi Germany? The evil doctor experimented on children as young as 2yrs of age. The barbaric surgery and experiments this evil doctor did to those children were beyond comprehension.
I do not remember this doctor’s name, but someone needs to study history and what was happening in Nazi Germany before the allies invaded. I believe this evil doctor escaped to either Argentina or Brazil, changed his name, and was living a quiet life with his family and grandchildren. It took years to finally find this evil man and bring him to justice. Why would anyone calling themself a doctor want to even consider doing a sex change on a child? For the love of humanity, let these children have a childhood. Yea, when I was 7, I wanted to be a boy. I was a tomboy, but thank God, I outgrew my tomboy ways. I met my ex-husband while I was stationed in the Army at Ft. Sam Houston, TX. I have 4 grown children and 9 grandchildren. I’m glad I’m a woman.
Doctor, don’t you dare touch these children. Maybe someone needs to perform a sex change on you and see how you like it.

It is bad enough that the media is already influencing our kids… “You have to be thin to be popular,” “pretty to get attention,” “all grown up in pictures to sell a song, etc., ” but now, to have someone influencing the future of a child in such a way that they may be confused for the rest of their lives, is crazy. How on earth can we play God with such an important decision? IF, and I say that cautiously, IF a child becomes an adult, and is questoning their gender, then by all means, they should get counceling, etc. But, I honestly don’t think the majority of our kids would ever even question such a thing, if the “choices, options, etc.” weren’t portrayed all over the media. When you plant ideas/thoughts/options into a kids’ mind, of coarse they may think about and question their being… you’re telling them in a sense that “hey, there might be a better option for you, in case you hadn’t already thought about it.” LOL

The Chinese will love this, isn’t it preferred to have only one child and that it be male. Will the parents be allowed to make this decision? Screwing around with mother nature has never been a good idea.

here’s a “doctor” that obviously needs to be found floating in a river. where is his office?

There is biological backing to transgender, it’s not always just something in someone’s mind. Most people who are transgender and go through the procedure are monitored by doctors and psychologists for years to see if this is a manifestation of a mental problem or has biological roots. A girl who is exposed to a lot of testosterone in the womb will take on male characteristics in their development but otherwise look like a normal girl.

To say that transgender is wrong is to say that hermaphidites are unnatural. These procedures are nothing like the one mentioned in the article about choir boys in the dark ages because that was not always done voluntarily. This procedure would be done under close scrutiny because of the nature of the operation and the vulnerability of the patient.

Also, those invoking God in all this: Where does it talk about transgender in the Bible? I must have missed that every Sunday of my life. Also, think about Job, God allowed Satan to test him and change his life, who says that having a child born physically as a boy but the soul of a girl make it God’s work?

Which is the worse ’sin’ in your eyes: to commit suicide because they’re unhappy with their physical appearance and unable to get help or to change what they look like on the outside and be happy? To me it’s all in God’s hands and not for me or any of you to judge.

This is just another example of the direction our society is going-further downhill- and some in the medical profession are pushing it along bigtime. This is absolutely perverted medicine.

This is absurd! Kids are kids, and cannot make a choice like this as a child. This is an excuse that disgruntled parents who “never got that son” can brainwash their girls into thinking they are ‘really boys’ and can turn nature’s plan into garbage. I’m glad there a some of us out in the world who are willing to raise our kids normal at least.

With the inability to reproduce, this is the best way to grow the gay community.

Ridiculous…. absolutely absurd!

I think some people are confusing gender disorder, which is a mental issue, with children who are born with a gene that makes them either male or female, but with the wrong genitalia, a true medical condition. What these Doctors are talking about is changing the sex of a child because it feels a certain way. Shame on them!

I feel that we are forgetting who created us “God” if we all had “GOD” in our lives this would not be happening!!

And one wonders why this country is so screwed up! Sometimes you have to deal with the cards your delt with!

God help us! This is truly a sign of the end times. We’re a physician family and this is horrifying. This is about $$$$ for Boston Children’s, up till now, a first class facility. Letters of disgust should be written to this hospital.

This is just wrong and definitely child abuse. A very small percentage of children are born with an indeterminate gender. They used to be called hermaphrodytes. The medical profession would then assign the most likely or most obvious gender and handle medical procedures to reinforce that gender appropriately. But that is so very, very rare.

Many children go through phases of thinking about being or wishing they were the opposite sex but pass through them to be completely normal. What adults do about gender switching is bad enough, but to do that to a child is heinous. Legislation should be enacted to prevent it.

This world gets sicker every day. Doctors who became doctors to play God should be thrown out of the medical profession.

I am very encouraged by the amount of outrage this story has stirred up. I was beginning to worry that fewer and fewer people understood the reality behind sex changes.

Keri,

Don’t misquote the Bible. Obviously you need to re-read the Bible since you never caught the point that God does not make mistakes. If he put a soul in a girls body, then He meant it to be a girl. To say that He put the soul in the wrong body would be saying that He makes mistakes, which would say that He is not perfect. Thus all of Christianity would be undermined. Boys are boys, and girls are girls. My daughter barks like a puppy, but that does not mean I am going to allow her to live outside and eat dog food and hire a doctor to affix dog ears to her. Insane!

Take heed! Jesus said in regards to harming children “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” (Luke 17:2). Woe unto these doctors, parents, and supporters of these perversions to God’s gifts to us – our children, who we are commanded to protect!

there is no god…humans should be allowed to do whatever they want. god is a fiction that has been created over time to make people believe they can attempt to understand what they do not. quit hiding behind god because you fear something. i will say that i think this procedure shoudl be done after 18 and of legal age

Didn’y Hitler’s doctors do experiments like these during WWII?

Reckless, irresponsible, out of control, insane! This quack should have his license revoked! God, please save us from this insanity.

Wow, posters on this site – stop sounding off about something you don’t know anything about and get educated about gender dysphoria. It’s not new, it’s been studied extensively, it isn’t the product of deviant homes, it doesn’t go away in those who have it; it’s almost certainly genetic or biochemical in origin (male children begin as females in the womb and require chemical triggers to become male) and it’s not a matter of choice. Children who have this condition are not simply play-acting and going through a phase; they are going through torture. Open your minds, read the medical literature, acquire some sympathy – and that especially goes for those of you posting on this site who invoke religion at the drop of the hat to tell everyone else how to live.

In all my days, with one or two exceptions, I have never read a listing of replies as ignorant,un-informed, mean spirited and just plain stupid as the ones I have just read to the Boston transgender article. Transgender is thought, by a host of very respected doctors, to be the result of certain problems in the hormone washing of the brain of the fetus during development. As a result, the body develops as one gender, and the brain develops as the other. It has nothing to do with God, morals, the end of time or someone wanting to be a fire engine, as one rocket scientist suggested!

It is not a whim, a fad, or a faze these kids go through. These kids live in virtual hell in school and in public because of the confusion in which they live, being always taunted, bullied, beat-up, and made the brunt of ridicule, by many of the same bible-thumping neanderthals who left replies here today – always talking about God, but afraid to live His message of love, understanding and compassion. You should be ashamed of yourselves – I have no doubt He is!

While I do believe there must be limits on age, medical standards in this country do not currently permit transgendered surgery until later teens, however, early hormonal intervention can go a long way in saving many young lives that would otherwise be lost due to the fear and hate rampant in our society today. Like it or not – those are the facts.

I love how all these people think they speak for God! How sorely disappointed you will be when you find that God’s message was about LOVE not hate! And who are you to say that God did not create someone as transgender? People are born with all types of disabilities you can’t possibly be so ingnorant as to be unaware of this. And by the stupid logic of not changing the body God gave you, would your reject treatment of cancer? Please STOP trying to speak for God. The truth is you speak for YOU and you people are just hateful. Where you don’t have to agree with what everyone else does you do have to accept it and play nice. Frankly, the more hate you guys spew the more the rational people in this country get turned off by your so called religion. And realize that science, I know you don’t believe in science, shows that their are actual verifiable differences in the transgender that require they change to the correct gender. Please stop trying to force your undeducated views on everyone. Let individuals, families, and doctors figure out what is best for these kids and take your mysticism somewhere else!

So sad!! What is this world coming to? Dear God, please help us!!!! These are children. They need guidance and counseling not life altering and damaging medications!

I empathize with all of you that for one reason or another think that this transgresses God’s will.

I felt that way strongly myself for the longest time in my childhood and growing up because that was what I was told. As a child of five I did not want to be different, I wanted to have everyone accept me for who I was, a little girl, and when they wouldn’t I would ask God why. Eventually I just withdrew, I became an unhappy kid and an even unhappier adult and no form of solace was enough, my trust and faith in God was not enough.

The reason is that this condition never goes away. Can we repress it, absolutely, we do it to try and fit in but, from our earliest days on earth, it never goes away.

Those of us that are born this way have no choice but to live amongst you in a society of intolerance, we live in your society of intolerance for simply one reason, unless you are born this way you would never be able to understand what it is like to be this way. God cannot answer that question for you.

Today I thank God that this fine Dr. is allowing these children that are dealing with this condition a chance at a better life, will there be issues, you betchya, there always are but I will guarantee you that 99% of the children that are seeking this treatment know in their heart that it is the right thing for them and they will become better adults in the long run.

Please stop being afraid of us, of being afraid of this condition, we are not here to harm you, we are not evil beings, a lot of us come from good homes and love God just as much as you do.

Thank You Dr. Spack for providing a service that is long overdue and greatly needed in this country. There will be many more happy children.

There is no such thing as transgender surgery, just surgical mutilation of confused individuals in need of intensive counseling. To do this to children highlights the danger of accepting, and even embracing, sexual deviancy, i.e. the homosexual agenda.

I have a question for all you “holy rollers” who contend that transgender therapy is barbaric. How many of you actually know a child suffering with gender identify issues? The barbarism comes from closed-minded people like you who want to force these children into a gender role that than cannot fit into. And all without knowing anything about their problems. I doubt that any parent with a transgendered child is jumping at the opportunity to treat their child medically/hormonally without having gone through hell trying to convince the child that their gender matches their sex organs.

I heard two of Dr. Spack’s young patient’s and their parents speak at a symposium and the before and after stories are heart breaking; years of agony by the child as they struggle to “fit in” followed by the joy of acceptance once they were allowed to be themselves.

I applaud Dr. Spack and his work.

I understand how people think this is sick and wrong. On the surface, these situations seem very horrifying and immoral. However, nobody can judge this because nobody except for the child, the parents and the doctors are aware of each situation. Each situation is different and you can not make a blanket statement about it being right or wrong without knowing the details and the personal nature of each individual case.

The important thing to remember is that the transgender children are suffering. They honestly believe they are born in the wrong gender. Perhaps many of them will grow out of it. Perhaps some will be happier living as their chosen gender. It’s very hard to say. But, I think we can all agree that the majority of these parents want what is best for their children. They know their children better than we do. We should leave the judgement up to them – not us.

For those of you who continue to bring God into this, please get a life. This has nothing to do with unGodliness or sin. This is a serious issue for the child in which people are sincerely trying to make the best decision.

Who cares ? ? ? ?

Please stop sending unwanted mail

Re Tony’s comment. God aside, since when do you allow 7 year olds to make life changing decisions? What gives the parent the right to think they know their child soooooooooo well that they “think” he’d be better as a she? Why not wait till the kid is of the age of consent and make that decision themselves? Hell, I didn’t even pierce my daughter’s ears till she was old enough to ask for it, I don’t have the RIGHT to change her body in anyway. I have a RESPONSIBILITY to raise her as a MORAL, RESPONSIBLE child. With or without God, Good moral values play a major part in how your kids turn out whether it’s as a he or she or something in the middle. If at the age of consent they feel that strongly then I would support them without condition. I love my children whether, gay, straight, white, green, transgendered, whatever they are, they are my flesh and blood but that STILL does not give me the right to mutiliate or change them in anyway.

It is not up to a parent or a doctor to decide what sex a child “should” be, the decision is in God’s hands. Maybe instead of introducing new drugs and hormones to these confused children, we should be introducing the Word of God to them. Where is the state? Spanking your children is child abuse according to them WHY isn’t this overeducatied nut being brought up on charges of child abuse and sexual assault, NOW to the parents you should lose all rights to be a parent and be fixed so you may NEVER have a child again, also be put on list so you may NEVER adopt you have abuse the privilege of being a parent. And brought up on charges of child abuse and sexual assault.

Dr. Spack is one small example that’s twisting the ideals of this nation. A doctor who’s estranged moral compass is only interested is what drug can be prescribed to make the symptoms go away now. It seems he’s not interested at all in exploring the other options of treatments such as counseling or behavior therapy. These treatments he’s prescribing are irreversable…no going back!! You really want to take that chance with these kids? The best approach is caution and discernment when it comes to treatment of disorders in kids. They’re bodies and minds are changing so rapidly that what’s happening today probably won’t be the same tomorrow. Introducing these powerful drugs, hormones and surgery to these kids and I express…”KIDS” is irresponsable and reckless. And where are the parents in these situations???? We are responsible for our younger generation until they’re old enough to be responsible for themselves. Appently this Dr. Sparks has forgetten about that.

I think the one who REALLY needs a doctor (psychiatric one at that) is Dr. Norman Spack! This story made me even more convinced that our country is going to hell! Doesn’t anyone have morals anymore?

A child commits a crime and we are told that they are too young to know right from wrong. Why is it suddenly different in this situation? If a child is too young to know right from wrong when committing a crime, how can they be mature enough when it comes to such a drastic thing as a sex change?

It’s simply more of the deconstruction of the American society by the leftists that have been allowed to run rampant in this country.

How stupid are we going to let these ’scientists’ get before we realize that life is not just about sex and no amount of ‘assignment’, ‘permission’, or ‘alteration’ will ever fulfill or even mediate a persons relationship with the world. What a waste of tax dollars and scholarships. Are we just out of real deseases and problems to work on? Let the Psychology department take care of peoples’ relational and behavior issues, and let Real doctors and Real scientists have what they need to rid the world of desease and maybe even figure out how to end hunger and poverty.
This is absolutely the dumbest thing I’ve heard since, well since we called a transgendered man- ‘pregnant’. If it has a womb it is a girl- Idiot’s!

This is just one more example of how this “new age thinking” isn’t thinking at all. And the people defending it don’t realize how crazy they sound. What’s scary is they can justify it in their own minds. Anyone who can justify this action could justify ANYTHING !!

FOX news is screwed up. Why don’t you interview some other doctors that aren’t religious/right wing nutjobs? Transgender problems are psychological and not physical? You’re an idiot for even saying that. Look at the research, do some investigation. Try to open your eyes and look outside of your little church doors and see what’s going on in the world around us.

I think that it’s wonderful that this doctor is offering these services to children, which if you’ll note the rest of the civilized world has been doing for some time. It’s only because of all you right wing fanatics that can’t distinguish between a science book and the bible that we’re so far behind in medical care.

Fox News “fair and balanced” my ass. You slant every single issue you report on. To even include that guy connected to Falwell’s comments in an article concerning REAL doctors should be criminal. Take your religion and leave it where it belongs, in YOUR house or in YOUR church and not in medicine or science.

We all need to be praying for these people. The unGodly, misled doctors, the unGodly, confused parents and especially the INNOCENT children who are about to be mutilated, all for the sake of “medicine”.

Nice to see all the zelots still crowed around there yellow news site.

And there are still those that still question that there is a moral crisis in this nation.

Sounds like the doctor is setting up the perfect practice. Make sure these kids don’t go through puberty, so they can’t “really” discover their sexual preference…. Putting off the sound of; “Oh gee mommy, I guess I’m really a transvestite, lucky I still have something to show my excitement with”. Too bad these young helpless test cases will only be able to say: “Why Mommy”?

How can a child that young (7Yrs old) know what he or she wants to be. I wouldn’t think that the mental capacity to make such a radical choice……maybe it is that the child feels that they were given the wrong body by God, or it could be the parents didn’t get the child of their wish and are trying to change that at the cost of traumatizing the child for life.

I agree with Hap…..

you have got to be fu&*(( kidding

So let me get this straight… you are not supposed to spank your child to discipline them but you can now take them for a sex change or hormone therapy at 7?? This is sick, wrong and yes evil! As a nation we are turning into ancient Rome! However, I am sure the Liberals are fine with that just remember thou you will go down with the ship too!

In this issue I keep hearing the mantra, repeated over and over, ‘children can’t choose to be the opposite gender!’ Why not? At least 97% of them surely, definitely, unequivocally chose to be the gender that matches their bodies’ sex! And at such young ages, too! Before they start kindergarten, boys settle into building (and destroying) forts and battlefields in the sandbox, while girls build homes and communities. Who taught them? Did you parents carefully instruct your children in their correct gender roles, with gold stars for choosing the right clothing/toys/play activities — training them like some circus animal until they ‘got it right’?

Or did they just sort of fall into it without a whole lot of guidance from you? Why can’t they chose to be what they are inside? Because you won’t let them? And are you doing this for their benefit, or for yours?

By the age of five a majority of children already know all of George Carlin’s Seven Words you can’t say on TV. Many of them have had the sex act explained to them, and they understand how other people ‘do it’ (my cousin told me a joke about a kid by the name of Johnny Faster at that age.) Steven Pinker quotes the studies that back up this assertion in his latest book, The Stuff Of Thought, and in an earlier book (The Blank Slate), lays out with footnotes to the studies, how identical twins’ personalities are only about 50% identical, leaving room for television actress Candis Cayne, an identical twin, can be transgendered while her identical brother is not.

God, indeed, works in mysterious ways;

Hazumu Osaragi

Even in the liberal Boston area, this surprises me. What kind of parents would allow thier children to take these kinds of drugs and plan for a sex change operation at such an early age. The doctor does not surprise me, medical science has gone way to far anyway. But the parents amaze me.

I see that many are writing about God, and how God made man to be a man and a woman to be a woman. Didn’t God also make the man who found these drugs to make these children feel like themselves. God does everything for a reason, the bad and the good in people were all created by him. This is a genetic problem, just because no one has physical proof, doesn’t mean its not there. A child knows at an early age who they were meant to be, who are we to say they cannot not achieve it. There are medicines that were made to help children, these are unusual cases but the medicines were made by a man made from God. Trangender is a mental thing as is straight is mental thing as well. In order for a child to be whole their mind must match their body.

All I can say is that I HOPE JESUS COMES BACK SOON!!!! I can’t stand the thought of my children growing up in a society that thinks that this is okay and normal. We are certainly in the end times!

I am appalled but this. They are children – as stated in the article every child experiments with “gender” specific toys. What is our world coming to? I am 41 years old and I hope just like fashion trends “come back” that our society will come back to the basics of life. I miss the respect that we had for one another. My son is 15 months old and he is being taught how to respect, tolerate, accept everyone. Let them just be kids…the parents of these little people are out of their minds!

Have you seriously got to be kidding me… This article has to be a joke… what on earth makes anyone believe that a 7 year old has the mental capacity to make a decision of whether or not they want to be a girl or a boy. What kills me is when people say, “what has happened to our youth, they seem to be inconsiderate, innate, and disrespectful.” Well the reason is becuase the liberal idiots are encouraging it…. People want a democrat for a president??? At least Bush will not allow this kind of atrocity within his administration.

Childhood is a time when children are learning through cognitive growth and do not have the mental abilities or thought processes to accurately understand the world around them. So doctors who want to make some statement in their practice decide to come up with pompus and ignorant conditions that do not exist. Congress please please please put a stop to this encouragement of child abuse!!

Don’t even think about requiring parents to be notified in the case of a 7 year old desiring a sex change. It’s their own choice.

Thank god the doctor has the compassion and intellect that the public doesn’t. I can only imagine what would happen if doctors started to follow public opinion when it comes to treating people.

I’m totally disgusted by the number of people here who think they know what they’re talking about.

Compassionate chrisitians. What an oxymoron.

Could only happen in the screwed up liberal state of Massachusetts!!

It is unreasonable to expect a youth to make decisions like this that will affect the remainder of their lives. Even as a young man I approached a doctor asking for a vasectomy and he refused saying I would later regret the decision. He was right, I was wrong. My son changes his career goal and whole thought systems regularly. For a doctor to surgically or chemically manipulate a child’s gender characteristics is unethical and perverse.

The doctor’s have it right. If you are not a homophob, and you have friends who are transgender and/or gay, you would know that this doesn’t have anything to do with religion, faith, etc. This is a medical condition, and it should not be ignored. I’m sure there will be backlash on this issue, but I can honestly say that if this would have affected my child, I would have welcomed this opportunity and these doctors. This is not voodoo folks.

Maybe it’s because you’ve never had contact with someone that’s transgender. If you had then you wouldn’t be so “amazed.”

Why is it that we can’t admit to ourselves that,

“I have no experience with this issue, therefore it would be difficult for me to make ANY TYPE or RATIONAL JUDGEMENT because I would be making that judgement based on my own IGNORANCE instead of education or experience.”

My daughter thinks she is a frog….anyone know a good species change procedure??

We are becoming a nation like Sodom and Gomorrah and our government is letting all these things go by like if it was the best thing to do. this doctors have nothing else better to do than to push their own agenda on to the publis if they can get away with it.

Obviously they do not think about God at all; when you start taking matters into your own hands and deciding what is good for some one elses kids, that doctore needs to get a life and start doing good for the community instead of thinking of how to ruin our kids…..lets give the kids a chance to be kids and grow from there.

As an adult, you can do what ever you want, it does not make it right in the eytes of God, but you have the freedom to do it if you want that choice.

As far as I’m concern, God stuill in controlo of all that.

This is the problem with our country. It is becoming too liberal, that belongs to the democrats. I think this kind of procedure should be outlawed. What is going on with America?

That is so wrong, disturbing, and disgusting. What is America becoming?

My comments did not come out. I like to say that this procedure is a very dangerous precedence. This procedure must be outlawed. What is going on with America?

What evil we have come to in this country! It would be so wrong to alter the sex of a child. What is this doctor thinking or is he just trying to be politically correct. It is time for all of us to search the scriptures, so we can learn what is right and what is wrong.

Oh my god! What is this world coming to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WELL…..What do you expect from a moral curopt nation of ours.

There are no morals left….anything is ok……..take a few minutes to read in the Bible about the end times….its scary how it fits us and the rest of the world.

Don’t be surprised of a great earthquake in Calif, in the near future.its coming.

Dr. Norman Spack is mentally ill and so are the people who agree with his practices. This is not being done for the sake of medicine or for the sake of “correcting” a birth defect. This is about a strong homosexual agenda led by a very few who have chosen that life style. If this allowed any longer our country will surely collapse under her depravity sooner than later!

Why do people vote Republican, just read the story and you will see.

Absolutely sick. Anyone that would consider this should be locked up.

This saddens me. Chances are these confused kids have an absentee father or father figure. If people who decide to breed stepped it up and actually began to PARENT, we wouldn’t have half of the identity issues that plague our children and young adults that we have today. I can say that I’ve known people who were confused as children about MANY different ideas about who they were or who they were to become, but now know who they are as a man or woman, particularly those who base thier identity in Christ. Not religious dogma, just a real relationship that causes clarity of mind…seriously. Anyway, it’s just wrong to allow parents to to this to thier children, but at the end of the day, I don’t want the government telling me what decisions to make with MY child; so I guess it is what it is. This is why I say that the whole thing saddens me.

This is idiotic. What are these doctors thinking? This is like giving a fat kid candy and then telling him he needs to shed a few pounds. This is only an enableing behavior so doctors can make more money. Children do nto have the capacity to make life dicsions such as this, that is why you must be 18 to vote in this country.. think about it people. You can go to war and fight for your country and vote at 18 but you cant have a beer because younge adults are not yet mature enough to handle the choices. Now we will let a child decide to mutalate him or herself because they feel different. The parents allowing this should have the child removed from there care because they obviously are unable to make choices on what is in the best interest of the child. We as a nation have become so damn super sensative to the feelings of everybody else in the world and are so damn worried about offending some body that we are letting logic be pushed aside for the sake of appeasing a select group. Put the wacko doctor in jail for crimes against humanity, strip him of his licsence and execute the idiotic parents who would allow this to happen to their on flesh and blood. Place the children in theropy and and try to undo the damage these idots have done to the children.

When I read that procedures are done on children who are 7 years old…I was sickened and must admit how dangerous such actions are….

Children and teens are subjected to such Lurid knowledge these days that it would be extremely hard to really expect a Child or Teen to know exactly what they want to be. Some kids want Attention, some just want an adventure and some want to Aggravate their parents.

This option is viable for childen born with dual sex organs..or none…but to allow this for children especially if they are from Massachusetts…Children who are Taught in Formal Classes HOW GREAT IT IS TO BE GAY! these days kids come home thinking because they have a Best Friend of the same sex..well, they must be gay…SURELY SHOWS THE DANGER OF THIS MEDICAL PROCEDURE especially AT SO YOUNG AN AGE!

I saw this first hand with a neighbor’s son ..who had a friend he had known since 3 years old..now in 5 th grade and hearing the new SEX Education comments from his pals..HE THINKS HE IS IN LOVE WITH HIS MALE CHIDLHOOD FRIEND Because He really likes doing things with him and is not ..at this time..looking for a girlfriend!. It is so sad to hear the parents discuss this indoctrination of their son…

I GUESS BOYS AND GIRLS CANNOT HAVE A LCLOSE FRIEND OF THEIR OWN SEX THESE DAYS WITHOUT BEING CALLED GAY! these two little boys grew up loving and playing the same sports, games, and spent time with their parents fishing and boating and attending sports events..now they are told in School that they MUST BE GAY to be so “friendly”…I guess that makes the parents Gay too!

The two boys are embarassed, but lucky for them their parents are pulling them out of “public” school…and sending them to the SAME private school next fall…THE PARENTS BELIEVE THERE IS NOTHING BETTER THAN HAVING A BEST FRIEND SINCE YOUTH..AND THEY DO NOT THINK THEIR CHILDREN ARE GAY ..ONE REASON IS BECAUSE THEY ARE CHILDEN OF BEST FRIENDS THEMSELVES!

The only answer I can see is the recruitment of New Gay “friends” for the “unable to reproduce more” Gay Crowd. The only way to increase ones ranks when you do not reprouduce is to RECRUIT by indoctrination!

ALSO………would someone name me a country we could imigrate too that is not totally crazy, and has a few normal basic rights? I tried to think of one but could not. This story has got to be a fake.even the Name sounds phony.

Hope it is……..This is sick …sick…sick…………..AND DISGUSTING.

mY Gosh what have we become.

I cannot even finish reading this artice – it is beyond barbaric and unconscionable for the medical professionals involved. This is shameful and disgusting to think that they will allow a 7 year-old to make a life-altering, adult decision when they cannot even fathom the outcome! How tragic.

I agree with most of the people on this chat board. How could we let a child at such an early age make such a big decision?

It seems really twisted to mess with Mother Nature this way- I really don’t think genes lie. If you are born with an XY you are a boy and if you are born with an XX then you are a female. If a person “feels” like they should be a different gender then this is a psychological disorder not a physical disorder.

In reading some of these remarks it seems like people really feel for some of the children suffering from transgenderism (I am not sure if this is a word). I didn’t know this was a serious problem. I think it would be interesting to know what type of home life these children were exposed to. Maybe transgenderism is a symptom of something deeper that maybe wrong with the child. If you let the child switch his/her gender and don’t get to the root of the issue, it may exacerbate the situation. Then the parents would be paying for the sex change and years of counseling.

Norman Spack is digusting and deplorable. Victimizing young children is a crime. I suppose he would argue that his “procedure” be available without parental consent. HIS sex ought to be changed from MALE to EUNUCH.

This isn’t practicing medicine. This is just another way to come up with a method to make money. I can’t believe this guy would exploit confused children in such a manner.

Disgusting! I don’t see how this can be justified in America…

Alcohalizm has been proven to be genetic thus we should give alcohal to chidren exibiting this gene. (or so those who believe this nonsense would propose)

Call Childrens Hospital in Boston now and have this man disbarred…It should be the hypopcritical oath!

Another example of gullable and ignorant people believing in a medical cure for behavior problems. The parents of these children are disgusting.

I remember seeing a documentary once about people who believed they were supposed to be amputees. They even pretended they were paralized or injured, dreaming of when they could cut off their leg or arm, or both legs and both arms. This is not a physical problem, folks. They weren’t born WRONG because they had both legs and arms. These people are just as convinced something is wrong with their body as the “transgendered” folk. These people go so far as to try and cut off their own arms and legs, or get doctors to do it for them. Some of them have succeeded, and are happy for some time. But later find they are still not satisfied.

I remember one man had both his legs amputated and then was treated with medication for depression. Now he longs for the days when he could run. Regretting not getting help for his mind instead of trying to get his legs cut off.

This is totaly rediculous. If some yahoo wants to mutilate themselves and say they are a different sex than what DNA, DNA does not lie, says they are then let them wait til they are legal age 21. That is the age when most states say drinking is permissable so a reasonable age for deciding when to mutilate oneself.

Soo we will have pediphelia considered ok in the political realm like the Netherlands does. They support a party dedicated ot pediphelia. The ACLU alos supports pediphelia.

Let me get this straight. Spanking a child is abusive, degrading, and harmful to a child, but allowing a kid to get a sex change op isn’t? That’s wack! How does a kid even know what he wants to be at that age. When i was a kid, my brother thought it would be cool to go to prison because he wouldn’t have to work and could watch TV all day. If every kid, when they grew up, became what they thought they’d be, the world would be populated by policemen, firemen, astronauts, etc. This “doctor” should have his license revoked. Isn’t the first rule of medicine to “do no harm”?

Every day the courts, doctors, law makers and other so-called experts decree that teens aren’t mentally or physically developed enough to make decisions as to concensual sex, as to not being mature enought to see the perils of alcohol and drugs and countless other reasons but all of sudden a seven year old child, both mentally and physically undeveloped, can now decide as to his/her gender makeup. Most doctors and other professionals readily acknowledge that too little is known of this gender type situation. Dr Spack an other idiots like him should be prosecuted and their right to practice medicine withdrawn. This is absolutely disgusting.

Where the heck are the parents of these 7 years olds!

For some reason “Tony” has been blinded by his fear that God is real and that he’s been wrong all along to not believe in him. Don’t worry “Tony”, us “religious nuts” will pray that you will swallow your pride (the pride keeping you from admitting that you’re wrong and God is right) and ask for forgiveness. And we’ll pray it happens sooner than later, because as you said, “if you read the whole Bible”, you’ll see the writing is on the wall in ALL CAPS.

Let’s all pray for any kids who would become victims of this, who already have, and for those causing it to repent. Then, let us all move as one to stop this illusion and outlaw it immediately.

Science has NOT proved ‘transgenderism’ is innate. To PROVE scientific data the results must be repeatable with subsequent experiments/tests. This is the same reason homosexuality cannot be proven as inborn.
Irreversible alterations on a child’s body like this are unconscionable! What in the world are they thinking!

Why not in the name of “not telling them what they should and shouldn’t do” let them drive, do crack, or something else that is not illegal? Parents are NOT their kids’ friends- they are parents, and are supposed to protect them from doing stupid things like this. What if, in the childs vast maturity, they make this decision and regret it later? We need to remember what it is like being a kid and how tough things can be- really though- a sex change? Adults can do whatever they like, but leave the friggen kids out of it. This doc is an excellent salesperson without a conscience. I am not an overly religious person, but I sure wouldn’t allow the government (made up of egotistically maniac career politicians) determine what is right and wrong for kids. There is morality and legality- VERY DIFFERENT THINGS.

WOW! Doctors will do anything for a buck — now they invented a new disease to treat. Shame on the doctors including kids on your perverted quest for money!

Kudos, Frank… precisely, and well said. I got on here to make the same comment. If it is truly genetic, one of these ‘identical’ twins would have this gene and the other wouldn’t (which means they aren’t identical twins. Also, they want us to swallow that there is a gene, but in their ONE example, the ‘experts’–who are merely theorists– cannot provide evidence of this gene at all. Additionally, ONE example of identical twins? If it’s genetic wouldn’t this ‘gene’ be present in every single one of the cases? They tried this with homosexuality, didn’t fly then either. There is no gay gene. There is no transgender gene. There is a birth defect where individuals are born with BOTH sets of reproductive organs. THAT is a birth defect. That is the ONLY instance where children (or even adults) should undergo surgery to establish a specific gender.

State and Federal should be inacted ASAP to prevent demented doctors and lawyers from carring out these idiodic and barbaric procedures. Maybe he might need to get his gonads clipped. I know that sooner or later the ACLU will be involved, so all these should be stopped as soon as possible. !!!!!!

Ishmael

I am totaly against this by the way but for the sake of argument let me say this. I read some peoples views on here about pro choice for children the only thing that comes to mind is this. If a child has come to the conclusion that he doesn’t like living anymore and an adult allows this kid to play with a gun or even just makes a gun available to the child that in turn results in the child killing himself. Why is the parent taken to jail and charged with child endangerment or neglect or any other host of trumped up charges? This is the same thing in my opinion. The child was obviously old enough to make the choice to live or die right. That is the same irational argument people are using on this comment board. It is deplorable and idiotic. Before any of you transgender bible thumpers start jumping on me yes I speak from expieriance on this matter. I know a person who had this done as an adult and i don’t agree with it but that was his choice not mine. but he was an adult when he made that choice, not a seven year old child that decide if they would like cake or ice cream and then have a tantrum because they cant have each.

Well as someone Who knew she was different at the age or 3 and was forced to be the gender
that I was born into, and who later as a teen tried to kill myself because my body was going thru changes that I did not want. Yeah I could have been a negative statistic. At least there are parents out there that see the pain and suffering that their children are going thru, and are willing to do for the sake of the child, instead of beating them, making fun of them. Telling them to stop being a sissy.

Some of the comments I have seen on this post make me sick. It is easy to armchair quarter back a subject untill it happens to you or someone close to you. So before you open your mouth and say something negative Try putting yourself in the same position.

I wish the Dr and the parents success in keeping their children alive and happy.

Deanna Bryant
Portland Or

Can we say child abuse? There is no way a child so young can make a decision such as this. These Parents and Doctors should not let these children even think of having such an operation. This is simply child abuse.

This is just sad and disgusting. It is one thing for adults to choose what to do with their lives, but whatever parent would submit their child to this is….well there is no words it is just sickening.

The Childrens Hospital of Boston has a Child Protection Program Office…please call them and get the real facts…this is a viable, reasonable program that they say is not hurting children…the woman on the phone said that it is a very progressive and wonderful program…get the facts, not emotion!

A child is in no position to make such an incredibly radical decision on THEIR
life at least until they are adults. This is clearly a mental issue and NOT a
physical issue. This doctor is a picture of evil and should be arrested.
Where is our legislature/police at on this? Asleep?

This doctor needs to have his license pulled.

My kid is three and sometimes he acts like a dog and/or a monster truck. Does anyone think maybe my son was born in a little boy’s body, but is really a dog and/or a monster truck. Sometimes he says to “Daddy, i’m not a boy, i’m a doggy” I can’t help but wonder if this is his true self trying to get out. I wonder if this doctor could perform an operation on my son to turn him into a dog and/or a monster truck. Since this is how my son FEELS sometimes, I don’t see where there would be any sort of moral issue. Obviously, children are fully capable of making rational, mature decisions. And as we all know, it’s always best to base a decision, especially a decision regarding whether you’re a man or woman, on feelings.

I am so infuriated~ Why is this so called Doctor still in practice? These are Children for heavens sake. This person is trying to be GOD? This is sick and insane. How can this be tolerated in our society? In ANY Society for that matter. What is happening to our Country? (

I’m a 26-year old woman, and when I was little, I walked, talked, and dressed like a boy. I think back in the day it was called being a “tomboy.” I guess nowadays they consider that a genetic disorder. How sad.

I have a nephew who is going through this same thing, he is 13 and wants a sex change, he was born very pre mature and the doctors told my mother in law about the transgender gene, that he may have problems in the long run of what sex he is, which he does, he is very very very feminine. He is more feminine then most girls i know, he is too the extreme, i feel sorry for him because he gets picked on alot at school, i have tried to tell him to tone it down a little bit, but he likes to be flamboyant, so he kinda brings it on himself. I feel that everyone has a choice of who and what they want to be, but anyone under the age of 18 should not be allowed for a sex change or to be prescribed meds to alter their hormones. When you are that young you don’t know what you want to be or do for that matter

I believe homosexuality (transgender) is mainly psycological, but in some cases I believe it can be and imbalance of hormones.

Nonetheless, if God formed you as a female, you should stay a female and visa versa. This goes for adults as well as children.

God gave each of us free will to do with our lives as we will, but I really believe God must be sick to his stomach at so much that is going on in our society. (This doesn’t only apply to gays and lesbians, but ALL of society.)

Thank goodness someone has finally recognized that these children need help and no amount of “behavior modification” is going to change what is inate. These children struggle enough with society’s ideas of what is “normal,” but to them, being born into the body of the wrong gender is the only “normal” they know!

Wow. I love the logical “you don’t give an anorexic lipo” and you shouldn’t give mentally disturbed kids hormones or surgery. That says it all.

If a man comes to a doctor and says he should only have 1 arm, and requests an amputation, surely the doctor will seek a psyche-review. Same instance here, in my opinion.

You have got to be kidding me! This is some type of Liberal sick joke. Kids at that age are often confused. How many Tomboys have you seen at that age? This needs to be made illegal. It’s one thing for an adult to decide whether to have a sex change or not but something completely different for a kid seven years old to make that decision. This seems to be something concocted by the homosexual/Transgendered community attempting to make their lifestyle choices more mainstream. the Silent Majority needs to stand up and be noticed before they get ahold of more of our kids!

I am starting a clinic for kids who think they’re dogs or monster trucks. I will implant tires, gears and a motor (or dog parts) after some hormonal therapies…LMAO. I wanted toi be a transformer when I was a kid, can I get an operation?

This is the most disgusting article I have read this year. I totally agree with the writer that said how confusing it is to be a child. I teach and I see the horrible things our children have to contend with. I cannot believe that docotrs would do something so crazy and immoral. It is a definite sign of the end times. How could parents do something like this to their babies. My friend was a true tombot growing up. Now she is the most beatiful woman, wonderful wife, and mother of four beautiful children. This is an attack on the family and the Lord Jesus is truly soon to come. Doctors: You will give account to God for your actions!!!!!

Yank this and the other idiots considering this practice licenses.

When I was 8 I went through a period where I thought I was dog…are we going to come up with a treatment for that too?? Wow.

This is just amazing to me. When the kid grows up and is able to make decisions for themselves then fine; let them do as they please at that point. There is no way that a 7 year old knows what they really want from life. I remember my parents grounded me when I was bad, praised me when I was good, and told me to get out of the house and go do something instead of me wining and sitting on the couch. Why are parents so weak these days? Instead of giving a kid everything they ask for, how about growing a backbone and start being a parent?

Forty years ago my son was born with a severe congenital heart problem (tetralogy of Fallot ). Boston Children’s Hospital did amazing things for our son . In appreciation both my husband and I worked for many years as volunteers at the hospital. We also made a substantial ( at that time) monetary donation to the hospital for the EKG room. We never would have envisioned this experimentation on young children for a sex change. This change is not indicated because of some immediate life threatening problem. Children of this age do not have sufficient knowledge and experience to give consent to such things. Needless to say my opinion of this Doctor and the hospital policies have changed tremendously.
Betty

Those who deny transsexuals the right to become who they are should also offer to shoot them on the way out the door. They are condemning humans to likely suicide or death by neo-fascist school and street thugs. That attitude is the same thing as eugenics. Anyone who does not fit the blonde, blue-eyed, horny hetero baby machine mold, should be eliminated from society, they think. Ironic that the same people who complain that courts should not adjudicate about reading Bibles in schools are immediately ready to impose sex functions on people by law – be they reproductive behavior or child bearing.

Wow, some of these comments are just plain disgusting. I guess people really are frightened of what they don’t understand. I certainly don’t agree with gender reassignment at an age below 18 years of age, but I think therapy and/or hormone treatment would be merited in certain situations. If any of you had a loved one or friend that has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria you would realize the long term sacrifices, pain, and social stigma associated with “transitioning”. These folks are ostracized by all segments of society and only recently has there been some legislation enacted that prevents them from being discriminated against. You people that just blindly spew your hate should be ashamed of yourselves.

I would never tell a child they aren’t feeling what they are feeling, that’s wrong. But, I would never let that child’s feelings at 11 or 12 years old determine their entire future as human beings. Let them grow up, in therapy, and then let them make this decision as an adult.

This type of procedure, on a child, is totally unacceptable, in my opinion.

Children are not fully grown. Their growth plates are not closed and their cognitive reasoning abilities are not fully developed. How can they possibly understand the ramifications of this kind of surgery?

Furthermore, which so-called medical and mental heath professionals are making these decisions? We learned, after the fact, that Dr. Alfred Kinsey, the father of the homosexual movement, used and supported pedophiles who conducted sexual experiments, on children as young as 2 months old, to supply him with data for his publications and he used incarcerated criminals to come up with his 10% Myth regarding the population of homosexuals, in this country. The actual figure appears to be between 2-3%.

The American Psychiatric Association (APA), which at one time appeared to support the notion that homosexual behavior is genetic/innate, has now revised that information. In spite of more than 40 years of studies, there is no proof, whatsoever, that homosexual behavior is genetic/innate. The following comment is taken from the APA’s recent brochure, which can be found, on the APA website. As follows:

This statement has recently replaced the APA’s original statement, as follows:

“There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay or lesbian orientation. Although much research has examined the possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, social, and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have emerged that permit scientists to conclude that sexual orientation is determined by any particular factor or factors…”

Surgically and/or medically altering a child’s gender is tantamount to heinous child abuse and butchery.

It is important to understand that one of the major arguments for removing homosexual behavior from the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), a change that many now accept, as simply indisputable, was based on the genetic/innate claim, in spite of the fact that it now appears the decision was based wholly on fiction.
You can find more on this subject by using Google to search “The Trojan Couch” .pdf file.

What is wrong with you people who think that a 7 year old has the mental capacity to decide the he/she was supposed to be born the opposite? Are you kidding? Shame on any so called parent who thinks that it’s ok to to endulge in what a child thinks is ok!!!! Child!!!! Parent!!!! Parents need to be parents and stop trying to be their kid’s buddy!!!

children at this age have no idea what there sexual preferance is all about. A child this young should not be made to choose if he or she want to be a boy or a girl. Let them grow and when they finally become adults they can choose for themselves. Not by a quack doctor.

How do the parent’s decide this for their kids? And how would a very young kid, who barely understands the true nature of “death”, understand the implications of a sex change? How old are these kids? There are many levels to this, but it is just plain abusive.

Yeah we are the bad ones because we won’t accept everything that is pushed on us?!!? Its called making informed decisions and not just accepting everything as what someone tells you to believe. We are the ones being chided here though for not understanding?!?! PUH LEASE. We understand completely. We understand that at 7/8 years old kids have NO idea who they are. They have no idea who they will be. At 15/16 its the same story. Looking at science…guess what they can’t prove that this is a gene thing…there IS no proof. Right now its just a theory that is just as wrong as it is right. And WE are being deemed as the ignorant ones? You are the ones putting your money on something that is completely fictional for all we can see right now.

Signed,
Everyone on these boards but the 4 people that want to chastise the logical ones.

I think this is wonderful! I wish this mindset and service had been available when I was a child. I would have had a much happier life. I knew I was really a boy at a very young age. Probably around 4 or younger.

For the other comments… Don’t make judgements or comments on something you know nothing about! This is a necessity for transgendered children and teenagers.

I was such a tomboy, and everyone thought i was a lesbian until I got married and had kids………hmmmmmm
Perhaps it’s the ashamed pathetic parents who want to change thier child so they don’t appear to be the parents of a “tomboy” or a “girly boy” , I usually agree with medicine but what the hell are we doing here people……..

I could understand the move if he was trying to save hermaphrodites from future pain that would come once puberty kicked in and they had 2 sets of hormones confusing them, but transvestites are completely different. I was convinced that I was a boy and not a girl until puberty finally kicked in completely and I could no longer deny that I was a girl. Looking back, I am glad that I am female, and I would have felt lost for the rest of my life if someone had granted my wish when I was little and completely changed me to a boy.

Based on these comments we are certainly still a closed minded puritanical society. While I dont beleive in some of the doctors methods it is wonderful to know that options are available for children with severe gender issues.

Is this guy is a complete nut – these are kids – let them be kids – in the USA you can sue a baseball bat manufacturer for a kid who is hit with a ball and dies but this crazy idiot is allowed to damage kids for life!!!

Why am I not surprised. We have forsaken our Maker and we will incur His wrath in the days to come. Lord, please forgive us.

Don’t tell me what I know nothing about, I know this, I have a child, I am proud of her no matter what, but I will not subject her to treatments with hormones, and surgery to feed into some urgency to change, i will support her when her body is able to support her….

I am amazed by our society today. We accept any and everything as normal. I can tell you that, as a child growing up (I am female), that I did everything boys did. I rode dirt bikes and jumped ramps. Played in the dirt with hot wheel cars and climbed trees. I picked up snakes and threw rocks. I was so tomboyish, that I don’t think I wore a shirt while playing outside until around the age of ten. Thankfully we were raised in the country with view neighbors. I followed my older brother and used to think “I wish I were a boy”. And yes, I had sisters too, so it wasn’t as though I was influenced only by a male sibling. My sisters were girlie girls. Probably if you had asked me at that age, I would have told you I was suppose to be a boy because I wanted to do, and could do, anything the rough and tumble boy did.
But trust me…..as I aged and hormones began to set in….things changed. As a teen….I was not Ms. Feminine, but I knew I was a girl, and I liked being one. I liked boys (though I could probably, at that time, beat most of them to a pulp).
There is no way you can take a child at that age and determine that they are “transgender”…..which I think is hogwash to start with. God don’t make mistakes…..we humans do….and then blame it on God.

To suggest this is nothing more than perversion. The authorities need to keep an eye on this doctor in case he decides to act on this pervesion. Another perspective: If a child is given a choice at such a young age, you might as well release all your pedophiles from prison and remove those on the “Sex offenders” list. Why, you’re saying a 7 year old is old enough to know and I DISSAGREE.

To “CallChidlrensHospital”

“The Childrens Hospital of Boston has a Child Protection Program Office…please call them and get the real facts…this is a viable, reasonable program that they say is not hurting children…the woman on the phone said that it is a very progressive and wonderful program…get the facts, not emotion!”

Really a $20,000 a year security guard told you all of this..
Hitler had warm showers installed for all the jewish prisoners in Alschwitz also to make them more comfortable. At least thats what an SS soilder said once. Unfortunately they turned out to be gas chambers and insinerators that resulted in the loss of millions of lives. A turd by any other name is still a turd. Dont be so naive, just because the “highly trained phone answerer” says it is a viable program doesn’t really lend to the credability of the program. I would be more impressed if the AMA said it was a viable treatment for an identifable and repeatable problem that was actually documented and backed up by years of research. It doesn’t make it so just because somebody would like for it to be so.

This is just a sign of the end times. We are getting closer to the ‘days of Noah’ and the condition of Sodom and Gomorrah.

It’s hard to believe that this guy actually calls himself a doctor. But I guess if you teach the religous belief of evolution in schools and take out any reference to the God who designed and created us, then you can make up anything that you want – I’m still confused how people can believe in something so impossible as evolution, which is based 100% on random chance, no designer, no creator – but you look at this email application that I am writing on and the internet that it is transmitted over that the computer that I’m using – did they evolve over billions and billions of years (as our friend Carl Sagan would say) and were found growing out of a rock in the desert or the code out of an elephants tail – or were they all designed and created for a purpose, through intelligent design?

So if our schools and Hollywood preach their wacky religion, then of course we will all act like animals as that’s what we’re told and guys like this feels there are no consequences to doing things like this to children who are far too young to make a true choice.

Jesus said “… let the children come to me…”. He has great love for people, especially children. Children who are being told that just because they feel a certain way now, are being incouraged to change what God has created. This would appear to be a very foolish decision and will tragically hurt these little ones for a life time.

Tomboys are different than transgender children. Because they never say they ARE boys. That is a huge difference. No parent would make their child this way. Gender Identity is formed by a hormone wash in utero and is unchangeable. You can be barbaric and try to push a square peg in a round whole, or you can treat your child with respect and follow their lead.

Being transgendered is who you are; it is who you were born to be. This is not a mental or psychiatric condition. Various medical research publications have unequivocally supported that transgenderism is determined as a child develops in utero. A person is “hardwired”, so to speak, to be transgendered.

There is no cure; there is no fix. Whether MTF or FTM, a transgender person will not be happy with their life until they can express the person they actually are. Dr. Spaeck understands what transgender children face if they are allowed to develop into their birth-assigned gender, which is opposite from the gender their brain tells them they are. Suicide rates approach the 50% mark for transchildren children.

As the mother of a transgendered son (FTM), I would much rather have my child on hormones and have sexual reassignment surgery when the time comes than to have a dead child, who never reaches adulthood.

This doctor needs to have a psycho evaluation. Don’t touch the children..The parent’s need a psycho evaluation…No child knows who he/she is..only what.. the parents want “it” (the child) to be..this makes me sick..this is child abuse..of the worst kind..the good people of the USA should sue these child mongering folks..or .they will have a civil war on their hands..we need to protect the children…from fake science..This is NAzism of the worst kind…this is abomination..this is playing with fire…a bonfire..His liscense should be revoked..and him put in prison…

Absolutely one of the most disgusting things I have ever heard of. God is definately gracious for not judging the United States as He did Rome and giving it what it deserves.

Dr. Mengele.

America has to do something soon. Here we are turning our children into sexual exploited victims at the prime old age of seven. Maybe we should kick them out and force them to survive on their own at that age (I.E. Sparta).

Wow, if they don’t arrest this Doctor the first time he touches a kid and charge him with endangering the helth of a child, the authorities are asleep at the wheel. Just for suggesting this as a serious proceedure, there should be a physicians license revoked.

As a parent and a medical proffessional I am frightened by this policy. Hormonal treatments without first doing intensive psychotherapy? A 7 y/o making a life altering choice? Where are the “child welfare service professionals” in this City? May God have mercy on these poor confused children. Obviously this Doctor is not concerned with mercy.

For God’s sake! Read the first hand account of such an atrocity. “As Nature Made Him” by John Colapinto. These egotistical quacks are nothing more than a perverted product of our sickening educational and cultural system. I am shocked that this can still be going on. This is a malpractice equal to the sickness of the third reich medical maniachs.

There is sooo much ignorance and hate being thrown around out here it is frightening. All of you wanting to make this into a moral, religious, end times discussion are so clueless as to what you are talking about you are nothing but uninformed, hateful, bigoted and self righteous. I know, because I use to be the same. I used to buy into all the dogma, scare tactics, and ignorance of the religious right. Then God revealed to me that I was not being Christian by hating gays and transgendered people for the way they were created, I was nothing but an ignorant jerk. Almost all of you have someone in your life who was created gay and some may have someone who is transgendered. You may not realize it because these people are forced to live in secret because they know how many intollerant people are around them. It is not a choice and shame on you for propelling this ignorant belief. These kids are burdened with a physical difference that you find disgusting and you make fun of. Would Christ be proud of you for ridiculing them? Try informing yourselves of facts and not myths, superstitions, and intollerance. The Doctor is not the villain here. It is you posters who speak of something you know nothing about. Shame on you. Your self righteousness and assurance that your beliefs which are grounded in ignorance are correct are setting yourselves up for a mighty fall. Remember throughout history “Christians” were right on board almost every societal ill including slavery, segregation, racism, witch trials, torture of non believers, indian genocide, crusades, banning of interacial marriage, and the list goes on and on. Now, all my fellow Christians pick and choose excerpts from a man made Bible that justify their own bigotry and they feel comfortable in hating that in which they do not understand. It is easier to hate than to learn the truth. I don’t recall Jesus saying to hate gays, hate transsexuals, but I remember many areas of the Gospels where he said not to judge. Hypocrites . . . I think many of you need to remove the plank from your eyes!

So much anger. So much hostility. Of course there is opportunism on such an emotionally charged issue. Why do we react so strongly to the idea of a man or a woman pretending to be the opposite sex? Do we fear being tricked? I can only guess. Yet the Christians want to turn it into a moral issue marking it a sign of the end times. (I admit it could well be.) While atheists want to lift up the hypocracy of situation as the Christian’s fail to have compassion. (I admit that this seems plain as well.) But a clear mind and an open heart should lead you to a very real truth.

For starters…
There are many birth defects that I do not believe God made. There are many of us who are born one way and quickly move to change it. Our noses are too big, our busts too small, we prefer to be a different hair color. But these are insignificant compared to sex changes. What about a cleft palet or the Simese Twins? Is it God’s intention that two people joined at birth should live their lives out that way? No.
You see, God created the world and while he can and does act in it, for the most part he lets the world operate based on the physics he created. Therefore he did not send an earthquake to destroy the children in China, nor does he give people birth defects and expect them to live thier lives with them.

Next. We can question the validity of a child who claims to be their opposite sex. But how do you know it is not real. Is that because you yourself did not have the problem? Is it easier to blame the parents, or the person themselves? Do you really think it is simple Tom boy (Tina girl?)behavior being manipulated or misunderstood by science? I assure you a lot of research has been done and the competant medical community can tell the difference. I doubt if any of the messages sent today were by anyone who actually has read the research. And if they did, I can tell from their attitudes that they would deny on emotional grounds alone.

Finally, after someone has gone through puberty they have all the secondary sexual characteristics of their gender and most of the time they cannot be erased. Tall masculine men look like tall masculine women. Short effeminant women look like short effeminant men. Vocal chords are deeper or higher and all the efforts of science leave the person feeling short of the ideal self image.

I do not expect the moralists, or those who fear sexual issues to have compassion, but the rest of you can at least see the value in delaying puberty in these people until they are older, and can make a decision. This process would also allow people to try out gender roles to see if they do fit. Most of us don’t have to sort that out. We are lucky. But what about those who are not so lucky.

I suggest that it is reasonable to think people can experiece their life as if they were in the wrong body. I suggest it is reasonable to use the knowledge we have to compensate for deficiencies we have at birth. And I suggest that God does not cause birth defects and it is possible that God understands the pain the child is going through and God understands the intent man has to end it.

No, the truth here lies in us. We all bring our own baggage to this issue. Christian, Atheist, Scientist or interested voyuer we all see what is in us in this situation. Your opinion about this may be an opportunity for you to look at yourself. What if…what if you woke up tomorrow convinced you are really the opposite sex inside. How well would all your pat answers hold up then? Think about this a little more before you judge others.

Medical research publications may have unequivocally supported transgenderism as “congenital” but it CANNOT be proven. Scientific research has not duplicated the outcomes in repeated experiments/tests for this because it is not a legitimate claim.
The choice to commit suicide is exactly that…A CHOICE. These people were not genetically programmed to kill themselves no more than a terrorist is programmed to commit atrocities.
Get the child in therapy!

Please everyone reading this……….pray. This has got to stop, people must see that this is pure evil at work.

Pray that GOD would intervene and stop this sick, twisted, demented evil that threatens those most innocent.

Thank you Dr. Norman Spack for single-handedly making the world more screwed up.

Hey Tony, I don’t think anyone on here is being hateful and gay bashing, you are the one turning this into what it is not, people on here are concerned about what we are doing to the children we are supposed to be protecting. Get a Life

For those of you who comment negatively on transgender children and the doctors who understand their condition and treat them accordingly, let me say that your opinion would dramatically change if you had a child that was born transgendered.

Being transgender is not a choice a child makes; simply, it is a child knowing their birth gender does not match the gender they see themselves to be. Let me ask you this question. How old were you when you realized you were a boy or a girl? Were you 18? No, you were no older than a toddler before you understood that you were either a boy or a girl.

Now take a transgender child at that age when they come to their parents and say, I’m not a boy/girl, I’m a girl/boy. These children know what they are, regardless of what gendered body they are born into.

Why would responsible, understanding, and accepting parents not seek out treatment from such doctors as Dr. Spaek to delay the development of puberty until the transgender child is old enough and responsible enough to make a decision regarding use of hormone therapy or sexual reassignment surgery? Do you have any idea what it is like for a transgender child to go through the puberty of the opposite gender? Such development causes great anguish and mental crisis for these kids, many of whom will take their own lives. Personally speaking, I would much rather have a happy, healthy, and living child than to have a dead one, because I would not allow him/her to express themselves to be the person they are.

For those of you who are so good at making Christian-based responses, I will end with this. God does not create imperfections, and my transgender son is not imperfect. He is as God created him to be……transgender.

God bless doctors such as Dr. Spaek and parents/families who understand, accept, and support their transgender children.

Probably better to wait till about just before puberty, around 12-13 years old

Tony you say this isn’t about God, than why are you goin on ranting about gospels and such…pathetic

This is disgusting. This is the kind of thing that has brought our once great country to the discrace with no morals it is today.

This is just another way for the drug companies to make more money. a 7 year old dose not know what he/she wants or needs. They are still growing up they dont even know or understand what they are feeling. this doctor should be executed, its sick. if God made your a boy than you are a boy if you where made a girl you are a girl, its as simple as that. i bet their are not strong father figures in these kids lifes

it really Pis#es me off that people have the nerve to back this up, you bet your a%! is the end times. the end of all descency!

I agree with you Carmen

This is the most outrageous thing I have seen in a long time. Right up there next to “Homosexual Marriage”! The person that does this to a child is a sick, twisted individual and is not a doctor but definitely needs treatment him or herself… This is to the level of Sodom and Gomorrah but what can we expect from MA, they elect Ted Kennedy and John Kerry a couple of outrages themselves.

Dr. Spack – Repeat after me: A child cannot give informed consent. Period.

Tony,
What the heck are you smoking? nobody is bashing gays if you want to be gay that is your business i don’t mind. My concern is that the best intrest of the children is not being served. Children can not make choices of this magnitude that is why they are not allowed to vote until 18.. duh!

In Leviticus 18:22 God calls homosexuality an abomination. People who think God would agree with sex changes definately need to look up the word ABOMINATION in the dictionary. The fact that this is even a topic is sickening. Our country definately needs prayer now more than it ever has.

As North America gets farther away from God, the more more sinful stupidity things are happening, this is not part of the way God created this world to function, and sadly too many people are going to realize it when it is too late and are spending eternity in Hell. Maybe everyone needs to start reading Gods word-the Bible- more often.

There is no gay gene and the twin study proves that as well. Social and family dysfunction, traumatic incidents are what cause this confusion in children as well as adults. If transgender, homosexuals etc. were born this way there would be alot more then 3% walking around. Social pressures, political correctness, mental illness and just plain idiotic thinking also nurture this type of thinking. It is also wrong to try and declare this a civil right as issue because you are not born gay and it is choice made due to some mental problem or gender confusion.

It is a very, very sad day in American when judges overule the voters voice and then to want to shoot up our children with a drug to allow them to choose what sex they would like to be. God have mercy upon us.

This story is one of the reasons why Muslims love to hate the US…and in this respect, in this story, I can almost understand it. Why?????? Why is this done to children?

This is nucking futs. Kids these days already have it hard enough, and now we’re throwing sex changes at them. Christ Almighty, see how fast this world is going down the shi*ter, i’ve decided that im never going to have kids. Its just unfar to bring them into this world and have to have them deal with all this junk. Personally I do find myself wondering what it’d be like to be a female…from time to time ( I think females have it easier than males), but would I EVER consider a sex change? Fu*k no!
Transgenerism is a mental disease, not a medical abnomily. Being born with 2 heads. Having 3 hand instead of a foot. THOSE are medical conditions.

If we are going to let them make decisions such as this that affects the rest of their lives, thatn they should decide then what they want to do when they grow up, get married, hell, lets have them move out, after all they know who they are and what they want at 7 right?

I hear there’s a pedophile gene…a beastiality gene… an a incest gene also. Get real.

Just when you thought you’ve seen it all… another liberal squeezes out another thought like this. Forget global warming… I predict we’re going to implode in 20 years if they’re allowed to have many more thoughts.

In answer to comments by:

Comment by declan
May 19th, 2008 at 2:09 pm

Dear “declan”:

Hitler was also made by God. Should we have just let him have his way as well? If you believe in God, then you must know that there is a satan too. He is also at work. Evil is not of God. Satan works really hard to be heard and seen in what men do. EVERYDAY.

I seriously think people need to stop bringing god into every issue.
This is a free country and there are many different beliefs…that is what makes us so unique.
None of you have any right to say what others can do with their own body…only god is allowed to judge; so read what you preach.

How dare you say what others can do with their body; you do not have to live with that feeling.

The only thing I think that may cause problems is that it might be a little dangerous for a young child to go threw that process. Your body does not stop growing till your in your 20’s so maybe there should be an age limits for health reasons.

Besides that, I have much respect that these poor children can admit how they feel to the public and doctors. I feel this way because of how many people are going to look down on them just because they have courage about their feelings while everyone else hides and judges them because they think they are important.

Live your own life.

ENOUGH !!!!!!!! Our Lord Created every one Special, I am SICK of HEARING about HOMOSEXUALS ,,WHO THINK THAT THE WORLD IS AFTER THEM, AND HOW THEY WANT ALL THESE SPECIAL RIGHTS,, GOD’S PLAN IS FOR MAN AND WOMAN TO BE AS ONE,, NOT TWO WOMEN AND NOT TWO MEN,, AND NOW WE HAVE A DOCTOR WHO IS OFFERING SEX CHANGE OPERATIONS TO OUR CHILDREN *** LEAVE OUR CHILDREN ALONE*** FORGIVE ME FATHER, BUT, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, IT BREAKS MY HEART TO WATCH SO MANY PEOPLE BEING DEVOURED BY SATAN, ONE DAY WE ALL WILL COME FACE TO FACE WITH OUR CREATOR ** LORD JESUS CHRIST** AND THE THOUGHT OF SPENDING ETERNITY IN A LAKE OF FIRE SCARES ME,, IT SHOULD SCARE ALL OF YOU ALSO,,, I FULLY REALIZE IT IS THE SIN,NOT THE PERSON, THE DEVIL IS A LIAR, THE DEVIL DESTROYS FAMILIES, PLEASE OPEN YOUR HEARTS,PLEASE DO NOT BE FOOLED,,,, JESUS LOVES US ALL SO VERY MUCH,,BUT,, HE DOES NOT CONDON HOMOSEXUALLITY,MURDER,LUST, GREED, STEALING, I COULD GO ON,, PROTECT OUR CHILDREN,, I SINCERELY PRAY THAT THERE IS NOT A PARENT OUT THERE CONSIDERING THIS SURGERY FOR THEIR PRECIOUS CHILD,, THE GREATEST GIFT YOU WILL EVER RECEIVE IS THE GIFT OF A CHILD,,, TAKE CARE OF YOUR CHILDREN, PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN, I HAVE HEARD SOME DISGUSTING STOMACH TURNING THINGS LATELY, BUT, THIS TOPS THEM ALL,, THIS DOCTOR “MUST” HAVE HIS LICENSE REVOKED ASAP, FOR THE PROTECTION OF OUR CHILDREN,,,,THIS DOCTOR IS DETERMENTAL TO THE WELFARE OF ANY CHILD!!!!!!! PEOPLE PLEASE OPEN YOUR HEARTS, OPEN YOUR EYES, IN A SENSE THIS DOCTOR IS A SEXUAL PREDITOR,,, AND SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO BE AROUND ANY CHILD…. I PRAY THAT OUR LORD COMES BACK SOON, IT IS TIME,,,, THE EARTH IS COVERED WITH SO MUCH EVIL , SO MUCH EVIL…….. AND IF ANY OF YOU “DO NOT” THINK THAT THIS DOCTOR IS EVIL , THEN, I PRAY FOR YOU,,, SINCERELY,,, TRISHA HEROM

Oh, good lord…..it’s nearing the end of times, is it? Well, get this…..there have ALWAYS been transgendered people on this earth. It’s not something new; not a new biological phenomenon; Not some dark aura depicting a dark shadow upon the world and ushering in the ends of times.

You doomsayers need to get a life.

Every day children are born with visible, physical differences, be it one arm, one leg… Why is it so hard for people to accept the fact that children may be born with genetic differences, that are not visible to the eye??? While I do think childhood is a little young to start making physical, sexual changes, I fully understand the mental suffering that these children are going through. Anyone that can look at a transgendered 5 year old and talk about “choices” has bigger problems with their own lives to worry about!

This has to be the sickest crap I have heard in a while…just when you think you have heard it all!

These doctors need to stop playing God and maybe pick up a Bible. It might teach them a thing or two about respecting God’s creation. Remember what it says about people who hurt “one of these little ones”?!

The moral relativists are shoving their way to the front again soliciting our reverence for their phenomenal wisdom, ironically, in moral affairs! Remember preaching to us there are no absolutes? They sound pretty absolutist about this.. . . how loving and compassionate it all is! It’s like listening to a rapist trying to convince his victim he’s performing a surgical procedure.

May God have mercy on this man! This is another example of how distored this country has become. The world is so lost right now and does not even know what morals are anymore. This nation needs to repent before its too late. We are going to start and see more and more natural disasters, because of Gods judgement on this world.

I do not understand why doctors feel the need to utilize technology in such a manner of changing the gender of a child before they are even old enough to realize who they are or have formed an identity. At such a young age, they are making a permanent decision that will affect them for the rest of their life. Where is the logic in this? Step outside of your normal way of thinking and your perspective, and look at how we act these days (and no i’m not a ninety year old woman), but what is this world coming to?! We as society are creating things that are not natural. I am not descriminating against homosexuals, however, by changing the gender of a child, what are you doing to that individual. When you were seven years old, did you know what you wanted to do with the rest of your life?…Or did it take you several years and many changes to your origional plan to finally figure things out and get it right?
I don’t know why you feel the need to mess with how God intended things to be. If we accept abnormal behavior now, what will things be like twenty years from now? It’s to the point now that even though I love children, and can not imagine my life without the love of a child, I am not sure if I would like to bring child into the currupt world!
You need to think about this logically…What the hell are you doing making it okay for children at the young age of only SEVEN YEARS OLD to have a sex change???

This doctor has taken an oath to help his patients. By offering this “service” with accompanying long-term results at such an early age, he is doing “more harm than good”. …stated mildly. Shame on the powers that be at the hospital to allow such a grotesque scenario to occur.

Norman Spack is no doctor. He should be fired, then prosecuted, certainly lose his license.

This is insane. Do his superiors tolerate this. Find this man, where he lives and make his life terrible. He’s finished as far as medicine is concerned.

Nobody should be allowed to continue to practice medicine that wants to perform a sex change on a 7 year old. This man is a psycho.

Doesn’t Dr. Sills own commentary about the identical twin girls seem to indicate that this is predominantly a societal influence and not a genetic one. Identical twins (also referred to as monozygotic twins) share identical or nearly identical genetic sequences. They are formed by the splitting of a single fertilized egg into two embryos. This seems to indicate that there was no genetic inclination for one of the girls to become more masculine. It was likely the result of some incident in her life which was either different of perceived differently from her twin. Possibly it was some internal desire to differentiate herself from her twin, a common observation among identical twins. Saying that the two were brought up in exactly the same environment is a bit misleading as well. It is difficult to discern how a single event can impact the manner by which we perceive later events.

This is a perfect example of liberal doctors going wild (playing God) with humanity. The biggest problem is that this time they’re taking advantage of children, individuals lacking the mental aptitude to make these decisions for themselves. Although there are plenty of things I would love to do to any doctor performing such a procedure, they should at the very least be prohibited from practicing medicine at all.

As a child we all go through identity issues. To have a “doctor” act on a an identity issue with a child that does not have any reasoned understanding of the implications other than adolescent “confusion” is beyond belief. To me it sounds like another “specialty” being explored by the medical profession, not for the purpose of the healing arts, but for the profit margins of the “practitioners.”

The belief in god nowadays is a lil outdated people, please remember that, not everyone believes in the ever-jealous, angry, hypocrytical but “loving” christian god, it is NOT the answer to everything. As for the other argument, it is too young for them to really feel they should be the opposite sex. I think they should wait til later on in life when they are absolutely sure.

So—if a 7 year old boy picks up a Barbie, we whack off his willie??
or if a 7 year old girl plays with a GI Joe we sew one on??

How sick is this??? This is twisted and wrong…and knowing the wonderful state of affairs in Massachusetts–this will probably be funded with taxpayer dollars. Thanks to all of the sickos who have allowed this to even be topic for convesation. I wonder if the “doctor” who is opening his doors for such a procedure would be willing to perform one on a member of his family…

Boston Children’s Hospital Opens “Transgender” Children’s Clinic
May 18, 2007 … Led by endocrinologist Dr. Norman Spack, the Gender Management Service Clinic is the first U.S. clinic to initiate medical intervention for …

Map of 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/may/07051806.html – 29k – Cached – Similar pages
News & Publications | Publications Download | Lahey Clinic Medical …
Norman Spack, MD. Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School. Clinical Director, Endocrine Division, Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA …
http://www.lahey.org/NewsPubs/Publications/Ethics/JournalFall2005/Journal_Fall2005_Feature.asp – 41k – Cached – Similar pages

Norman P. Spack, M.D. – Disabilityinfo.org
300 Longwood AVE Boston, MA 02115. Contact: Michele Hopkins. Phone: (617) 355-7476 Ext:. Fax: (617) 730-0194. E-mail: norman.spack@childrens.harvard.edu

What a very sad thing to see and hear about! This is crazy!!! Our children have no chance in this world with adults who have no moral values and do not take GOD’s word for truth! Very Sad!!

This is the true definition of a childhood mistake, but with Adult assistance.

yuck

If you are born a boy and “think” you should be a girl instead of giving hormons to be a girl give them hormons to be the boy they are…why change them? It’s the “I think, I feel, I want”…all about ME…fix it to fit ME type of life. Even if you mutate someones body you are still a boy…you can never stop being medicated or have children. It is an artificial life…just like being gay is a choice…I know that it is my choice who I am with. Gay people are saying they can not love or have a relationship with someone of the oppisite sex, why? Probable because you have chosen that and if not…then gay’s are very discriminating…
The human race has become a sicence experiment…in a couple 100 years humans will no longer know what love(not sex) is and there will be such a nothingness… Bless the poor little children who are always the first to be hurt by such acts by adults who think they know what is best for the human race. What is really sad they are the children’s worst enemy.

All i have to say that it’s an abomination with what so called science in doing with children . People should be outraged over this !!!!! It needs to be stopped ! What ever happened to a Gov’t by the people and of the people and for the people . But I guess it’s how 4 or 5 judges in calif. can over the vote of millions of people who oppose gay marriage . It’s getting worse in America. Just wait and see what happens if God forbid o’bamma becomes president , God help us!

Maybe it is time for our society to reject the dichotomization of gender and sexual identity, so that we can all finally realize that human beings are born within a spectrum of each. Once this takes place, children and adults who identify as transgender will not feel forced to conform to what society deems is normal. However, until this happens individuals who are born feeling like their gender does not match thier biological sex will strive through hormone therapy, surgery, etc to be “normal”.

Ok, this is nuts to think a child of the age of 7 knows that they want to be a girl or boy. When I was growing up I wanted to be a boy. Always told my mom I should of been one that God got it wrong with me. I have no women qualities in me at all. Still to this day I am a big tomboy but I am older now and wiser. God made me the way that I am. I am a women even though I don’t always act like one. When I want to be a girlie girl I am and when I want to hang with the guys I can be that also but God made me a girl.

Our founding fathers of this country must be spinning in their graves. This country was founded on GOD. To all you people out there who think christians should open their minds. Why don’t you open the bible and open your minds up and see the truth and the light and that is Jesus…….

So this is what is next? We aren’t satisfied with trying to change what God created as adults, but now we are spreading this terrible travesty to our children. What could a 7 year old child possibly know about “transgender problems”?

I think these procedures should be outlawed if they are not already and this doctor should be jailed for child abuse. And, the parents who opt for the procedure for their children should be prosecuted as well.

I am a pediatrician. All I can say about this is that in my opinion, this doctor and the hospital policies that allow him to operate are disgusting and harmful to the profession. Our fundamental oath as a physician includes a promise to “do no harm.” These procedures harm these kids physically, mentally, socially, and permanently. Personally, I think he should immediately have his license revoked. I’m not sure that he shouldn’t go to jail, along with the parents who allow this. I assure you that not all physicians subscribe to this insanity, and the ones that do should be purged.

Brent

Dr. Spack is an amazing doctor, and very much in tune with the needs of his patients. He is an expert in the field, and this article in incredibly distorted. This isn’t therapy he imposes on children — he very cautiously offers his patients time… the time to decide who they are, before the permanence of puberty sets in. You have to weight the risks and benefits, as with any medical procedure, and the latter clearly outweighs the former in all of his cases. Please, don’t be lazy — require more from your news service than reactionary rhetoric.

If our children are “mature” enough to make such serious and committed decisions about their bodies when they are only 7 years old, then why do we have laws in place that place age limits on smoking, drinking, driving, entering the service, getting married, having sex legally, etc. I thought those laws were in existence to protect the young and immature until they are old enough and mature enough to make such life altering decisions. At the age of 7, my boys were playing with cars and toy dinosours not making decisions as to whether they want to be girls! I wouldn’t even allow my son to get a tattoo until he was 2 years into the service because I wanted him to get one that meant something…one that he could live with the rest of his life…not one that he would regret. The thought of a 7 year old making such a committed decision is absolutely ridiculous!

I am speechless. If our society continues down this wicked path, we are doomed. It seems that we as a human race take a step away from God every day. And it is hearing things such as this that makes me think that soon we will be hearing a trumpet and that will be the end of this earth.

This is absolute garbage. Someone needs to stop this idiot before he ruins the lives of any more families.

It is an outrage against innocent children. and to the mother of a transgender child, you don’t deserve to be a mother! There has been murder since the beginning of mankind, does that make it right?? This world is going nuts… and there will be an end to it. believe it or not.

Some children can feel as if they are the opposite sex as a protective mechanisim as a result of sexual abuse. Its called dissociation…It may or may not last in to adulthood depending on the severity adn longevity of the abuse

What many people are failing to realize is that absolutely no medical alterations are done at pre puberty ages. The child simply lives as whichever gender s/he feels comfortable in. If they should decide at a certain point that they’re comfortable living in their birth gender role, they can revert to their birth gender with no harm done. In addition, when they do reach puberty, the blockers would be prescribed only if the child was in extreme distress about the lasting effects of puberty. Finally, as a person who is transgendered, I knew from early childhood that my perception of my gender did not match my birth sex.

One component that is not being discussed is the part that parents and other adults play in how a child sees himself or herself. If a child senses that an authority figure wants a certain type of behavior from their child – the child will try to meet that expectation. This may play a part in whether a child likes being a girl or boy. Parents often want either a girl or boy and then treats the child in a certain manner. Children want to be accepted!!! If adults would become more loving and accepting of their children – their children could love themselves as they are. Also, if the parents don’t really love themselves, how can we expect those same people to show unconditional love to their children.

Sick and wrong, children should not be subjected to this. Why isn’t this guy up for child abuse?

Liberal philosophy at work…

This is a sick doctor and he should be jailed. Where is God in all of this, the end of the world is really at hand.

Puberty Supression isn’t ’sex change for kids’.

As a parent of a gender variant ten year old, I know what I’m talking about. This behavior is inborn, innate, and inalterable. Sometimes brains don’t match bodies.

Nobody asks for this. For some parents the choice is between accepting their children as they are, and compelling them to pretend to be something they aren’t. Children who are rejected, who are forced to conform, have elevated risks for depression, suicide, and self mutilation.

Until you’ve had YOUR five year old child threaten suicide, over and over and over again, for years, you don’t understand this. When that same child, once accepted for what they are, goes off of all psychiatric medication, succeeds in school, and becomes a happy and whole being, then you begin to get it.

If you don’t have one of these kids, just shut up. You don’t know anything. I certainly didn’t before my son was born. (I have a gender normative child who is a yea younger, too. This has nothing to do with parenting.)

No child abuse. No sexual abuse. Intact nuclar heterosexual white-bread family. No trauma.

This has nothing to do with God. God makes intersexed people (people with both sets of genitals.) God makes conjoined twins. God has allowed us to pollute the rivers with estrogenic pesticides, filling them with transgender fish. God also makes transgender people.

So far, all those studied who have gone through early transition have had good outcomes. All those studied in a the recent literature are happy about their decision.

This decision cannot be put off for some. Puberty wrecks these children, in many cases.

I’ve met transitioned teenagers. They appear perfectly normal. The MTFs don’t look like John Lithgow in a dress; the FTMs look and act like normal teenager boys.

Some of these kids will grow up to be gay; some will grow up to be trans; some will grow up to be heterosexual. The important thing to listen to them, and let them be who they are.

Puberty suppression buys some time. It’s reversible. It allows the child to put off a puberty which could wreck their life, while they gain maturity to make the irrevocable decision.

These aren’t easy questions for parents, doctors, or kids. All we know for sure is, that left to ‘nature’ these kids commit suicide; frequently, they leave their unnaccepting families and become prostitutes to afford hormones and surgery.

If you would condemn your child to a lifetime on the streets as a prostitute…well. That doesn’t strike me as being particularly good or Christian. And that is the alternative for many of these kids. That is how this plays out in the real world.

Shoot Norman. Shoot the parents. Get the kids to a home where they will be loved. Harry, You’re a sick freak.

Transgenderism is a very difficult and complex problem. The world is not, unfortunately, black and white on many issues. There is no easy solution to the people who are born with both sexes and I contend there is no reason that transgendered people should have to fight the stigma of being a social pariah. Transgenderism has little or nothing to do with homosexuality and I cannot see that it is ungodly, unless we believe that any operation is against God. That would make my mother’s cancer treatments ungodly also. I cannot accept that.
Transgenderism does, unfortunately, condemn many to very unhappy lives. If we as a society were understanding maybe we wouldn’t try and chase these people away from the God who is rightfully their own. Self-righteousness and ignorance are greater sins than having a sex change. They don’t want to live perverted lives. They just want to be the person they have always known themselves to be. Of course even the procedures in place now should be followed very carefully in the case of children. The standards are very exacting, if you care to read about them.

God never makes a mistake. Never. Just google “Nick’s Testimony”(Rita’s utube)

This is absolutely insane. Kids play in gender differences all the time; it’s a part of how they learn who they are. Also many kids will have traits of the opposite sex as they get older, and it’s just a part of who they are.

How can these doctors say that there’s a gene for wanting to be the opposite sex? Has it been isolated? The case study with the twins means nothing. The twin who was pretending more than likely just wanted to be different from her twin, and, to kids, the most obvious way to do that is to pretend you’re a different sex.

How can these parents go through with this? Can they really believe that a 7yo fully understands the consequences of what is happening to them? To a kid, changing sex is just a matter of dressing like mommy or daddy, whoever is the opposite sex. They have no idea of what makes a person a certain sex, other than appearances. And a 7yo is supposed to understand what infertility is, and what it will mean when they get older?

What crap..
This is a direct quote from Dr. Spack..
“In some cases, it can take weeks to decide what’s best for the patient,”

from: http://www.childrenshospital.org/views/april07/new_clinic_addresses_intersex_and_gender_issues.html

Really weeks to decide what is best for a seven year old child. Weeks to decide how the rest of the childs life will be spent.. Weeks to determine if the theropy is worth causing all sorts of physical and mental problems that will not be obvious until adulthood. Really, it takes weeks to make all these hi powered desicions for what is best for the children. Who the hell put you in charge of creation? A child with this “condition / mental disorder” has no idea what the hell they are doing and neither does the Doctor apparently. Doesn’t the hypocritical oath say “I shall do no harm”. Somebody take this nut jobs liscense and lobby your goverment officials to stop all federal funding to this butcher shop of a hospital. A hospital of that size gets some federal funding im sure. If an adult would like to change his/her gender fine i don’t care, but i shouldn’t have to see my tax dollars go to any part of it. Children are not of sound enough mind to come to this conclusion on there own. This is about parents who are ashamed of the children trying to justify the way a child acts. Face it people kids are not perfect but they grow up to be who they are supposed to be. If your going to do hormone theropy then do theropy to accomidate the body the child has. not the one they think they want. No matter what they do the chromzones will still be the same.

Are you kidding me??? This is horrible. This gives no right for a doctor to open his doors to kids as early as age 7. A kid at the age of 7 has no clue what is going on with there body. Just because a young girl likes to wear baggy jeans and dress like a boy or a young boy likes to play with dolls and wear dresses, does not mean they need a sex change. They are experimenting, it is part of growing up and understanding yourself. What is this world coming to. Which ever sex you are born, it was meant to be. This doctor just wants more money.

Wow! I am truely amazed at the number of individuals who have commented on this story, who, invoke “God”! And Then ‘damn’ the Doctor! Until “YOU” have walked in the shoes of a Transgendered person be them Male or Female, Young or Old, How dare you “JUDGE” them! I assume that all of you, who have so self-rightously commented, have looked in a mirror today! You are so perfect, so have it all together? I think not! One of the biggest and worst weapons in the universe is the weapon of “Religion”! It is used by some of you to beat, mame, and kill your fellow man. You make me sick with the spewing of your hate and venom. The religious radicals in other parts of the world use car bombs and terrorism. The religious radicals in America use self-righeous judgement and condemnation, and HATE! And, you both think you are justified in this behavior? When Judgement finally comes, I do not wish to know the punishments that you will receive for your actions and deeds to your fellow man.
May God Truely Have Mercy on Your Souls!

IS THIS HOSPITAL AND DOCTOR ARE KIDDING ME RIGHT HOW STUPID CAN YOU GET

Dr. Spack’s critics would have those of us with transgender children force them into roles that are unnatural for them. Many of our friends who are parents of transgender children have had to face either accepting their children’s inherent gender as different from their biological sex or else losing them to suicide. We rejoice in the availability of treatments that allow our children to be themselves!

No loving parent would choose their child’s suicide.

Gender is inherent, determined before birth. Ask yourself, how did you know YOUR gender? The children Dr. Spack treats KNOW their gender differs from their biological sex. I applaud his work!

I can’t believe anybody could call this illegal while we still circumcise babies against their will.

I feel this is totally wrong. Look at the woman that took hormones to be a male and now decided to have a baby and is having one. Looks like she went back to what she was born to be, a female. I believe that God made the way you are for a reason and no person should ever try to change that.

I had a boss, games collaborator, and friend that decided late in life (after he had been married with women twice) that he wanted to be a woman himself. He had the operation and later regretted it greatly.

“Being my ‘real self’ could have included having a penis and including more femininity in whatever forms made sense. I didn’t know that until too late and now I have to make the best of the life I’ve stumbled into. I just wish I would have tried more options before I jumped off the precipice.” Quote: Dan/Danielle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danielle_Bunten_Berry

Dan/Danielle was in his 40’s at the time of his rash decision… not 4 or 14. Sex change operations for children is insanity and pure greed.

I am a post operative transexual, adult. This is not something I woke up one morning and decided. It is something that was with me as long as I can remember. Had I transitioned as child there is a chance that I could have had a much more normal life as a teenage girl etc. The male hormones have left their mark on me and this could have been avoided had I had hormone therapy beginning at age “7″ than at age 25 .

I find this article crass and sensational. Comparing Dr Spack’s treatment to castration is really over the top. What an insensitive way to present this important topic.

KR

THIS IS ONE OF IF NOT THE SICKEST THING I HAVE EVER HEARD OF. IF A PARENT HAS 2 BOYS AND WANT A GIRL WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO NOW TAKE ONE IN FOR A SEX CHANGE. OR A FATHER NEEDS A SON TO CARRY ON THE FAMILY NAME POW GIRL NOW A LITTLE BOY.

This is insane! Seven year old CHILDREN don’t even understand what a sex change is. I hope the parents of these children take ALOT of time to really think about things before they send thier children off to have a sex change.

This article is a great example of why I am increasingly leery of doctors. Unfortunately the medical and science communities are pretty much owned by lobbyists and pharmeceutical(sp?) companies to the point where you can’t trust anything they have to say anymore. Doctors are nothing but drug dealers and butchers now who are no longer really interested in healing people (with very few exceptions). I love to study science and am a 3.9 GPA biology student, so it makes me sad to see that real science (the study of the natural world) has become confused with “scientism” (the philosophy of science, in other words ‘how can we manipulate scientific studies to fit our preconcieved notions or desires’). As a result we now have secular humanists and athiests using the guise of real science to support their political and personal agendas. Unfortunately the victims of this biased agenda are people such as these who are ‘gender confused’ and could probably benefit greatly from counseling and carefully controlled, short-term drug therapies. Unfortunately, no good research will ever be done to help these folks because this ‘trans-gender’ dysfuncion is like gold to secular humanists who want to push their goal of how society should be….where everyone does as he or she pleases with no consequenses for one’s actions because nothing is wrong or right.

this doctor has lost his mind,your fired,,,,,,,,

This doctor has serious mental issues and should not be allowed to treat children at all. However, wehre are the parents during all of this? Or are they just as mentally deranged as he is?

I thought that Childrens Hospitals were a place that children could receive medical help and be safe. However, Boston Hospital has now made me realize that ethics is not a part of the medical profession any longer. The AMA and others will let any one practice medicine….on anyone.

As a medical student, I could go into the things I have learned and act like I know more than I do, but bottom line, this is a warped, perverted idea. If an adult wants to do it that’s there business, but it won’t be me overseeing the “treatment”… but kids, abso-freakin’-lutely not!!! Any parent who claims they love their child and lets a “doctor” like him do this is unfit as a parent.

I can not see any reasonable excuse to let this even be an option for children. This is a another opportunity to sling the all-too-famous phrase SLIPPERY SLOPE around. If this is permitted, what next? I dread to think.

All this is is child abuse with the assistance of a someone from a traditionally respected position.
Dr. Spack has totally lost my respect, and I had never heard of him prior to this article.

I appologize for not being very eloquent, but this really burns my buscuits! And I’m going to shut up before I overstep my bounds.

And now, from the land of Ted Kennedy + Barney Frank, may we proudly
present Dr. Norm Spack, the doctor who knows more than God ……
I would presume they will figure out a way to have the sheep-like
citizens of Massachusetts pay for these bizarre experiments with
tax dollars …….?

#1) Nobody is butchering anybody. We are talking about hormones, not surgery.

#2) Dr. Spack is giving patients the choice. That is the point of his clinic. To delay puberty to a point where patients can decide for themselves after taking an appropriate time for reflection and maturity.

I expect this sort of reaction from your media demographic, but it still ceases to amaze me the ignorance that runs rampant in America.

I am a father of eight children, all from within the same marriage of my wife of twenty years. These Dr.’s and supposed experts obviously have an agenda. Every one of my children ages three to nineteen have differing moods and reaction from year to year. None of them are the same and all have their own personality. These children with these identity issues is not a matter of gender or science or anything else. It is a matter of a father and a mother in a loving relationship, showing that same love to their children. A father taking on the responsibility of fathering and a mother likewise. Sure its unfortunate that these children are confused and my heart goes out to them. Its not the medical field that is their answer. It goes right back to the parents. No child has the capacity to make the judgment on changing his or her gender with the mind of a child that is why God gave parents to raise them to become men and women. That is the responsibilty of parents. People who want to alter these poor confused children should be hauled in for child abuse and place these kids in a loving home where they can be raised in a proper invironment.

Sincerely,
Steve , an exstremely upset parent.

I couldn’t believe I just read this story!! I am very disappointed in Boston’s Children’s Hospital and with Dr Norman Spack. I thought this was a hospital dedicated to saving children’s lives. instead I am reading about sex change operations and hormonal treatment to slow down puberty in children. I am appalled!!! The reason the suicide rate is higher in transgender youth is because they are playing and portraying an unatural role they were never intended to in the first place. That is where the inner tormoil lies within mentally, emotionally, then eventually, physically. If you want to help in this area, concentrate on the mental aspect. Help these children to correct they’re thinking. Don’t help them go with there feelings, feelings come and go. Tell them the truth!! If you were born a boy, you were made to be a man!! If you were born a girl, you were made to be a woman!! You weren’t born to be with the same sex intimately, if you were you would have been born the opposite sex!!!
I intend to tell everyone I know about this article and about the things be considered and practiced by Boston’s Children’s Hospital!!
Signed: SHOCKED!!

It is not these doctors choice to play GOD or not. Kids are born uneducated and confused and it is our job as parents to educate and explain things to them. Just because they feel one way one day the may change their minds. Look at how often kids change girlfriends and boyfriends growing up each time claiming they are so in love. Let them be kids and become educated and make this decision later in life. There are lots of happy gay men and women in this world that are happy being just that. What happened with kids being kids?

These doctors are whacked. God help any parent who listens to them!

A three year old needs correction and direction from it parents, not a medical procedure. What are they teaching in our medical universities? Moronism?

Folks, we have absolutely become a GOD-less society!!!! By our actions, it is evident that a believe and obedience to GOD no longer exist in this nation!!!! Take God out of lives and nothing is left!!!!

We will continue to pay dearly in our nation!!!!!!!!

IF IT IS OUT THERE, SOMEONE WILL GO FOR IT. THE THING IS, IT SHOULD NOT BE OUT THERE, FOR CHILDREN. THIS IS JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF WHERE WE ARE GOING AS A SOCIETY TODAY. SAD ISN’T IT, BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT WE WILL BE ALLOWED TO GO JUST SO FAR BEFORE OUR CREATOR STOPS ALL THE SICK THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN OUR WORLD TODAY. I KNOW THAT THERE ARE MANY GOOD PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT ARE PRAYING FOR THIS POOR PLANET OF OUR’S AND HOPEFULLY MOST OF YOU THAT ARE READING THIS ARE TOO. IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE IN ANYTHING, PRAY ANYWAY, IT CERTAINLY COULDN’T HURT, AND WE NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET, AFTER ALL YOU’RE ON THIS PLANET OF OUR’S TOO. GOD BLESS US ALL.

When I was a little girl, I was a tomboy. I liked to behave like a boy and do all the things a boy does. As I reached puberty, my hormones started kicking in and I started doing all the things girls do and felt totally feminine. How does a seven-year-old know what’s going to happen in the future, expecially when the teen years hit? Our society continues to play God, usually with dire consequences. When will we all learn that God’s creations can never be immproved upon?

This was tried in Canada several years ago, 1970’s, and the children is was done on have ALL had miserable adult lives. Everyone of them has been treated for depression and anxiety, a couple tried to have the horrible procedure reveresed and several of them have committed suicide. Those still alive filed a class action lawsuit against the doctor and the hospital.

The ‘good’ doctor who performed those horrific acts said the same exact thing the two nut doctors in this article are now saying.

As for the person who goes around to hospitals ‘educating’ doctors on transgender treatments for children in Asia, and Europe, it’s funny how they left out the horrific statistics of suicide rates among children and teens in these countries.

We need to protect our children and allow them to grow up before hitting them with this kind of garbage.

To the person who “knows the 11 year old boy who makes a lovely little girl”, just because the father isn’t recognizing the child’s gifts and abilities doesn’t mean he needs an sex-change operation. It means the father needs help realizing that you don’t have to hunt, love auto-racing, play football or go camping to be a man. Quit sterotyping everything!

I would be very interested in how well-ordered Dr. Spack’s mind is. The first thing I would look for is a thirst for the unusual, tendencies towards perversion, covert or otherwise, and other passive-aggressive/covert hostility-type behavior. He might want to change his name to something more appropriate to his inclinations also — like maybe Mengele-Light?

Cheers!

OK, I’m a Christian, but to approach the topic at that level would amount to “preaching to the choir” for some of you, and “casting pearls before swine” for the rest. Here’s my initial thought on this: The PC, liberal types seem really wishy-washy now on the importance of gender differences. Currently, if you go to some malls, colleges, etc. you find gender-neutral dressing rooms, restrooms, dorm rooms, and the like, because we were told “gender doesn’t matter”. Gender also doesn’t matter if you want to get married in the state of Massachusetts – men can marry men, and women can marry women. So….help me – if gender doesn’t matter, why does this doctor feel so compelled to make Little Junior’s outsides fit his Miss Thing insides? If gender didn’t matter when I feel the need to use the facilities (and, being female, it’s OK that I’m peeing in a stall next to a guy), why does it matter that someone “feels” like a girl when they are built like a boy? If there are no differences, then there are no “guy” feelings and “girl” feelings, so why alter someone’s body based on “feelings”? Any other time, calling something a “guy” feeling or a “girl” feeling would be considered stereotyping by this people, but now it’s not? I don’t think it’s the kids who are confused – it’s the scientists.

Dr. (I use that term loosely) Paul Mchugh is a right wing idolouge who is against any science. He is bush’s science adviser and is against abortion, stem cell research but will kill someone in prison…. Total hypocrite. The doctor in Boston is counseling these kids and giving them the chance to make a decision when they are emotionally, legally and intellectually able to make a very important decision. Transsexualism, Homosexualism and HETROSEXUALISM… does not go away with therapy the only thing you can do is support the patient and let them make informed decisions about their life.

All you “this is against God” should ask yourselfs a question… where is your compassion and what if someone came to you and asked you to go to therapy to be Gay…. Think it would work?

Grow up Conservative Republicans, this is America. This doctor is a God send. All you conservative freaks are ignorant. Transgender is not a mental problem it is a gene problem. If you want to be a male Wonder Woman as a child and then grow up normal and be a lawyer thats fine. But if you grow up as a boy and you acted more normal as a girl thats a different story. I say if your child is happier as a girl instead of a boy then when he fully understand what’s going on then let him decide what he wants to be. Once again, GROW UP you freaks this doctor is a GOD send.

To all of you “good” Christians, who find treating Gender Identity Disorder (GID) harmful or disgusting:

for the men: Imagine yourself forced to wear dresses and panties, and berated every time you act like a man.

for the women: Imagine yourself forced to wear boxer shorts and bind your breasts, and berated every time you act feminine.

Now ask yourself; how long could you face life living in a gender that you did not feel was natural to you?

That is what happens to children with GID.

The condition is not new, and has existed in every culture. There are records of individuals who have suffered from GID throughout recorded history. NO ONE wants GID, and it is not a psychiatric disorder. It is a CONDITION which causes extreme emotional discomfort. Untreated, the disorder is responsible for extremely negative psychological repercussions – severe depression and suicide. Fortunately, the condition is fairly rare. There is NO form of counseling or therapy that can alter an individuals natural identification with their gender. Medical treatment and counseling to assist in a transition to their target gender is the ONLY hope currently available. With this intervention, individuals suffering from GID have the potential to feel comfortable as the human beings that THEY are. Before any person – child or adult – is provided medical intervention, they receive a thorough psychological evaluation. It is NOT provided capriciously – especially in the instance of children. Gender reassignement or sex change surgery is NEVER performed on children under 18. Hormone BLOCKERS are provided to children with GID to delay the effects of puberty until the child is older and more certain of their own decision.

Dr. Spack is a courageous and caring human being. If you were educated on the subject, you would already know it. Unless you find all surgery and medical intervention against God’s will. Unless you hate a surgeon who would slice open a child’s mouth to correct a cleft palate.

Now you can go back to being the gender you feel comfortable with. It should only be that easy for those poor kids.

I believe it’s absurd that any adult would think this is a good idea. Simply because, there are many things in life that I myself didn’t know about myself until I reached adulthood. Of course at the age of 15 or so I felt I was grown and knew everything, I felt my parents were just being hard on me. I, myself, went through many changes from the time I was a little girl until now, I used to be somewhat of a tomboy, all my friends were boys, and even when I was in college I would go from one day dressing preppy, and the next day dressing in baggy pants and a oversized shirt. Point being, EVERY child goes through different phases throughout their lives, let these children be children. Nowadays everybody want children to grow up so fast, and i really don’t believe hormonal drugs are the key. Who knows what side effect this would have on individuals 40 years down the line…..would it really be worth it? We really didn’t know the effects that smoking would have on our bodies, until many years later, now look, it’s being prohibited everywhere. Cell phones, just read an article today where cell phones can be bad for an unborn child. LET GO AND LET GOD!!!!

Patriot, you are an absolute idiot. If you even took the time to read the website you would have realized what you were quoting as needing only mere weeks to make a determination about are conditions that used to be treated as needing immediate attention. Read the damn article before you start making irrational judgements and you may learn a thing or two about actual medical conditions. For those of you on the far wacko extreme of the Christian (laughable) right, just because it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, means it might be a wolf in sheeps clothing.

http://www.childrenshospital.org/views/april07/new_clinic_addresses_intersex_and_gender_issues.html

I would like to say something to those of you who act out on your attractions to the opposite sex. First of all we all experience a desire to do things that are wrong. Doing them doesn’t make it right. If a man acts out on a desire to have an affair behind his wifes back does it make it right? Are his desires to cheat any less viable then someones desire to act out on same sex attraction? Of course not. We all have to resist temptation and it comes in many different ways. Some of the posts talk about how miserable they are because they are acting out on same gender attraction and they blame their misery on society. They blame us because we don’t accept their actions and choices. Have you ever thought that you are not happy because the choices you make are wrong and against your potential? There was a professor at West Virginia University who was hired by the university to teach Gay and Bi students how to avoid getting AIDS and he contracted it himself through multiple homosexual relationships. He then wrote an article blaming “disrimination” for his contraction of the virus. WHAT? People take responsibility for your own actions and stop forcing innocent children to choose your lifestyle to make you feel better about the poor choices you have made!!! Many of you will be offended by me saying that but remember we ALL have a right to free speech and the right to say what we think is right and what we think is wrong.

FOR MR. O’REILLY,

I HAVE BEEN WORKING AND MINISTERING TO THE HOMOSEXUAL COMMUNITY FOR OVER 30 YEARS….HAVE READ MOST REPORTS ABOUT CAUSES ETC…EVERY REPORT (FIND ONLY ONE THATDOES NOT) INDICATES THAT A CHILD IS NOT BORN “THAT WAY”…AS FAR AS I CAN DETERMINE THE SEXUALY ORIENTATON IS CAUSED ( NOT CHOSEN) BY PARENTS DELIBERATELY OR BY ABUSE . A CHILD OF 6,7,OR 8 HAS NOT IDEA OF SEXUAL CHOICE.
THE MINISTRY THAT I AM A PART OF IS CALLED “COURAGE” . THE MAIN OFFICE IS IN NYC,
AT: CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, 210 WEST 31ST ST. NYC; WEB SITE: CourageRc.net or Courage RC.org Email: NYCourage@aol.com. It is national and international Also as a part of its ministry is Encourage–for Parents. I am becoming flustered at the greater inundation of TV and politics trying to indicate that homosxuality is normal–but don’t give the stats on suicide, sicknesses and human suffering. We are told quickly and often that there are genetic, or chromozone or brain size, or ????. Show me one authentic proof….just one! We get all sorts of polls and percentages….Does anyone ever ask the oercentage number of homsexuals in USA–the entire 50 states??? Take a guess? Most are off a lot….Some say 25%…As far as the study can determine it is only 4% ! 2.? men and 1.? women.. I am “speaking our” now because the Media is jamming the opposite erronious material at not only adults,,, but our children. Thank you for looking into this matter.
Retired Pastor and founder of 2 new parishes , Teacher at several of our High schools and Chaplain at UNC chapel Hill. (Fr.) Tom Palko, OSFS

Its the responsibility of the parents to nurture their children and take an active roll in guiding them through their developmental years. A child’s mind and comprehension of rolls and the ever changing condition of their own bodies brings questions and doubts.

Children are their own worst enemies. Especially in the early teen years. They are some of the most cruelest of humans when it comes to their peers. Its a parents job to counter those voices.

Parents who ignore the truth but buy into this modern day lie that a child’s feelings and choices supersedes an experienced adult’s aren’t fit for parenthood, and need to be enrolled back into school themselves.

Dr. Spack is a Quack, and so is anyone else who can agree with him.

Only in Boston could this take place

I believe this is a terrible precedent! Regardless of hormone treatments and surgeries, at the heart of the matter is the person’s DNA still determines if a person is a male or female. What you have after these treatments is a hormone-induced and/or mutilated body. While the person’s current psyche may think this is what they want there is no going back if they change their mind. Age and a better outlook on life can do wonders. We too often want a quick fix for how we think the world views us or how we view ourselves. We need to encourage those who are unhappy with what they have been blessed with at birth to understand how to accept who they are and what gender they were born. Isn’t this the true calling of psychiatry? For people to learn to accept things they cannot or should not change and learn how to deal with them.

I agree with the others that have stated that as we “progress” in medicine we lose more of our spiritual gounding and come all that much closer to believing that we are God and not Him. We should all pray for our nation for the end cometh nigh!

Interesting comments from those who know absolutely nothing about transgenderism/transexualism/intersex conditions. From what fountain of knowledge do you all gain your wisdom? Please don’t bring your Bible to the table. This is an importtant topic … parents who get this far in searching for treatment usually have two choices: 1 – a dead child … 2 – A child who might (but might not) choose to transition their gender. Delaying puberty is not an irreversable process … but it could be a life-saving one. No-one is actively advocating surgery for any of these kids. Maybe you shoud take the time to actually consider gaining an understanding of the topic before commenting. You have no idea … stop acting and writing as if you do.

That’s just wrong. These are kids. The girl mentioned earlier is probably just a tomboy. Dear God, this is insane!

Well, I guarantee you that this doctor is a liberal, and, this is exactly how the modern liberal mind creates a delusional reality and attempts to justify their delusional behavior onto the rest of us. THis doc ought to loose his ability to prctice medicine. LIBERALISM REALLY IS A MENTAL DISORDER!!!!.

Transgendered, born gay or lesbian – give me a break. These kinds of beliefs and behaviors are created by an unhealthy mind as a result of some past emotional impact or event. There is no such thing as gay/lesbian/transgendered – only a sickness that causes them to believe these thoughts.

It is ridiculous to think that children are capable of making a decision to consent to a surgery or treatment that will have life long physical and psychological effects when developmentally they are not capable of understanding the consequences of such decisions, or even why certain effects of such actions might be important to them when they reach adulthood. Can a child fully understand a decision about fertility when they have not even reached puberty? Adults debate reproductive rights at length, and yet there are professionals who want to give children the option to have their ability to exercise these rights as an adult taken away before they ever reach adulthood? The slippery slope of thought that allows for this is not too far from saying children are capable of deciding if they can have pornographic photos taken of them or if they can be in a sexual relationship with an adult because they believe they are “older” or “more mature” than their biological age would indicate. There are reasons we distinguish childhood from adolescence, and adolescence from adulthood.

Wish gender reassingment had been an issue when I was a child..I have always wanted to be a female. Good luck and bless those who can now carry out their wishes….

This is highly unethical. If Children’s Hospital’s medical board have gonads, then they will not hesitate to suspend Dr. Spack’s privileges. I would like to hear what Dr. Russell of the American College of Surgeons has to say about this.

Close minded people always think the worst when confronted with something that can change the world for one individual. The differences of who we are make us who we are and there’s no changing that.

I won’t even begin to count how many of you called on “god” in this. If “god” caused them to be this way then “WE” have an obligation to correct it if we can. We do this all the time and have done so since the beginning of time it’s self. Ask yourselves this; if god is so loving and caring, why then do we have illnesses and accidents? Why are so many people “taken before their time?” Simple people, if he/she does exist, he/she doesn’t care enough. We make excuses for why someone left “before their time”. What if it was in fact their time to go? Who are we to question it?

And for those of you who have this way out belief that the homosexual community has something to do with trans-gerderism, GET A LIFE!!! Some of you are hypocrites and have “half baked” ideas of what and who everyone in the world should be and how we should all act. Go back into your little world and leave the rest of us alone.

Some of us like to think for our selves. We do not believe everything we read, hear or see. There are many things in this world that we cannot even begin to understand nor should we. Be happy and live your life as if it were the last one you have. You never know when it will be.

Stop picking on one doctor for calling this what it is. There have been many studies and they all, except for the religious doctors, say this is real and hold a strong belief that they can change it for the better. YOU back seat doctors, hypocrites and evangelicals stay out of real science because you are AFRAID of change.

End rant…

This is the sickest thing I have ever heard! The Bible says “Woe unto them who call evil good and good evil” This society is going to hell in a hand basket!! Oh yea, didn’t we just go through hearings in congress that wasted millions of taxpayer dollars to convict ADULT pro sports players for steroid abuse, and now we’ll give them to our kids at a drop of a hat!! Put this deadbeat ass of a “Physician” ( I use the term loosley) in jail for peddling performance enhancing drugs!

Is not if the children have this problems, it´s if the parents are sick enough (in their head that is) to seek such an aberration for their children, THERE ARE NO MISTAKES MADE WHEN THE INTELLIGENT CREATOR MAKES THEM.

Are you kidding me???!!! Kids that age don’t know what they want. I am saying this not only as a parent but also as a teacher of junior high kids. This is a life altering decision and one that should not be dealt with until a much older age. Kids are extremely confused about a great many things and I think most normal, rational adults would agree thus the reason they need parents so that they can have someone guiding them and giving them advice. I would hope no parent would agree to allow their child to make a decision like this at the age of 7, 10, or even 16. This doctor should be ashamed of himself for offering this to kids so young and I really hope the medical board looks into this as well.

God does not make mistakes! Why do these Dr.’s think they know better than our Creator?!

I often hear about a gene that enables homosexuality or “transgender” behavior. Homosexuals don’t have children. Transexuals don’t either. If there ever was a homosexual gene, don’t you think it would have faded away long ago?

Studies and statistics point to this behavior as a response to juvenile sexual abuse. For some reason people are afraid to bring the studies and stats to light and call it what it is.

This is a milestone… you’d be amazed the amount of suffering that will be prevented by letting these children be(come) themselves… I was butchered by a doctor as an infant and beaten brutally by my parents and others because I should “wait until I’m an adult to make that kind of choice… its not natural” As children, we know whats wrong with us… and until recently no one would listen. Heres cheers to Dr. Norman Spack. We are gods creatures, we were created by him and we are his example of Love thy neighbor… Allowing this at such a young age will allow these children to develop into who they are supposed to be, rather than who you expect them to be… and allows them to bypass hellish pubertys with the wrong hormones coursing through there veins doing irreversible damage. Knowledge defeats biggotry… Id rather eat of the tree of knowledge than be blissfully ignorant of the diversity of gods great varied and wonderful world.

My little girl thinks she is a dog. What kind of sicko mother would I be if I obliged her by allowing her to eat off the floor and stuck her in a kennel to sleep? But perhaps it would be considered inhumane to venture outside our species….for now. This is blatant child abuse and legal action should be taken immediately. These parents with all of their best intentions, should not have custody of children. And this doctor should be in jail.

The concern is that the doctor is NOT following the patients out for years. He is making claims that his therapies are beneficial and that they are NOT associated with suicide, however, he simply doesn’t have enough data to prove it. We all know how fickle children are… and unfortunately the consequences of his therapies are NOT fickle, they are permanent.

I would like to congratulate all the enlightened, free-thinking and educated people who have fought so hard in this country so that we can have these sorts of things available. Thank goodness that they have overcome all of us ignorant and close-minded folks who, let’s just face facts her, are so backwards as to think that this should not be available. I mean, just because God has punished nation after nation for this sort of thing (and all other types of perversions, I mean personal choices) in the past, it surely couldn’t happen again. Of course, that’s if we are even acknowledging that there is a sovereign God nowadays.

Proof that going to school for 7+ years and receiving a PHD doesn’t guarantee intelligence. It’s good to see other Dr’s condemning what I believe to be an atrocity. If you can’t get a tattoo until your 18, you sure as hell aught not be able to get a sex change. This is along the lines of the Nazi experiments conducted on the Jews. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

His license to practice medicine should be revoked and I hope that statute of limitation does not expire till one or more of his patients grows up and sues the crap out of him and their parents!

You have be 16 to drive. You have to be 21 to smoke or drink. Now we are going to let children, who can’t legally decide if they can get a tattoo or a piercing, to decide if they should have a sex change. Come on’, we Americans have been educated into imbecility. You know the next respond we will be… well, the parent or guardians help the child when making this very difficult decision. That is to say, any child who opts for this surgery has been brainwashed and will suffered for someone else’s mistake.

God have mercy on us.

Dr.Spack belongs to a psychiatric asylum. He capitalizes on deception and a fascist-grade cruelty toward children. On the other thought he belongs not to psychiatric asylum, but to a jail. Or if he twists human nature to such a caricature, why not perform a lobotomy on such a creep supported by his insane institution, where he works.

To all of you “good” Christians, who find treating Gender Identity Disorder (GID) harmful or disgusting:

for the men: Imagine yourself forced to wear dresses and panties, and berated every time you act like a masculine.

for the women: Imagine yourself forced to wear boxer shorts and bind your breasts, and berated every time you act feminine.

Now ask yourself; how long could you face life living in a gender that you did not feel was natural to you?

That is what happens to children with GID.

There are records of individuals who have suffered from GID throughout recorded history. The condition is not new, and has existed in every culture. NO ONE wants GID, and it is not a psychiatric disorder. It is a CONDITION which causes extreme emotional discomfort. Untreated, the disorder is responsible for extremely negative psychological repercussions – severe depression and suicide. Fortunately, the condition is fairly rare. There is NO form of counseling or therapy that can alter an individual’s natural identification with their gender. Medical treatment and counseling to assist in a transition to their target gender is the ONLY hope currently available. With this intervention, individuals suffering from GID have the potential to feel comfortable as the human beings that THEY are. Before any person – child or adult – is provided medical (hormonal) intervention, they receive a thorough physical and psychological evaluation. It is NOT provided capriciously – especially in the instance of children. They NEVER perform Gender Reassignment Surgery (sex change) on children under 18, and only at 18 with the parents consent. Without consent, the age is 21. Read what some of the parents of transgender children have said on this thread! Their children are tormented! Treatment allows the children to live happy and healthy lives.

Dr. Spack is a courageous and caring human being. If you were educated on the subject, you would already be aware of this simple fact…..unless you find all surgery and medical intervention against God’s will. Unless you hate a surgeon who would slice open a child’s mouth to correct a cleft palate. Or maybe you just hate anything that you are too lazy or too ignorant to understand.

Now you can go back to being the gender you feel comfortable with. It should only be that easy for those poor kids.

This is just another example of a lazy intellectual who has spent too much time around his own opinion among his closed peer group’s tea party. If you have more letters behind your name than in your name, it’s a problem.

As an ER nurse for who has worked in more than 30 different Emergency Departments across the country in the past 17 years, I have had the sad occasion to run across his ilk in the profession. Without getting into a debate over genetics, which has become more political than empirical, there is not one shred of legitimate scientific study or statistical truth that supports any theories on children being born transgendered or attracted to the same sex for that matter. Not one. Not according to my opinion. Everyone has search engine access. Look it up for yourself.

This entire movement is related to socially defined junk science. It is bad enough that parents allow their beautiful children to have plastic surgery before the age of enlightenment but this is a crime against humanity.

I am a twentysix year old Transgender male. I have no problem with someone who is eightteen and older having a sex change opperation if they choose to, but anyone who would want to do that to someone who isn’t even old enough to drive much less vote is just SICK.

everyone who thinks that transgenderism is a mental disorder and needs to be treated with behavior modification needs to spend time with someone who’s actually going through it!
‘behavior modification’ is just a glorified term for brainwash!!
these doctors are giving children a chance to lead their entire lives in a body that matches up with their mind, how can that be considered wrong?

I am so tired of hearing this crap about religion and “the homosexual agenda”. You are letting your ignorance and fear destroy any hopes of rational thinking. If all you ignorant fucking fools out there would take a minute or two and actually LEARN about transgenderism you would see that it is a birth defect and nothing more. For anyone who has not went through the hell of being transgendered to say that “we should not meddle in Gods work” or “God does not make mistakes” needs to learn to use your brains for a change. If it is possible to save a child from a lot of misery and sadness by doing this then I say great!! Anyone who would say that this is wrong obviously takes enjoyment from the suffering of others because by denying kids the opportunity to have this done at an early age you are just setting them up for a lot of mental turmoil. Plus, I am not so sure if a lot of people are aware of this but: This does not affect you in any way, shape, or form, so what the hell do you care? People like you who truly DO force YOUR agenda on people make me sick!!

For a child…this is insane! When my oldest daughter was young, she was very much a tomboy. She was the only girl in the neighborhood and acted like one of the guys. She is now a prissy tween worried about hair and makeup. Kids change their ways as they grow older. My three year old acts like a cat alot….does that mean i’m going to take her to a vet!? Gimme a break…..

Dr. Spack,

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I’m a transsexual male and I am 60 years old. Had I had known of the possibility of understanding, hormone therapy, and of gender resignment surgery as a prepubescent, I would have presented myself for transition to female at 7 yrs. I knew I was a girl before I was nine. My parents did their best to beat that idea out of me; and they succeeded, for a while. Now my body is male and no amount of surgery will change this sow’s ear into a silk purse.

All I’ve ever wanted in life was to live my life as a woman in the company of other women. Now, I’m approaching old age and eventually death, I believe my life has been wasted, because I couldn’t interact with it as a woman, for which that communication is so necessary. What a waste.

To all of you “good” Christians, who find treating Gender Identity Disorder (GID) harmful or disgusting:

for the men: Imagine yourself forced to wear dresses and panties, and berated every time you act masculine.

for the women: Imagine yourself forced to wear boxer shorts and bind your breasts, and berated every time you act feminine.

Now ask yourself – how long could you face life living in a gender that you did not feel was natural to you?

That is what happens to children with GID.

There are records of individuals who have suffered from GID throughout recorded history. The condition is not new, and has existed in every culture. NO ONE wants GID, and it is not a psychiatric disorder. It is a CONDITION which causes extreme emotional discomfort. Untreated, the disorder is responsible for extremely negative psychological repercussions – severe depression and suicide. Fortunately, the condition is fairly rare. There is NO form of counseling or therapy that can alter an individual’s natural identification with their gender. Medical treatment and counseling to assist in a transition to their target gender is the ONLY hope currently available. With this intervention, individuals suffering from GID have the potential to feel comfortable as the human beings that THEY are. Before any person – child or adult – is provided medical (hormonal) intervention, they receive a thorough physical and psychological evaluation. It is NOT provided capriciously – especially in the instance of children. They NEVER perform Gender Reassignment Surgery (sex change) on children under 18, and only at 18 with the parents consent. Without consent, the age is 21. Read what some of the parents of transgender children have said on this thread! Their children are tormented! Treatment allows the children to live happy and healthy lives.

Dr. Spack is a courageous and caring human being. If you were educated on the subject, you would already be aware of this simple fact…..unless you find all surgery and medical intervention against God’s will. Unless you hate a surgeon who would slice open a child’s mouth to correct a cleft palate. Or maybe you just hate anything that you are too lazy or too ignorant to understand.

Now you can go back to being the gender you feel comfortable with. It should only be that easy for those poor kids.

Shame on these doctors for changing the body that God gave us. And shame on all of you who wear glasses that change the eyesight that God gave you. And shame on all of you taking drugs to control diseases that God gave you. And shame on all you ignorant fools who would deny happiness to someone because it offends you.

When will the medical field stop playing god? This is tantamount to using our children as guinea pigs. It is nothing fo this hospital to be proud of. Is it any wonder our country is seeing less and less of God’s blessings we once knew in this land. I pray God will touch that doctor’s heart. I pray the hospital will not permit such detestable experiments on our children. And may God have mercy on us if we permit this atrocity to our children.

BARBARIC!

i think that children dont know what they want or need at a young age ,if they did they would not need parents ,this is whats wrong with kids these days ,people give them to many choices and they dont stay children long enough,it sick people trying to make a buck that hurts our children and prevents us from being parents or atleast good ones

This is a GREAT idea. The sooner you can treat a medical condition the better. These children can finally live a full, happy, healthy and complete life.

I am a 39 year old transgendered woman and I swear I wish I could’ve taken these pills when I was a child. I have a BIRTH DEFECT, it’s that simple. Males and females are 98% the same, and there are more possible birth defects under the sun than we can count. Are people honestly saying that in the 100,000 year history of humans on Earth no one has ever been born with the wrong genitals? I guess the genitals are so sacred that there is no way possible for anything to ever go wrong with them, is that it? If it is then please someone explain hermaphrodites. It has been clinically proven that babies have been born with BOTH genitals. When I was in the womb, I was accidentally given testosterone instead of estrogen. I am now, after 39 miserable horrid years, correcting that defect. It’s just the same as when a blind person has a surgery to allow them to see. Would anyone deny a person a surgery to correct a ciongenital heart condition? Maybe scared little people who are too afraid to think for themselves need to follow the heard, but people like me have a kind of courage that all of you could never even begin to conceive of. Don’t feel sorry for me, and I promise I won’t feel sorry for you. Just get out of my way and let me live my life, because as the bible says, “GOD IS LIGHT AND IN HIM THERE IS NO DARKNESS.” So, as far as I’m concerned God loves me as much as anyone. If I’m wrong it’s between me and God. God created the enire universe without asking for your opinion, so I’m pretty sure he doesn’t need your help in determining where my immortal soul spends eternity. In other words, mind your own business.

This man should lose his license to practice medicine.

Some individuals have claimed transgenderism cannot have a genetic cause, becuase there have been cases, where one twin has been affected, but the other is not. That is not always true, we know many genes have the property of incomplete penetrance. That means one twin could be affected and the other is not.

Contrary to some people’s opinion that children do not know who they are, at an early age, there is overwhelming evidence children do know which gender they belong to by the time they are 3 years old.

As to the effectiveness of treatment to make the children fit in their birth assigned gender, I would suggest people read the NPR series on Transgender Children, comparing the cases of Bradley and Jona. Read Carole, the mother of Bradley, describing his behavior. Remember Carole is in favor of making the child adapt to his birth gender. Bradley seems to be developing into a highly neurotic individual, who may quite possibly attempt suicide. Bradley seems to be unable to accept himself in his birth gender.

Don’t dismiss the possibility of suicide, for these children. There was a recent account from England, where a 10 year-old transgender boy had killed himself by hanging.

The object of Dr. Spack’s treatment is to buy time for therapy. If the puberty blocking drugs are removed, puberty will resume. Children have begun puberty as late as 17, and still retained their puberty.

As for NARTH and McHugh, they are in a fringe minority in regards to the treatment of gay and transgendered individuals. The APA has about 400,000 members. NARTH has less than 1000 members

Many of you are missing the message here. No where in the article does it say that SRS(sex reassignment surgery) is being performed on these children. They are only treating these transgender children with medications that will make their physical transitions easier once they reach an age where they can legally decide for themselved. I only wish I has this choice when I was a child. Instead I must find other ways of erasing what testosterone did to my body. Being Transgender is not a choice, and the therapies and lack of treatments suggested by the Alliance Defense fund and the other conservative groups do a tremendous amount of physiological harm to these children, far more damage that would be caused by the puberty delaying medications being used. It is sad that there are still people out there who do not want to let people live their lives and make their own decisions.

By the way, to those who are posting about the fall of Rome, it was not sexual promiscuity that caused Rome to fall, but rather the gradual introduction of mob rule, letting too many people tell others how to live their lives. If you want to reference history, at least get it right, just as the right wingers out there cannot get their Bible references correct.

“anything goes”…naturally, we will see bizarre events like this because the closet door is wide open (and parading down America’s streets in pride). It will only get worse when tolerated by society* and not nipped in the bud (*or by a miniority who control that society).

Dear God, Please have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Where are the children’s rights groups now?! This is the world gone mad. There was an outcry with Kavorkian, but what about someone defending these kids? Think of all the phases we all went through growing up. The stuff we were attracted to that we should not have been, the things we tried (remember some of the hairstyles that we are glad we are not permanently stuck with) and left behind as a distant memory. This guy should have his medical license revoked and placed into intensive therapy.

In order to have an “intelligent” discussion about this topic, it is important to define some terms which seem to be confused regularly on emotional issues such as this.

Ethics is what we “ought” to do according to our culture as a whole.

Morality is what we “chose” to do as a result of individual or collective beliefs. These beliefs may or may not be based upon ethics. In this day and age it is not uncommon for ethics and morality to clash.

For example:
Our culture says is it wrong to commit murder. That this is an ethic that I think the majority of our culture would agree with. On the other hand, most religious communities say it is wrong to be a practicing homosexual. That is a moral based upon a sub-community of our culture. Not everyone agrees with this, yet people are entitled to their opinion.

So is it moral for children to undergo gender reassignment? That depends on your sub-community of our culture. Some will say it is immoral and others will say it is not. It would appear that much of the passionate dialogue about this topic has its bases in individual or collective morality.

The question that we really need to ask is it ethical for a child to undergo gender reassignment. Sound arguments have been made about the physical damage that can be done to a child by such a therapy. However, from a psychological point of view good arguments have been made about the emotional trauma a child goes through when he or she believes / feels they are the wrong gender.

So how do we look at this topic ethically? Let’s look at what the law says a child cannot do. As several people on this blog have pointed out, children are not allowed to purchase cigarettes, alcohol and firearms until they reach a certain age because our culture says they should be mature enough to make good decisions. Likewise children are not allowed to drive cars, enter into contracts, get married or join the military until they reach a certain age. Why, because once again our culture says until a child reaches a certain age they are not mature enough. If a parent or any other adult where to willingly allow a child to violate any of the restrictions that our culture places on children, he or she would be engaging in unethical behavior and quite possibly be breaking the law.

Now some may argue that as long as the parents and the doctors say it is okay then we don’t have an ethical problem. Well let us look at the law based upon our culture once again. In all states it is illegal to beat your children. Our culture says it is wrong. So beating your children is unethical even if you feel the child needed to be beat. Likewise, in most states it is illegal for children to get genital piercings. You, your child and the piercer may feel it is perfectly okay, but chances are it is against the law and therefore unethical.

So, based upon the very rudimentary restrictions that our culture places on children and those responsible for them, it is reasonable to conclude that based upon the nature of gender reassignment therapy it is unethical for a child to be allowed such a treatment. Once a child reaches the age of consent (normally 18) then the child can make the decision him or herself and it would be ethical. I know some reading this will cringe at the thought of this, but remember ETHICAL is not necessarily the same thing as MORAL.

Now having said that, being a parent of a very confused teenage boy I can symphonize with those that are dealing with a child in such a situation, however, there are other treatment options besides gender reassignment to help children cope.

And now a final word; in science, just because we can do something, it does not ethically follow that we have to do it. Gender reassignment therpy in children fits into this category.

The thing that really bugs me is the fact that all these so called bible bashers and “old school” shrinks haven’t the foggiest idea about what it is to be Transgendered, go through puberty as the gender that isn’t desired, and have to spend incredible amounts of money to make the person look like the other gender after thier bodies have undergone the puberty stage of their birth gender. I am a Transsexuak who has had to live my lifwe secretly, in fear of being exposed and then discriminated against. Dr. Spack is actually one of the nicest doctors that has actually been a help to the transgendered kids in the United States.

All you critics can buzz off, and find someone else to judge, cause that’s just what you are doing.

Okay first of all Dr. Spack is not “cutting off a penis” or “removing the uterus” of these children. He is simply delaying puberty and providing counseling for these children. It is outrageous to compare his work to castrating young boys. You people need to do more research before going on rants about God and judgment day.

i wish i could look upon this problem with the eyes of the ignorant. however for me that is impossible. for those who dont know what being transgendered is like it must be easy to point a finger and shout how profane, disgusting and perverted we are. when in truth all we are doing is trying to live our life the way we want to.
i, along with many other transgendered people, know when we are young that we need to transition, and it takes a very brave person to go through this journey. who are you to say how they feel or what they should do. would you listen to someone elses advice on how to live your life? for example, if i told you that following your god was wrong, would you listen. i would tend to think not, because i am sure you have your reasons for believing in what you believe in. all that can be asked for here is the same courtesy. these children know their bodies a lot better than you or i do. so please dont ridicule them, their supportive parents for, or the doctors for helping to ensure that these kids dont have to go through any more years of living as the wrong gender than they have to.
one more picture needs to be painted here. imagine waking up tomarrow in the body of the opposite gender. would you change it…would you do whatever it took to make the necessary changes to be as close to yourselves again. or imagine if you or your child had been born with a ‘fixable’ disfigurement. wouldnt you do whatever you could to surgically alter the disfigurement. i would take a chance and say you would. but why do that, if it was gods will to disfigure a child and where do you draw the line. this type of body modification is not barbaric at all. rather a necessary alteration to help the person live their life. so please in the future use measure of understanding before casting stones at subjects you have no first hand experience with.
thanks for reading this if you have any further questions, or would like to learn more you can contact your local LGBT center. they can point you in the right direction.

madison
33 year old transgendered male to female

Okay first of all Dr. Spack is not “cutting of penises” or “removing uteruses” of these children. He is simply giving these children hormones to delay puberty and counseling so they have more time to decide what they want to do with their lives. This is not some story of a tomboy or a sensitive boy, these children are going to the extreme and trying to commit suicide. I am happy to see someone helping these children instead of degrading them. It is outrageous to compare this doctors work to castrating young boys. You people need to conduct some research before going on your rants about God and judgment day.

As young kid during the 1940’s I was amazed at the transformation of creating life. At that time I wondered if someday we would attempt to change something that never was. To fit a criteria out of someone’s little mind it was Frankenstein. Now we are doing the same thing going against nature and creating out of our realm of thinking or beliefs. We need to examine the problems of the individual and make constructive determination. Because one a decision has been made there is no turning back, and a future maybe destroyed mentally, because a decison was made for them and they had no impute at the time.

To start off with, sex changes in children and been going on for many years. Some children were we not asked which gender they wanted to be. Back in the 60’s and 70’s it was a choice made by the medical profession and parents. This procedure is damaging to the child, I am not a doctor, nor to I profess to be, but I am a victim of such a procedure that was preformed on me in 1971. I ask the medical profession to first ask the child and second to a chomosone test to see if maybe the child is the other gender.

Unbelievable. Spacks is more an idiot than a Doctor. His license to practice medicine needs to be revoked as soon as possible, before he harms any more children. If he was near me I would be tempted to give him what he deserves. How can the people of Boston allow this guy to walk the streets, let alone practice medicine? More people in Boston need to get involved with this. Take up a collection and hire a lawyer or do something pragmatic.

I first recognized that I wanted/needed to be a woman at the age of 11, when puberty started and that I wanted to take female hormones to become a woman. But because of the brain washing of my fundamentalist Christian parents, I suppressed my desire to be a woman until the age of 39, when I first learned of the transsexual civil rights movement. By then I had developed life threating depression, which was started by inability to date as a male, which was made worse by chronic pain, caused by being hit by a van on the way to church. I wonder how much better my life would have been if I had been able to take female hormones at a much earlier age than 39 years old, and to live as a girl in school, and as a woman as a young adult.

Don’t let the Fox news story mislead you. No doctor will prescribe cross gender hormones to a 7 year old, or do a sex change operation on a 7 year old, who was born with normal sex organs.

The “Burger King” era of human evolution says, “Have it your way.” My experience with children is they do not have the maturity to make such decisions. They are emotionally driven and often wish they were not born, had different parents and various other desires. Shall we grant them an abotion pass? Or even the opportunity to have other parents? For those who were confused all your lives, I would day your parents are likely the cause of that problem. Parents teach their children how to resolve issues and make decisions. Today, many parents have reliquished to the BK slogan allowing their children to determine their own fate. Vist a third world country and you do not observe this problem; children eat what is on their plate and live out the roles expected.

You know, I find it interesting that some of you estimate gods power to be something as lowly as chemistry or the ability to change his environment.

A god, if one does exist would have, powers far beyond the abilities of humans to understand. Only a simple mind assumes that the realm of god power encompasses simple things.

It is foolish and simplistic to believe that humans will ever be able to “Play god”. God grants the soul, why would he deny it to a clone, even one born by completely synthetic methods, this clone would never be the same person.

Only a pride filled fool would believe they had gods power by any other means than through him.

This is disgusting… typical garbage from Massachusets, though. This guy’s attitudes are obvious – politically liberal, and so caught up in his own supposed ‘idealism’ that he hasn’t even taken in to consideration that a child can’t really know their own sexuality beyond what they’re told by their parents, teachers and other authority figures.

Doctor, I’d say you need your head examined.

We should also be considering teratogens as a factor in children becoming transgender. Biologists do know the action of testosterone is needed for the fetus to develop masculine behavior patterns.

Example: Gravid female rats were dosed with a potent androgen blocker at a critical time for neurological development. The male offspring developed female behavior patterns, exhibiting lordosis in response to male rats.

Example: Freemartins in cattle. When a cow is gravid with fraternal twins, one male and one female, the female twin will develop male sexual behavior. The reason for this is: In cattle both fetuses share the same placenta. Hence, the testoterone, from the young bull, will affect the young heifer, masculinizing her behavior. The heifer will behave like a bull.

Humans twins do not share the same placenta, which makes for some more interesting possibilities. It is entirely possible for one fetus of a pair of identical twins the be exposed to sufficient testoterone for masculinization of behavior, while the other fetus is not.

It is possible for one male fetus to prematurely shut down the fetal testes before the brain is masculinized. The other fetus’s testes will continue to produce testosterone, for a sufficently long period, for the brain to become masculinized.

This possible, because the fetuses do not share the same placental circulation.

I have to hand it to FOX News. This is just another biased and inaccurately reported news item. FOX should be ashamed for airing it.

Moronic is the word that comes to mind.

It is so sad to see so many people commenting on something they don’t actually understand. It is not gross or wrong just because you don’t understand it. If it is a religious belief at least you have a basis for your argument on why you think it is wrong.

whats with the good doc….kinda like the parents who were not successful at something in their childhood like sports …and they push push push their kids to be something they could never be..this guy (dr.) in the guise of expert, (education) and science (subjective) foists himself on extra sensitive parents who dont understand role reversal, and willingly hand their kids over to this lunatic? What was he missing in his youth?

Dr Spack is one sick human being, if you want to call him that. He disgusts me.

Rather than give my opinions, some facts.

Zhou J.-N, Hofman M.A, Gooren L.J, Swaab D.F (1997)
A Sex Difference in the Human Brain and its Relation to Transsexuality.
PDF

Kruijver F.P.M, Zhou J.-N, Pool C.W., Swaab D.F. (2000)
Male-to-Female Transsexuals Have Female Neuron Numbers in a Limbic Nucleus
PDF

Male and Female brains differ, both on the coarse scale (BSTc layer of the hypothalamus) and fine scale (number of neurons – brain cells – in each structure). Autopsies on transsexual women, that is, women with mostly male bodies, have shown they have female pattern brains in that area.

Note that gay men have male pattern brains in that area though.

Gender and sexual Orientation are different. Kids know what gender they are long before they know anything about sex.

From ArzteZeitung this year, detailing studies using fMRT – “brain scans” of living people:

“Radiologists can now confirm what transsexuals report – that they feel “trapped in the wrong body” – on the basis of the activation of the brain when presented with erotic stimuli. There is obviously a biological correlation with the subjective feelings.”

Some more facts: an average of 5 times a day, Intersexed kids get operated on without their consent, as babies, to “normalise” them. Some little boys have been castrated and surgically altered to looking like girls simply because their penises weren’t long enough to suit the parents and doctors.

Many such boys show signs of being, well, boys as they grow up. So they get labelled as mentally ill, transsexual girls, and if they’re very, very lucky, get someone like Dr Spack to help treat them – along with all the other kids whose brains don’t match their bodies, usually because they were born that way.

While this must be a disturbing and perhaps even tragic situation for a youngster and their parents, young children cannot be left to make decisions as life-changing as gender reassignment. There simply is not enough known about the causes of gender confusion and permanent change should only be made by legal adults. Only an adult can make a fully informed decision like this, that will impact their lives forever. What this doctor is doing is ghastly, in my opinion.

I personally think its great that people in the medical community are finally stepping up! and I completely support the doctors that treat people(children and adults) with any kind of gender identity issue. Though I’m not 100% sure on young children getting sex changes. I think they should put it off for awhile and do the hormone blockers and everything else. Its better to be safe and wait then hurry and be sorry and regret everything in the future. I’m not saying that all the kids that get it done will regret it but eh some might change their minds gender is extremely fluid just like sexuality.

jeeeez…………………..anything for a buck….follow the money

If I were this doctor, I would not grant an interview to FoxNews, either. This article is so biased, it’s hair raising.

For all those who want to see a few actual children affected by gender identitiy disorder, go to http://www.youtube.com and search for “Barbara Walters 20/20 transgender”. Then watch the five clips.

If then you still think this doctor is nuts, so be it. But I challenge you to think about how you would deal with these children, if they were your own.

Leave it to Massachusetts to show the whole world what idiots they are. I have news for you doctors – a little 3 year old girl acting like a boy is called a tomboy – and she outgrows it – ask me – I was one – it’s a TOMBOY YOU IDIOTS – leave the kid alone!! You are all freaks and should not be allowed to practice medicine.

Sarah: These children don’t make a such decision alone. They just express what they feel, who they are. At some point it becomes obvious that it’s not just a phase – then it’s time to do something, rather than forcing the child through hell. If you do this with a truly transgender kid, it will miss out on learning the social skills in the gender it will live later in life. Besides, the hormones of the wrong gender will have done many irreversible changes by then, and transition costs will skyrocket.

There is nothing to gain from raising unhappy, depressed, or suicidal children, just to follow a principle or belief. If the condition is consistent and long term, and the child has been evaluated properly by professionals experienced with this particular issue, then there is no reason to withhold the medication or hormones to achieve happiness for the child.

Disgusting and sad. You gonna throw some 44DDs on Frank when he becomes “Sally” too at 7yrs old? Sick bastards.

If you were born with a weewee, you are a boy. If you were born with a hoohaa, you are a girl. End of story.

Dr. Norman Spack is a HERO. I am not going to waste my time reading all of the rubbish written by others regarding negativity towards Dr. Spack…. I already know that if you are saying nasty things about him, you do not know him, nor do you know anything about transgender individuals, diagnosis, standards of care or treatment for gender dysphoria. That being said, those who bash Dr. Spack and what he does for these children are making uninformed, uneducated opinions based on their personal feelings and not the facts.

Dr. Spack does not accept patients and immediately administer a treatment protocol. There is a VERY LONG, HEARTWRENCHING, DIFFICULT assessment process that these families must go through before they even GET TO Dr. Spack. These children struggle with many issues, most of which are brought upon them by ignorant, hateful, closed-minded adults in their environment. These kids experience depression, social isolation, learning problems and a myriad of other problems, most of which are eliminated after treatment.

There are surely more people with a derogatory stance toward Dr. Spack than the one I take, not because I am wrong, but because children who are experiencing Gender Dysphoria are rare. This is understandably a very difficult concept to grasp unless/until you experience it first-hand, but until you do, don’t judge those of us who DO know and the amazing medical professionals who are willing to help save our childrens’ lives.

This guy is an absolute nut case. The AMA needs to regulate experimental practices particularly when it comes to kids. How is it that this is even considered to be legal? Is it simply because he has “MD” after his name? Some of these guys get a huge attack of ego after putting on the MD and think they’re God. Other, like this guy, need inpatient care at the nearest mental health facility.

The articles says:

“We have had a case of identical twins that seems to disprove [other] theories,” she told FOXNews.com. “The twin girls were brought up in exactly the same environment, but by the age of 3, one of them kept insisting that she was a boy and kept mimicking masculine dress and behavior.”

If the girls were identical twins (identical genes), then one feeling as though she is a boy and one feeling as though she is a girl disproves the transgender “gene” theory. It does not support it. What kind of scientist is Dr. Irene Sills to draw such a backward conclusion? The genes are truly identical with identical twins, yet these identical twins perceptions are different from one another. The psychological environment can never be truly identical. Different persons have different experiences, even at the early age of 3. They are not the same human being, yet they have the same genetic code. Do the math properly Dr. Sills.

Why is this charlatan still practicing medicine??? This is nothing less than child abuse. Where is his state medical board???

These comments are absolutely atrocious. Zealots like you people are what brings this country down so far. Your religion preaches compassion, patience, love and understanding, and yet so many of you don’t even TRY to practice that. Do you think on Christ’s second coming, he’s going to praise you for this kind of behavior? All this hate and anger over something you honestly know nothing about? It’s your own ego and insecurities that make this sort of thing seem like the ‘devil’, and because you don’t understand it. When the devil takes the image of Christ, you are the ones who will fall for his poisoned guise.

I see religion tossed into many comments , and I understand why they do it, ignorance, misinformation and hate brings many to their bible . Unless this affects you and your family you would of course not be expected to understand it, and it is usually best if you let the families and their doctors make the choices and hard decisions that will affect their lives … If you dont believe in something or it goes against your belief system, then it is your right to act on that in YOUR life.. We have been as a nation trying for years to tell others how to live their lives in order to somehow justify the guilt some fill in their own lives..
Do what you will to you and yours and let other families control have the options and make the difficult choices that affect their lives …
Stay out of other peoples lives..

This is a complete and utter outrage! This blatant abomination in the eyes of God will not be stood for! A child doesn’t even know what they want for Christmas let alone what they want their gender to be! If it was intended for them to be a different gender they would have been born that way. End of story.

The END is soon to come!

You know….my little girls thinks she’s a horse. She gallops around all day neighing and eating carrots. Does this mean I need to find a doctor who can turn her into one? Has anyone ever heard of the “cat” man, who had all kinds of surgeries and tattoos to turn himself into a cat?

Come on…..how many things did YOU want to be when you were a kid and are you actually any of those imaginings now? All children go through stages where they identify with one or the other sex more. There are extremes in both sexes. Just think, there are girls who are tomboys and love sports, but that doesn’t mean they need to be a man, and there are men who are sensitive dreamers and artists, but that doesn’t mean they need to be a woman.

Can’t we just let things be, for Pete’s sake?

Completely insane!
Anyone who would even consider this kind of surgery for a confused child is sick and wrong.
I was, and still am, a ‘Tom Boy’, but I am also a wife and mother of a bunch of boys & a girl, who is the girliest girl I’ve ever seen. My joke has always been ‘I feel like a woman trapped in a womans body.’
Society needs to see that people can be happy being what they are born as without medical intervention.
Surgery will not make things better, nor will it make these kids feel more accepted. Acceptence starts with yourself, the rest will follow.

Remember that episode of South Park? “I’ve always wanted to be a dolphin…”

Another example of people exploiting children to further their political agendas. Kids have all the hardware to be either a girl or a boy, not on the fence. Every woman has her own type of beauty as a woman, whether it seems the traditional type or not, and every man has a man’s strength, it’s just a matter of finding it, which is sometimes the work of a lifetime, but it’s part of life. How many of us are actually what we said we wanted to be when we grew when we were seven?

It always amazes me that the doctors and others who object to transgender therapy ignore the fact that patients with severe gender dysphoria are overwhemingly happy with the results that hormonal and surgical treatments provide them. The frequency of a patient regretting their choice is so small it’s statistically insignificant. It leads me to being very skeptical about their motivation which is frequently related to religious beliefs instead of concern for the patient.

If the treatment Dr. Spack provides would have been available when I was a child, they would have saved me decades of pain and anguish, let alone the six-figure costs related to addressing my condition later in life. Their approach is very practical and, I believe appropriate to the childrens’ situations.

I support Dr. Spack and Boston Children’s Hospital’s efforts wholeheartedly. Great Job!

For all of you who are gay and bi or transgendered, let me assure you that God has not made anyone of you that way. It’s not His design.

People choose to “give themselves” over to these abnormal feelings and practices because they don’t choose to question them or choose to listen to quacks, like this doctor and other psycho-ciatrist, which tell them to do so.

I myself got involved in gay relationships, but I’m telling all of you in those relationships now, that unless you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, then you’ll never get why and how that lifestyle is a choice and its destructive to yourself and society.

God didn’t change His mind about how He originally made mankind, and He’s never going to change His mind. God is the same yesterday, today and forever, He changes not.

It’s our own fallen nature, and God’s enemy- Satan, that brought this blight into our mankind, not God.

So, please. Don’t turn your back on God by continuing to insist that this is your God given right to be gay or transgendered. He’s always willing to help you get back to the being the person He always meant you to be, but its only possible through surrendering your whole life to Jesus Christ.

I am nearly 67 years old and a transgendered person. I have known of my condition since the age of six. I would be free of it if I could be. I have resisted it all my life and have sought professional help.

It is not a “lifestyle”, and it’s not apparent to anyone whom I have not told. I’m happily married and a great-grandfather.

With access to the internet, I began intensive study of the subject in 1994. I dare say I have a great deal more expertise than, for example, Mr. Staver has.

Regardless of what your negative opinion may be, whether religion-based or coming from a position of ignorance, I will tell you this as an intelligent, self-analytical, clear-thinking person:

It is real, it is painful and it doesn’t go away. Whether or not you accept it – or me – is moot.

My heart cries for those young people whose lives are made less fulfilling by the biases of others.

Christians, remember this world belongs to The Prince of Lies. We shouldn’t judge. We should PRAY.

I am the heterosexual, married parent of a nearly 15 yr old transgender child. We always accepted that we may be raising a tomboy or a female child who was just very masculine. We use to have a very outgoing child and funny and happy child. When puberty hit, that all changed. I do not chalk it up to hormones only. We ended up with a child who was severely depressed and suicidal. There are no other issues in play here. No dysfunction in this family. We are hardworking married parents of 4 children and have been married for nearly 20 years. We are in our 40’s. We do not practice a religion, nor do we feel we need to. Our child finally told us how “he” has ALWAYS felt. We never, even as a small child, pushed for our child to be ultra feminine or anything else. We let “him” be who he was. I dressed my child in beautiful dresses and outfits and have the pictures to prove it. And I also let my child DECIDE what he wanted to wear most of the time. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but they could never express the pain my child was suffering inside. Unfortunately, we can not afford the surgery for this person to become wholly who he feels he needs to be, but let me tell you, I would pay for it if I could. Just being able to live as he feels and to express his identity openly has turned this once suicidal teen back into a very happy and outgoing and productive

What does any of this have to do with God? Are people really that blind? I am transgendered I grew up in a God fearing family and can tell you I had these feelings as early as 9. I love God and am one of those people that would never hurt a fly or do anything wrong because my conscious won’t allow it. I go to church every week and yet I am in the cross roads now and I can’t see not being female. I am a woman inside period there is no question in my mind. I have always been this way and everyone around me can see that. I tried to hide this for years and ran away from it, lifted weights tried therapy, and prayed. This is not something that is just goes away because we think its wrong. Thats our judgment and not God’s. Also being gay and being transgendered are two separate things. If you think its easy being transgendered think again. Even if you don’t do anything about everyone knows. Its a lonely road and yet there is comfort in the transition because at least then you can ‘fit’ into society. If these kids get a chance to do it at a younger age I say go for it… I know it would have made my life a lot easier than trying to fit in someone else’s role.

MassResistance broke this story last April — over a year ago! We covered it in a radio show on WTTT. It’s taken this long for the mainstream media to pick up on it! (Just Google “Norman Spack + MassResistance”.) Check out the MassResistance report on the “Trans Rights” bill now before the Mass. legislature, which also discusses Spack.

Medical intervention and surgery enhance and extend the lives of everyone reading this thread. Obviously, medications and surgery are not performed “on demand”, but rather when a qualified physician – or team of physicians – determines that it is in the best interest for the health and welfare of the patient.

Dr. Spack does NOT perform surgery on children. He follows the guidelines established by the medical community in the treatment for individuals with Gender Identity Disorder. He HELPS children who are in great pain.

Perhaps some of the doctor’s detractors should educate themselves on the subject before making offensive and derogatory comments? Has anyone else noticed that most of the negative comments are written by individuals who can’t spell? Or take the time to write a coherent sentence?

Three minutes thought would suffice to find this out; but thought is irksome and three minutes is a long time. – A.E. Houseman

An age is called Dark, not because the light fails to shine, but because people refuse to see it. – Michener

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe. – Einstein

Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. – MLK

Few people know how far to the left the Harvard system is. During my time at Boston Children’s, there was a weekly meeting for “Fetal Medicine” that amounted to nothing more than “counseling for termination” for just about every child — even fetuses with minimal defects. It was like Nazi “family planning”.

The question that is not being asked here is what is driving this child to want to change his gender? Further, HONEST investigation in most cases will reveal sexual abuse by someone close to the child. If they were a different gender, they believe that they wouldn’t be being used sexually by the perpetrator. It is a young child’s logic. The younger the abuse starts the more likely the child is to fragment or dissociate psychologically. This hospital and physician should both be exposed for this sham. What does it say about a nation that won’t protect and responsibly raise its children? We are turning in to a nation of whimps that runs down every absurd rabbit trail and ignores and denies the obvious.

What does a child’s sex change do for pedophiles? (ie. if the parent is a pedophile and they prefer one gender to the other) Is the doctor a pedophile or did he come up with this to appease pedophiles? Can abusive parents use this as a form of physical/psycological torture?

First of all many of leaving comment to the negative, did not read the article. The doctor is using HRT to slow puberty, the children will also need psychological therapy. Transsexualism is complicated issue. It is not something to be entered into lightly, I should know because I am a trans woman. Had I had this option along time ago, I would have not tried suicide and I would be a lot happier now. As for those who are bring in God, are just promoting hate. Leave your b******t belief out of it. It is the kids and their parents choice.

Throug history there has been a small but enless, and sometimes very influential, parade of monsters, like Dr. Spack, who have training, education, or power enough to wreak great and devastating progroms on all people.

This may seem an overstatement but that is only because Dr. Spack is only beginning to implement his personal horrors on American children. What monsterous mind and what darkened heart could possible torture and maim children like this? What awful parents could possibly be so hypnotized or so negligent as to actually be convinced that this persuit of heinous crimes against humanity could, in even the farthest reaches of Steven King0like thinking, be reasonable?

America truly is far down the path of post-Chrisitian rationality. I am deeply saddened at whai is inexorably coming next. If this barbarian purpsuit is protected by an institution like Boston Children’s then very wordt of old Soviet Gulags, Cambodian Killing Fields and Nazi retraining camps are just as possible.

Dr. Spack has treated my husband for many years, and for free during times we couldn’t pay him. I can vouch that he is a truly good, kind person.

We’ve spent generations forcing children whose feelings do not correlate with their biological sex to act as if they do, to deny and reject themselves, and we’ve counseled parents to deny and reject their children if they do not conform to gender expectations. We’ve paid for this with high rates of PTSD, depression, suicide and other abuse-related mental illnesses amoung those who are gender-different (not just transfolk, but also people who are simply “feminine” males or “masculine” females). Maybe it’s time to try listening to these kids and helping them do what they want to do, as Dr. Spack is trying to do.

Nah. It’s easier to condemn them. After all, if acting in the ways appropriate to your biological sex comes naturally to you, it must also come naturally to everyone else. These kids must just be trying to be difficult. They probably like the verbal (and sometimes physical and sexual) abuse heaped on them by kids and adults alike. Otherwise they’d toe the line and act like they “ought” to, right? People like Spack ought to join in the abuse of these kids, pressuring them to conform and rejecting them when they “choose” to do otherwise. We can’t accept and allow people to act contrary to their chromosomal or genital identity. It threatens the entire foundations of our culture.

V.S.

I am a heterosexual 40 something married nearly 20 yrs parent of a transgender CHILD-who WILL with most certantity grow into a transgender ADULT. My child is now 15 and is finally back to being the outgoing happy and productive child that I once knew BEFORE puberty. What you bible toting religious zealots dont realize is this: puberty for these children is DEVESTATING. Not just an inconvenience or the emotional roller coaster that we know it can be for kids. My child was SUICIDAL, and not outrightly suicidal. Those are the kids who actually will do themselves harm..the ones who dont tell you whats going on. My child was internally self destructive and was turning it outwardly on himself. There is nothing more devestating than to stand by and watch your child dissappear before your eyes…AND NOT KNOW WHY. This has nothing to do with God..YOUR god or anyone else’s. My child is NOT on hormones…YET-has not had surgery YET, but is living as the opposite gender he was born into-BY HIS CHOICE. And its nothing NEW. AND HAD WE KNOWN SOONER..WE MAY HAVE SPARED HIM THIS AGONY by getting him on hormone blockers..which DELAY puberty..and is completely reversible. This is the child that I have always known…more male then female since I can remember. Did WE encourage this..absolutely NOT. Did we allow our child to be the person he was-ABSOLUTELY. When our child finally told us what he was dealing with and the internal struggle just to want to live..it was almost too much to bear…NOT THE TRANSGENDER part..the part where my CHILD would rather DIE than continue to live in a body that didnt fit. He is now happier, very productive, kind, generous, loving..all those things HE always was, and living as the gender he feels he has ALWAYS been, heart, mind, body and soul-and its not affecting anyone but HIM.

You speak of GOD??? GOD SUPPOSEDLY created us all..correct? even the children who are handicapped, deformed and diseased-mentally and physically. Should we go back to advising parents to institutionalize these kids and forget they ever existed??? Should we go back to all the ignorance that we SUPPOSEDLY learned from?? the days of people being accused and judged and burned as witches? the days of discrimination because of color?? discrimination because of GENDER?…LADIES??? REMEMBER THERE WAS A TIME WHEN OUR VOTE HAD NO VALUE? god has little to do with this if anything.

To ALL of you thumping away at your bibles and judging the lives and decisions of others…shame on you. What difference does it make to you what gender MY child is? This is not about SEXUAL identity, being gay or straight, its not about someones AGENDA..although that is YOUR point…YOUR agenda..is that everyone needs to be exactly how YOU percieve them or say they should be. Transgender ADULTS ALL began life as TRANSGENDER CHILDREN, and whether you agree with their decisions to transition is not the point. Who are they hurting? NOONE. How does the decision of a total stranger, child or adult, affect YOUR life? and who the hell are you anyway??? Until you have to struggle yourself, or struggle with it for your children…please feel free to crawl back under the rock you poked your head out from under and revel in your ignorance. FOX? NEWS? they are no better than a rag mag.

Also, because the rather sensationalistic article failed to explain this, Dr. Spack (nor no other reputable doctor I know of) does not offer Sex Reassignment Surgery to young children. Dr. Spack offers medication that delays puberty for children and younger teens and hormonal replacement for older teens. While there are possible long term effect of these medications and hormones, they are not nearly as drastic as the obvious long term effects of surgery.

To summarize, young children are only making social decisions — choosing to live as their preferred gender. Older children and teens are making medical decisions that involve medication and hormones, but surgery is still being put off until the child is eighteen.

How does ALL of humanity’s Creator feel about this? Check out His Holy Scriptures…it is all sooooooo heart breaking, what a shame. What a tragedy for those who look to these human doctors as their god; may they want to come to know Him and His infinite love….

Jeri what is necessary and what is right are 2 different things. I was at BCH for an extended time, I saw a lot of medicine practiced at the edge of the “standard of care”.

How many parents that wanted a daughter instead of a son or vice versa will groom their child now into wishing they were the opposite sex? That would add confusion to a child that then becomes a confused teenager and possibly changes their life at a young age without a full concept of life. Years are meaningless to a kid. Tomorrow is too far away, waiting for a toy until pay day is not acceptable.

This kind of reminds me of a scene in the movie Little Nicky where the kids are drunk and puking and the demon brother says something about how nice it is to see children sinning b/c they changed the drinking age to 5 y/o. I don’t blame the kids in these crazy issues though, they are just children… our society is really screwing with their heads. I’m so sad thinking about this and the fact that other countries are already completing the procedure….

Re The God squad’s rants on this subject about mutilation of God’s work. Isn’t every boy born with a foreskin ? Then if God designed it so,why do so many parents choose to remove it before the boy has a chance to decide one way or the other ?Isn’t this genital mutilation ?Or maybe even child abuse ?Do the doctors get charged with any offence ?

Small children, as they develop and mature seem to go through phases. Boys may display effeminate traits and Girls may display male traits. I suspect that weak Parents will submit to the child and enable the child to develop with misguided intent. To complicate the issue are Children’s Doctors with the values of this Dr. Spack, who by the way, makes a boatload of cash off these human tragedies, and perpetuates these revenues into the future by having these wretches grow as incomplete people. Just my take on this matter, based on a lot of year experience in the School of the World.

You so called “Christians” are really making me mad. You give proof in your writing that many of you are narrow minded nutcases and discriminating bigots yourselves. That’s really sad. By your actions and voices, we’re supposed to believe you’re the light of the world? Right now, all I see is your darkness. But really, I understand that it’s not your fault. You’re just a simple misguided flock of sheep. The fault lies with all the Reverend Donkeys that force feed you all of this idiotic tripe. They are the real idiots. Are you sure that God is so prudish that he only cares about sex relayed topics and nothing else? Because what I see here by your “loathing” statements, you’ve got a whole bunch of things to worry about regarding your own salvation. Yes, do pray…. Pray for the deliverance from YOUR OWN stupidity.
.
As for the people who allege to be Doctors here, I appalled at the unscientific babble that you spout from your mouth against transsexuals and the wonderful doctors that offer first class treatment for their TG patients.
You claim to be educated people, yet you still like to live in the dark ages. The age where people insisted that the world was flat, that disease was caused by evil spirits, that life saving blood transfusions and inoculations aren’t of God, that organ transplants were impossible, and that insanity was the product of demons. You’re the quacks here, not Dr. Spack. I thank God that I’m not being treated by any of you idiots. Where did you get your degrees from? Kmart? Really…how sad!

How much more barbaric is this doctor than the industries that are polluting, measuring lives in parts per trillion, and causing sexual deformities from endocrine disruptors that find their way into our products, water, and food chain? I’ve been following the phenomenon of gender bender fish for 6 years. The first showed up in the rivers of NY, then the Potomac. The fish were either male/female, no sex at all, or variations in between. The culprit is more than likley many of the chemicals in plastic like Bisphenol A, or phthalates, which are both endocrine (hormone) disruptors. A baby’s genetics are formed around hormones. Plastics leach 10 X’s the BPA when heated. Some manufacturer’s are now labeling plastics w/o BPA.

Phthalates are the latest on the list. One in three hundred baby boys don’t have a urethra that emerges out of the tip of their penis. It ends up somewhere else underneath, midway down the shaft, or barely out of the scrotum. It’s called hypospadias and studies show that phthalates reproduce it in rodents. But some researchers argue that the doses in rodents are so much higher. Then why experiment on animals at all? Our safety is being measured in parts per trillion when obviously the endocrine disruptors didn’t have to be in the plastic to begin with if bottles are showing up labeled w/o BPA now. Are we human guinea pigs and don’t know it, because the studies are showing some pretty awful results?

Look at the rise in baldness that is affected by hormones, and young girls hitting puberty far too soon. It’s not likely that it’s just from too many hormones in food. And homosexuality labeled by Christians (I am one) as an “abomination.” Since God knows all, maybe He’s calling our pollution an abomination, that it’s gone so far as to disrupt the human endocrine system to save a buck somehow. I think our industry is an abomination. The latest reports on poor Agfarm workers whose babies were born w/o arms, legs, brain, and with no distinction as to what sex may be due to pesticide use, more chemical interaction problems.

And Autism what about that? I know a couple with a boy and girl suffering birth defects. The boy can’t process protein. The girl is partially autistic. Both parents had diets rich in fish from the Great Lakes while growing up in the 70’s. Hmmm.

What I want to know is how will the powers that be clean up over 10 thousand miles square of N. Pacific ocean that is home to billions of tiny, confetti like pieces of partially photo-degraded plastic churning around? There is more of it than plankton. The fish and seabirds don’t know the difference. Therefore, toxic and deformed fish and birds keep operating in our food chain. This part of the ocean world is industry’s dirtiest secret.

Meanwhile, I keep hunting around for reports of the first androgenous mammals found somewhere. It’s only a matter of time. This doctor is offering some sort of relief to the symptoms of a growing situation. I say situation and not problem since I do not wish to label another innocent human being as a problem, when the root of the real problem lies elsewhere.

I believe that children in their earlier years up through the teenage years are not yet capable of fully knowing their own bodies. They are confused due to hormonal changes, peer influence, parental examples, worldly influences, movies, television, etc. In my opinion, there should be much more research done in this area before performing such drastic steps as gender surgery and hormonal treatments! I wonder, would this Dr. Norman Spack perform this surgery on one of his own children if they asked him!!!! Or is this just another way to exploit today’s children, while lining his pockets with greedy gold???

Very interesting topic, I invite you to educate yourself, and go to Wikipedia to look up the definition of “Transgender”. If these kids are born with both genders, then who is to say that the doctor pronouncing them at birth a particular gender was correct. In these cases they go either way and nobody knows at birth for sure. Having both genders is something some kids are born with, it’s not a phase. Unfortunately it doesn’t come out which one they really are, until later.

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry when I hear someone make a comment like “they were supposed to be a male” or they were “supposed to be a female”. THE HUMAN SOUL KNOWS NO GENDER, you fools. The word ‘male’ by definition means ‘a human with a penis’ and the word ‘female’ translates to ‘Human with a vagina’. Don’t confuse yourself with symantics and complex interpretations of simple nomenclature. I understand that he role of genetics and hormones on human behavior is profound, and the varying levels that individuals possess sexual characteristics is infinite in its combinations and can often cause emotional stress when they do not conform to cultural norms. Acceptance and counselling seem to me to be a humane and caring thing to do. You can give it a scientific name and call it ‘transgender surgery’ if you want to, but regardless of whether you have a diploma or a license what you’re really doing is mutilating another human being genitals and altering their hormone levels to suit a whim. You haven’t truly changed that persons gender – you’re playing God and deceiving yourself and the arrogance is ovewhelming. You’re not helping that person, you’re spiritually killing them.

these are babies that are only mimicking what they see they love mom and dad and if any one out there has children you know that some kids are closer to one of the parents more than the other and they mimick, and they out grow these kind of behaviours, they are babies they don’t know, for GOD’s sake these parents are just as confused to allow this kind treatment to be done to their babies. It seems that we are loosing sight of what is right and correct. In the past 5 years it seems that this issue with sexual orientation is becoming an epidemic and I have to agree with
some else’s comment and I don’t want it to sound like dooms day, but Sodom and Gomorrah is
the first thing that comes to mind. People get ready cause it will not get any better.

Every person’s DNA clearly determines their gender. Living as the opposite, having surgery, HRT etc. does not changes one’s DNA. And…Wikipedia is not a credible source for anything! Be serious, this is a serious topic.

I would like to refer Brenda Louise to the entry ‘Comment by Student of Ethics and a Parent’ which I thought was brilliant. Condemning someone for having religious beliefs, and issuing a tirade calling people ‘idiots’ and ’stupid’ becasue they don’t happen to agree with your opinion is ridiculous and not helpful to your cause. Please don’t assume that your position is the intellectually superior and correct one. You are obviously filled with anger and hatred.

He’s a no different than Nazi death camp doctor, Josef Mengele.

ALL OF YOU MAKING NEGATIVE NASTY COMMENTS HAVE NEVER FELT HOW THESE CHILDREN FEEL? TRY FEELING FOR SOMEONE ELSE INSTEAD OF YOUR OWN NARROW RIGHT WINGNUT PEA BRAINS.

AT 7? I’d have been happy to change GENDER at FIVE!

And “GOD” DOES MAKE MISTAKES!!!

Did any of you actually read the article?!?!?

Dr Spack is NOT performing sex change surgeries or advocating them for children. All he is doing is offering counselling to gender confused children, and using treatments to delay puberty.

The whole point is NOT to make decisions for children who are confused or forcing them to have sex changes. The whole point is to delay puberty, so that THEY can make the decision as ADULTS.

If I may be permitted an addendum…

To those of you purporting to speak on behalf of God:

I am transgendered and also a person of very deep faith. You presume to know better than I what God wants, intends and approves.

Is my faith less valid? Is my God a lesser God? Because I do not believe precisely as you do, am I doomed to Hell? If you believe that, I submit that you must think the same of the vast majority of the world’s people who – for one reason or another – do not conform to your standards. Apparently, you and your group of congregants have it right and the rest of us have it all wrong.

What monumental arrogance. It would never occur to me to interfere with your right to believe as you choose. Yet you pontificate on a subject about which you know nothing and presume to tell me what is wrong with me and how I should live my life.

I do not accept that a person who truly loves his fellow human beings can be so narrow-minded and hurtful. Can you not allow for the possibility that you might be wrong and are causing pain by refusing to think beyond the dogma you espouse?

I say again: I exist, I am real, I am a person who has both lived and extensively studied the subject of transgenderism. I reject your simplistic jargon and your petty judgment. I choose to be a person of faith, and I’m quite comfortable in my relationship with God. If there’s something that needs to be sorted out, we’ll deal with it without your help or interference.

What is truly sad is that by the time you realize what harm you have caused, the damage will have been done.

This takes grooming children for sexual abuse to a new level. Parents, why do you let adult sexual radicals define your children’s sexual formation and talk dirty to them in public schools? We are going to pay a price for this ignorance. Nothing good comes from a radical’s social or sexual engineering. Ten years from now you will hear about the children who were manipulated and abused by these twisted wackos.

And quit telling parents “we don’t understand” and “have to be educated” about human sexuality! You ignorant slobs, should take your twisted sex show elsewhere and leave the kids alone to develop their own sexuality without your sexual pressure, confusion and insanity.

And to the God haters: you don’t convience me that you are anything but social engineering radicals when your main argument centers around hating God. Good luck with that, you bigots.

This is a very sick form of sexual abuse. We are losing our country to these phsychotic practitioners of moral relativism. We must rise up and take back our country. It is almost too late.
For the sake of our children and their children it is time to take back the schools, the government, the military and our churches. Vote! Get involved! Do not back down! Do not give these people an inch! Fight back and do not surrender! God Bless America.

No lo puedo creer!!!!!! Se podra hacer algo para detener a este medico?

Does Dr. Mengele ring a bell here. This is perverse and the idiots that practice this abhorrent “treatment” should be admitted to the nearest mental hospital.

How are the you people so ignorant? This is much needed social move for the millions of transgender people like myself. Your so called “Faith” may not approve, but guess what? My God doesn’t seem to have a proper with taking care of the mistreated. You don’t have to like the procedure, but I’m pretty sure there’s this line in the Bible about “loving each other.” I’m pretty sure that applies to everyone, from the lepurs to the transgendered. If you’re as devout as you claim on here, then try practicing what your Good Book says and accept us, don’t hate us.

Vicky

If i said I felt I was a bird would a doctor give me wings and feathers? No!

If people say they hear voices or see things doctors medicate them and try to control the mental disorder.

So why is it when someone says they are in the wrong body we give into the symptom rather than treat the disorder. Why is so called transgenderism not treated as a major defect of the brain and thus medicate them with proper hormones, etc?

Since when is it proper medical science to lop off body parts because someone has a mental disease. Some mental cases people believe their skin is burning or is attacking them shoud we give into their psychosis and slice their skin off?

This is digusting and sex reassignment should be banned and doctors licenses revolked. It is barbaric and somethign you would see in midevel times

It is clear that children at 7 are much too young to know if they want to change their gender. There are no surgeries, hormone therapy, or hormone blocking for any child that young. There are no gender reassignment surgeries being done at Children’s Hospital. There are only about 5 or 6 surgeons in the country that do sex reassignment surgery, and they aren’t in Massachusetts, and they don’t operate on anyone under 18.

Also, to make the argument that your son/daughter wants to be a frog, horse, etc is analogous to a transgendered child is ignorant. I highly doubt your child cries every day to have his/her body changed from what he/she was born with to that of an animal. These children are in crisis. They need help, and that is exactly what Dr. Spack is giving them. He is not forcing transgenderism upon them, he is providing a place in which children suffering can come to sort out their feelings.

Feeling strongly one way or the other is fine and is your right, but please try and do some research before making such bold statements. Blind protest is infuriating.

I believe that everyone has gotten it a bit confused due to our straight foward media crew at Fox news. There is a lot more to this clinic at Childrens Hospital, then what was told. The information giving is incorrect and misinformed. I just think that if you want to “pass judgement” like a lot of you are doing (specifically that same people that mention God in their comments) do a little research, because if you did, you would be able to determine the facts from the fiction. Then you would have more of a factual opinion rather then an ignorant and misinformed one.

By the way I really appreciate the comment by Caleb Owens.

Dear Sirs,
While to most Fox news fans, this is probably the height of absurdity. Dr Spack is fufilling a critical need. I’m 62 and I wish someone had identified my transexualism in the 1950s when it was driving me crazy. I have a Mensa level IQ, yet I dropped out of HS because I couldn’t fit in and I got a lot of teasing. My transexualism was totally rejected by my parents. It was hell!
I wish my parents had put the money they spent trying to “cure” me with psychologists into getting me transitioned into a full fledged female as I wanted. Here at age 62, I have had a miserable life trying to please others. Trying to do what’s “Right”. Nothing has changed, except now I’m trying to transition and it may be too late. If the money were spent on transition instead of useless psychotherapy, I would have had a much happier life. Instead, I spent my life drinking , keeping people at a distance, punching walls for no apparent reason. One psychrink labeled me”The angriest person he had ever seen. So you’ll forgive me if I happen to support the work of Dr Spack. I know first hand what the alternatives are like!
Regards, Terry

To all those who ask, “if I were a ’so and so’, would the doctor make me one”…
Well, if you were an ass, the doctor wouldn’t have to have to give you a hole, cause you already have one of those. Go get a life.

“Identical” twins?

I know of one better. I know two sisters born a couple years apart one of which is Lesbian and the other’s now a He.
There have always been persons born with gender identity disorder but not until modern times have the numbers increase a thousandfold. Why? Endocrine disruptors, drugs and pesticides like DES, DDT, PCB, Dioxin, Agent orange, Nercuric pesticides, Lead, unfilterable estrogens from women taking the pill in the water supply. Much of this poisoning has gone on for decades before it was realized what dame has been done. Even though most of the above is banned in the USA, we still ingest it daily. Luckily the worst offender, DES otherwise known as Stilbestrol (and 120+ other names) was banned. Millions of women took it to prevent miscariages and morning sickness , many without their knowledge. It was also used to fatten up cattle and poultry, caponize roosters and as a treatment for cancer. It was finally banned only on the findings that the female babie of mothers that took it during their pregnancies, developed a 10x risk of cancer when they grew up, a generation later. In supposedly what should have been male babies, there’s a lot higher incidence of Intersexuality, both or missing gonads, hyperspadia and yes, brain not matching the body.
When corrections were made at birth, the parent’s and doctors only being 50% right! When they have been wrong, the other 50% are the ones if untold and untreated areat a high risk of suicide. If they can’t cope with being a little of both, many get surgery, to undo what was done to them in their first few weeks.
My question to all of you is “Can science and technology undo the damage it has done?” Someone going to wait until there’s only a few percent of babies born as males to WAKE UP? Especially since there are now several generations of damage?

Huggs,
Connie

ps. God created me as a unique individual and She doesn’t make mistakes!

this is hard on all that is involved . iam 42 yr old male .and at early age i to wish i had been born a female . (inside) i still feel that way today ! even though i have remand male . i was a SCARED !!
TO TALK to anyone !!! in fear of being beat!!!!! i would have done somthing at a yung age had i had the help from any one !!!!!!!!!! with out getting beat up !!! by mom !! or others at and around home or in school . so i say .. get them help at early age . i still cry deeply inside and cant wait to die
and go to heaven for realy god is the only one that can help . changing gender is just reliving some
of the stress !! think of this makes me cry a bit couse i have some for of control over my emotions for dealing with it for such a longtime . how ever !!! inside is a deep hurt unexplainable !!!
i cant evn watch girls on tv with hurting inside .EVERYDAY EVERY NIGHT !! IN MY SLEEP
A NON STOP NEVER EVER TO GO AWAY !! MAYBE WHEN I DIE IT WILL GO AWAY !!!
SO I SAY BECAREFULL AND LET THE DOC AND FAIMLY MOVE FORWARD !!!
THEY CAN REMOVE THE LOWER PRIVATE PART LATTER IN LIFE !! IN THE MEANTIME .
AS THE WORLD BECOMES MORE EDUCATED ON THIS ISSUE AND IT IS MORE EXSEPTED EACH GENERATION . if i was in a wheel chair part vegtable u would see and understand me lorning to have a differnt body … but since u cant see genderdisphorea , the world pushes it away and us with it . sorry abought my spelling i could not consontrate in school couse i was too buisy praying to god to let me wake up as a girl the next time i fell asleep .
jjask

Where have all the adults gone? What if children wanted to smoke and drink at age 3 would that be a matter of choice. I feel sooo sorry for these children when adults take what they say at age 3 as gospel.

To V who wrote, “I would like to refer Brenda Louise to the entry ‘Comment by Student of Ethics and a Parent’ which I thought was brilliant. Condemning someone for having religious beliefs, and issuing a tirade calling people ‘idiots’ and ’stupid’ becasue they don’t happen to agree with your opinion is ridiculous and not helpful to your cause. Please don’t assume that your position is the intellectually superior and correct one. You are obviously filled with anger and hatred.”
…………………………………..
Yes V, I am angry and filled with hatred. I’m that way because the Religious Right pundits do seem to be ‘idiots’ and ’stupid’. For one, they can’t even read the article and take the time to look up their facts before they stick their goddamn foot in their mouths and judge other people.
.
With that being said, I am intellectually superior and correct. Not only that but I’m experienced with the Transgender issue because I am a Transsexual. One who suffered through years of self hatred, denial, and fear of being found out to be transgendered. I wasted most of my life trying not to be me, and trying to be someone that religion, parents, siblings, and society thought I should be. After 48 years of that bull dung, I finally got up the guts to say, “enough”.
.
Am I happy now? You can bet your derriere I am.
Do Transgendered people need a law to guarantee them of their basic human rights? You better believe they do. Why? Just read all the hate male being sent to Dr. Spack.
Do Trans kids need to have Psychiatric treatment to help them find out who they are? Absolutely.
Will pre-pubescent medical intervention help them? In offseting their puberty development to give them time to evaluate themselves for later transitioning and eliminate the need for any expensive and painful physical treatments outside of their sex change operations, hormone blockers and people like Dr. Spack are a God send.
My writing, as you say “not being helpful to my cause”? Now that’s a very tactical smartass remark made by a person who is just a guilty as the rest in being overtly and wrongfully judgmental and refusing to face the real facts and truth of the matter.

I absolutely applaud the efforts of Bostons Childrens hospital in their efforts to alleviate the pain and suffering experienced by those afflicted by gender dysphoria. Beginning transition before the onset of puberty will allow the children to live normal lives in the gender their primal, instinctive baseline “id” requires. To deny the id means living in conflict. I denied that which was me for nearly 40 years, played a role for which I was ill suited. I suffered depression, used alcohol to numb myself and try to erase the conflict. Slow suicide. Abstinent now, thinking clearly and finally with the courage to do what had to be done.

I was aware of my gender identity from around the age of 8, yet tried to assume the mantle society deemed proper due to gonadal appendages.
I would love to see a bit of compassion directed towards trans kids and adults and those interested in helping them rather than the invective spewed forth in some of the comments I’d read here.

It’s a tough row to hoe now, but perhaps in the future it will be embraced. Those are my deepest hopes.

Finally finding joy and happiness,
wanda

This doctor needs to be strung up with the chickens. A child
has no clue, absolutely none, of what they want or even need at 7
other than food, attention and sleep. Who is this idiot doctor playing
God. I say drag him into the street now and turn him into a woman
and then we can see if he feels the same after.

Since when do kids have the right to make their own medical decisions? And who the hell IS this doctor?

I am appalled at all of the negative comments. Transgender issues are REAL. These children deserve treatment and care. The standards are very precise regarding transgender care. I’d assume the standards are even tougher for children’s care. I wish when I was younger the stygma weren’t so bad and that more information was available. I wish I had these opportunities for care and to be evaluated. Transgender youth and adults need not be ashamed but people like to label everybody causing stress and anxiety and stereotypes, and discrimination. I am not suggesting any child who expresses gender questioning to be re-assigned, nor do the standards of care permit that.

You have to be crazy to think that kids that age really know what they want. They are kids for crying out loud. I, for one am sick of the homosexual community forcing their agenda on main stream America. Leave our children alone and crawl back under the rock that you came out from under.

Let me start by proclaiming my belief in Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior and state that I am a born again Christian, I am also transsexual. A male to female transsexual to be frank. I have now and always have had gender identity disorder it is just that until recently I have always buried it deep into my psyche. I only wish that when I was a child someone would have recognized the reality of my birth defect and postponed my puberty until I could have made a rational decision to change my physical sex to match my actual gender. I was one of the unfortunate babies that had a mother that was given Diethylstilbesterol (DES) in an uniformed effort to prevent miscarriage, the side effect is that I developed with a very feminine body and a very female brain, although I am a 46XY male karyotype.
I was bullied as a child and called all kinds of hurtful things growing up. I made it most of my way through life acting as a male in a strange body that had a penis but looked more like a female. I just recently turned 55 years old and have just started hormone replacement therapy to enhance the feminine body I have. To actually make my body more closely match my brain!
I have nothing but compassion for anyone that has to live in the wrong body all of their life. In the coming years there will be ever increasing cases of transgendered children due mostly to the ever increasing xenoestrogens that are all around us. Feminized allegators are common in many areas of south Florida due to high levels of xenoestrogens in the water they live in. Many other cases of feminization can be cited in nature due to the onslaught of xenoestrogens all around us. For those that do not know what a xenostrogen is, it can be defined as a chemical that can attach to estrogen receptors in the body. Many chemicals from plastics to pesticides fit that description in fact one of the most common plastics contains primarily Bisphenol A and is in almost everything used to store food and drinks in. This coupled with a miriad of pesticides and herbacides that mimick estrogen are found in nearly everything you eat!
It is no small wonder why in past 60 years we have seen a exponential increase in transsexualism and in a multitude of genetic varients that have manifested. It is only the ignorant that cannot see or refuse to see what has been happening to our children and young adults.
Every fetus starts as a female, period. That is the reality of life formation. It is when the fetus is “washed” with the appropriate hormones at around 7 weeks that the brain and body (karyotype and phenotype) become congruent. If a fetus that is male gets exposed to estrogen or xenoestrogens at this critical time it can and very likely will develope a female hypothalmus and thus become the proverbial female trapped in a mans body. The exact oppsite can happen although much less frequently to a genetic female fetus.
For those that doubt the effects of xenoestrogens just look at how much more developed the female children are at younger and younger ages. The physical development of our female children is starting at 8-9 years of age in many young girls. Just 30 years ago the average age of the onset of puberty was 13 years old, now it is 11 years old and dropping. This is no coincidence!

This is the most disgusting thing I have ever read. It’s an absolute insult to humanity and to the laws of nature. There is a reason we are born as male or female. There is also a reason why there is a thing called survival of the fittest….or used to be. : ( God help us all.

“We will eventually start to see such parents and doctors sued and possibly arrested for what is essentially child abuse,” Nimocks told FOXNews.com”
Similar thing I told my nephew when he told me he had been infected with HIV/AIDS………and that he and his “friends” would sit in “gay” bars and watch boys walk out with guys they knew were infected! Was I ever wrong! Now we have government “protections” and “privacy” for spreading STDS. By the way, my nephew died after years of torturing treatments at the age of thirty-nine), but not before watching more than ten of his “friends” die of AIDS or medical complications.

I would like to invite all of the bible toters, liberal bashers, and basic know it alls to climb back out from under your rock to actually EDUCATE yourselves regarding transgender issues. First of all its a HUMAN issue…w/NO agenda. I am the parent of a transgender child, who did not confirm that issue-to us-until he was 13. WE THOUGHT WE WERE RAISING A TOTAL TOMBOY-and guess what-there is no outgrowing this..its not a tomboy issue. OUR CHILD IS TRANSGENDER and had enough faith and trust in us as his parents to FINALLY tell us! Prior to telling us what was going on the depression and self loathing were almost too much to bear for this kid. There are no hormones yet, or surgery yet, he is still a child..but it will be the road he will inevitably travel and we are thankful that there is SO much information and people like Dr. spack who are at least willing to buy these kids some time to make ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that this is the issue at hand. FOX 5 NEWS IS NO BETTER THAN TMZ OR A RAG MAG. They dont report news, they report misinformation. THE FACT THAT YOU GET YOUR NEWS FROM FOX NEWS SPEAKS VOLUMES ABOUT YOU! Dr. Spack is not experimenting or forcing change on anyone! ESPECIALLY children. Puberty blockers DELAY the devestating onset of puberty for these kids and has no permanent affects-AND I FOUND OUT TOO LATE to help my child avoid the puberty that made his body develope into something he almost can not live with. We work everyday at being happy just letting him be who he is. I couldnt imagine trying to change him.

We are good and loving and attentive parents. We are heterosexual MARRIED parents. We are parents to 3 other children. We did not ever hurt our children, do drugs, abandon our children, and did not have the resources to spoil our children with materialistic “things” either. We are not overly permissive. WE do believe in hard work and earning your way and in responsibility to your job, your country and your family. WE do not practice a religion nor do we align ourselves with any particular political party. So what does that make me to all of you name calling, bible thumping, judgemental ignorants?

I will tell you what it makes me. I was a stay at home mother to my children. And I was a working mother! I did not punish my children physically but made them absolutely responsible for all of their actions, towards us, each other and everyone else. Our three oldest children have all graduated high school and either are attending college, working or both. None of them drink or do drugs or abuse others. None of them were beat over the head w/ a bible either, and were ALLOWED to believe whatever they felt was right for them concerning religion. My husband and I have a very loving and stable relationship for over 22 years and married for nearly 19 yrs. Neither of us drinks or smokes or does drugs. Our kids have almost never seen us argue. We are very protective of them, but also give them the room they need to grow. Are we perfect..by no means NO. But our children grew up knowing that we would love them UNCONDITIONALLY forever-NO MATTER WHAT. We have 4 heterosexual children, which is fine by us…and it would have been fine as well if any of them had been gay, or bisexual-which has NOTHING to do with being transgender. One of them happens to be transgender. SO WHAT. The three non trans siblings completely accept their transgender sibling-even if they dont understand it.

OUR children have been taught to not judge people, to help and try to understand whenever they are able to. OUR children have been taught to accept ALL people..even ignorant ones, and to try to educate others when things they dont understand cause fear and incoherent babbling that makes no one feel good. OUR children have been taught that discrimination of any kind was not welcome in our home, or anywhere that we may be. I can only surmise what you have taught YOUR children, and I can only be sad for them and hope that they someday have the opportunity to meet my children and learn by example to make up their own minds.

You are cordially invited to climb back under that rock-dont forget your bible.

I wish this was available to me when I was a child. I knew at an early age that I was a girl in a boy’s body. These children know what they are as early as 3 or 4 years old as I did. I wasn’t role playing I had the mindset of a girl and still do. The problem with this world is a lack of tolerance for people that are different, which is evident in the majority of your narrow minded posts. As for religion, God made me the way I am and he loves me the way I am. I’m proud to be tg.

in response to John who commented on 5/20/08 “How many parents that wanted a daughter instead of a son or vice versa will groom their child now into wishing they were the opposite sex?”

Your IQ is your shoe size right???? Maybe you should stick your foot back into your mouth. I posted earlier that we are the parents of 4 children…the first 3 born male..the 4th..the much planned and worked hard for ONLY girl-born female child-is our transgendered son. I would never wish this on anyone, EXCEPT for maybe someone like YOU-so you might come to some sort of understanding. I dressed her in lace and frills, and did her hair everyday-we played w/ dolls until she started to run them over w/ her brothers tonka trucks-I did her hair and played w/ makeup until she would no longer tolerate it. I bought her little girlie panties until she decided at the bold age of 3 that she would only wear boxers-and still does. I called her my daughter not realizing that every time I did, she literally wanted to die and was dying little by little inside. I had two choices here-accept my CHILD-or plan a funeral. You’re a jackass.

This was exposed a year ago by MassResistance on their site and their radio show on WTTT (Boston). It finally was picked up by WorldNetDaily recently… now Fox. Why the delay?

There are too many psychopaths wearing white coats, scientists have become the new priesthood.
This is just another part of the new world order agenda to destroy nature, or as the masons say “to
perfect that (nature) which has been left unperfect.

How sad, but not all that surprising. This is just one more step in the progression of thought that develops when a society abandons the standards established in the Judeo-Christian ethic and worldview. This will surely not be the end of our downward moral slide into total degradation. It signals that the end of our society is not far off. Our only hope is a genuine national turning back to God–true repentance. God says in the Torah/Bible that He is a God of mercy, slow to anger, wanting and ready to forgive. Without a widespread change of heart, we leave God with only one alternative–His hand of judgement. When that happens, those who applaud measures such as these will wonder why the judgement comes. And will be angry at God.

I hope you guys realize bringing god into an argument is like libs calling you a bigot when they can’t use any other argument. However this is absolutely terrible that doctors and parents are being brainwashed by all this GLBT propaganda destroying family, the greatest financial/social/child producing institution in the United States. Kids can be easily persuaded to believe anything presented to them and they role play to learn how society works. It is absolutely deplorable that doctors perceive it ethical to give our children hormones. I hope he gets his license revoked.

You can find an expert on anything so I wouldn’t put to much merit in those who are critical, as for the Jerry Farwells of the planet yes Christains are always right about everything aren’t they. If we encounter Aliens someday thats alright too as long as they have 2 sexes and some concept of marriage involving a man and a women. There is no proof that trangender problems are mental issues, behavoir modification for the transsexual is a myth. There is a lot of proof that humans are wired from birth with a particular Gender preposition.

I am a transsexual, I’m not ashamed to admit it, I was born back in the day when there was very little of this discussed . But from my earliest memories of childhood I can remember being different. In my 20’s I started looking for help, I had been on the verge of suicide more than once. When I started the University I searched the libraries for everything I could on the subject. , I took courses, psychology was literally my second major spoke to several of the consulors on campus, some were as closed minded as some who comment here, but one or two listened. After undergoing a full battery of traditional psychological tests
I found my way to a gender program. My parents were good christians , they would never understand so I had to hide everything from them. When I was old enough I moved into an apartment.
I have spent most of my life in therapy programs some are better than others . All have the same criteria, several months of psychological consouling before any consideration of hormone treatment, then another battery of medical test to make sure you can psysically handle it. Continues evaluation is a requirement of any good program as well as logitudal study. Now finally I have the funds necessary to complete what I started some 30 years ago. Its been a long hard road, had I had some help as a child it may of been easier.

Someone sexually “normal” can’t even phantom the agony someone like me experiences, many don’t come this far the rate of suicide of ts is very high. And they get it all wrong, they think it has to do with the sex and lifestyle but sexually I’m a mess , you hate your male sex organs from day one so any act involving them seems outrageous, as for the dressing and makeup and other traditional femaile items.it never really was all that important. Its hard to describe the feelings and emotions involved, feelings of never quite being complete. Let me leave you with a question if you force a “normal” male to wear only female attire and act like a female does it make him less of a man. Probably not , because deep down inside he knows what he is.

To my way of thinking DOCTORS HAVE THEMSELVES CROSSED THE LINE. Who in their right mind would ever have thought that you would change a child’s sex at 7 or 8 years old.

This needs to be addressed with the Administration offices of this hospital , Should this happen this hospital will be lobbied upon with pickets and I don’t think the hospital will like people carrying signs in defense of these precious who don’t even have a BRAIN at 7 yrs.

All you people claim to know what god is and wants are more nuts than the doctor who is trying to treat these kids. When you call the world flat and it turns out to be anything but you lose credibility for at least 1000 years. Transgenderism is a condition that won’t go away no matter how many bibles you throw at it. It’s as real as any of god’s “mistakes;” be it siamese twins, diabetes, Klinefelters’s syndrome, intersexed individuals or any other “mistake” you’ll find in your local childrens’ hospital. No aspect of being human is beyond defect, including gender identity. Having said that, I certainly hope these doctors take a very serious look at these children’s issues and upbringing, take a very conservative approach to treatment and conduct extensive psychological evaluation. Only after that should any medical intervention be made. Maybe these kids wouldn’t feel so compelled to be the opposite sex if society at large was more tolerant of gender-variant behaviour. Besides, there are far worse things to be so passionately concerned about. As for ungodly, how about digging up oil out of 1,000,000 year old reservoirs, burning it in the biosphere until the pH of the ocean drops so that coral reefs dissolve. Theres’ an insult to god’s creation.

I just love headlines that twist the truth.

The children are not offered any type of surgery. But of course religious right and Fox love to make something out of nothing.

These kids will see doctor who understand them and help support them. If, when a child hits puberty, the child is still convinced they are transexed then they would be offered hormone blockers.
All these do is hold puberty off, nothing else.
It gives the youth more time so they are not making a rash decisi9oon.

Hormones can not be prescribed to children it’s the law stupid and so is offering surgery.

Duh

After reading your story posted here, I really have to wonder if children as young as 7 yrs. of age, do they really know whether or not they really want to have a sex change operation at such a young age? I doubt it and I do agree with Dr. McHugh and Mat Staver- as they are both right, this is a mental disorder and should be treated with behavior modification. At some point in childrens lives’ they really do understand who they really are, as far as their genders go – whether it be a boy or a girl. I don’t believe that having sex change operations on children so young is really going to change anything, to suggest other wise is wrong morally.

I can think of something far worse than a child growing up transgender.

What if the child were to decide to become a television evangelist. That is really horrible, because the child would be growing up to be a money-grubbing preacher, a leech on society.

hey correct me if im wrong but im pretty sure u either have an XX or XY chromosome, everything after that is your imagination

Hormone washing of the brain? What a load of CRAP!! Isn’t that called brainwashing? You people who defend this procedure or this so called doctor are in need of a good brainwashing in a toilet bowl!!

I used to be quite the liberal club kid and college boy just 10 years ago…then it just started to get too messed up in this country and the world. Now I’m a gun toting, NRA loving conservative with his 1st born on the way and this may just be the ticket that puts me over the edge. The traditional family is dying and now the final attack is against our children…there is a disease consuming America that has warped and distorted the mind, body and spirit. How much more can we as a nation and a people take before we take our country and out family back?

There is one really serious problem with all the religious arguments against Dr. Spack and his treatment protocol for the transgendered children.

Dogmatic thinking has replaced any thought of compassion for the trangendered children. The condition does not favorably respond to so-called ‘reparative therapy’, which will most likely increase the child’s anxiety and discomfort. The end result may well be SUICIDE by the child.

Of course that might satisfy the more sanctimonious individuals in society, somewhat like, “We don’t have any transgendered children in this country, it is only a figment of the imagination.”

Sanctimoniousness is no way to treat these children. We should give them the opportunity to become happier individuals. Spack’s treatment protocol gives the child more time to explore who they really are, before any irreversible steps are taken.

I will remind the religious right, SUICIDE is irreversible. Religion must not be used as a bludgeon, in an attempt to make the child conform, if it will lead to the child committing suicide.

Fox news…you missed the mark on this story completely…Your title., “sex change for kids” is completley false. Dr. Spack is not advocating a surgical sex change for a seven year old. These kids have been diagnosed with Gender Identity Dysphoria….a serious medical condtion.
He provides treatment for this condition…hormones to block puberty in order to buy the parents some time so when their child is older they can more easily transition to the the gender they identify with. Hormone blockers are then used if the minor is still stronly identifying with the gender they were not assigned to at birth.

I read the comments from other people on this article and can say, you know not what you speak of…it is only when you see your child SERIOUSLY in distress about being forced to live in a gender they are not comfortable with that you would understand. Dr Spack and NO parent takes this decision lightly.

Dr. Spack is a hero….he is helping kids and parents treat a medical condition and helping kids grow up to be happy well adjusted adults.

Jeff Jask -

It’s not too late.

I transitioned at 47. And the only reason I did that was because my body changed. There was I thinking I was a mildly Intersexed male with transsexuality, nothing I couldn’t live with, and as it turns out, I was a severely Intersexed female. Female not just in mind, but in body too, though I certainly didn’t look it for most of my life.

The point is, 43 is not unusual as an age to start getting treatment. And it may not involve surgery. You may be able to get significant relief just by mild hormone therapy, that doesn’t change the body, just causes your female brain to work better. Or, it has to be said, you may have to go all the way. Every case is different.

I beg you, go to a reputable gender specialist with a good track record. Most medics, and most mental health professionals, know nothing about this. They last looked at it in a medical textbook 20 or 30 years ago, before we knew much about it.

It gets worse with age, you see. You’re not in good shape now, your mind is rotting from having an F type brain with M type hormones. It’s damaging you, and will get worse. I know, I’ve been there too. Although technically I’m Intersexed, I had the same experience. Girl born with boy body. Girl tries to be the best Man any woman can be. “You fight this thing for 40 years, then you lose” as Christine Daniels put it.

Be prepared to lose everything you love. Your marriage, your children, your job, your friends. Be prepared to endure the hatred, scorn and misunderstanding engendered by ignorance, that is so evident in the comments here. We have 17 times the average rate of being murder victims, you know. Some don’t just use words.

But be prepared to escape from Hell. The relief is indescribable. Your IQ will soar, you will be able to cope with all of the problems, it is literally like being released from an extermination camp. You may end up looking pretty, or pretty awful, but that doesn’t matter. You will know the gift that everyone else has, the sheer wonder of being yourself. How can the others understand if they’ve never known anything else?

I never knew the meaning of the word “happiness” till my body changed. You can find out too. Now please, go seek a medical therapist. Just google “Zoe Brain”, and you’ll find a way of contacting me. I can steer you to some experts on the subject. There are resources, and you’re not alone. Not even unusual, 1 in 3000 women are born in your situation.

It doesn’t have to be this way. When it gets to the stage you’re at, pretty soon it’s do or die. Please don’t die, not when a life more wonderful than you can imagine is within your grasp.

And may the Almighty bless Dr Spack, for helping little kids not go through the Hell that you an I endured for so many decades. For allowing the majority in whom “it’s just a phase” to do nothing that will cause them harm, and for allowing the minority like us to live close to normal lives. Closer than we had, anyway.

NAMBLA will be happy. Now they can molest boys by nature and little girls who become boys at the age of 7. The ACLU is hi-fiving each other as we speak. Not only do they get to defend NAMBLA but now they will get involved somewhere along the line here and argue how many rights these kids have. After the ruling comes down in the favor of the ACLU they will then start the ball rolling on kids giving consent for sex at any age. What do you know? NAMBLA will then be the winners. May the “doctor” burn in HELL. May all of the “parents” that allow their child to be butchered at such a young age burn in HELL. “Dr. Jack, come on along, I have a child that is depressed. Yeah, he’s only 5 years old. Go ahead and kill him. He’s a worthless piece of shit anyways. All he does is eat and shit. Waste of my money. Just kill him, please.”
Why shouldn’t kids have the right to kill themselves at such a young age? Suicide would solve their problems. Oh, that’s right. It’s CRAZY!!! Apply the same logic, MORONS!

My child began to tell me that she was a boy between the ages of 2 and 3. At this young age, I didn’t believe her because she was born with the body of a female. As she got older and more articulate, she persisted. I thought it was a “phase;” I thought she was a tomboy; I pushed the “girl” toys, clothes, activities and hairstyles. My child became distraught over time. The more I encouraged femininity, the more upset, anxious and depressed my child became. I gave in to the clothing choices and allowed my child to wear whatever she wanted at home – jeans and t-shirts, cammo pants, tank tops, Superman tennis shoes…. My child was a different child when I allowed this simple self-expression, but when it was time for school or church, out came the pink frilly blouses, and anxiety prevailed.

I researched for hundreds of hours, reading anything I could get my hands on and watching any documentary or movie that I could find on the topic. I had to find out what was causing my baby to feel so sad. I talked to other parents who were going through the same things with their children. I was no longer alone and there was a name for what my child was experiencing: a conflict of gender identity (The internal sense of masculinity or femininity that a person experiences, not always congruent with biological sex or gender assigned at birth. Gender identity is who you are not who you like) http://www.imatyfa.org.

We ALL have gender identity. Fortunately, most of our gender identities match our biological identities. Sadly for my child, hers did not. I came to realize after five years of struggling that my child may really be male – in his heart and mind and soul. There was no other answer to the agony that my baby had been going through for so long.

All children do not experience gender dysphoria as severely as my child. These are the “sensitive” boys and the tomboys and the kids who just march to the beat of their own drummer. These children do not experience severe, long-term and/or chronic insistence that they have the “wrong bodies.” These kids basically enjoy non-stereotypical gender activities but are still able to embrace the gender of their biology. THESE are NOT the children we are talking about in this article.

The kids we are discussing have TRUE gender dysphoria. Their families have struggled with what is best for their child. They have done their research. They KNOW their kids. This is NOT a decision to be made lightly and NONE of Dr. Spack’s patients just woke up one morning and said, “Ahhhh, look! Johnny wants to wear Mommy’s heels. Let’s take him to Boston and turn him into a girl.” It doesn’t work that way.

At the beginning, I struggled with ethics, my religion, what other people would think, my child’s perceived future, medical issues, and my own personal feelings (just to name a few). What it boils down to for ME is WHAT IS BEST FOR MY CHILD!

My child has never been abused (sexually, emotionally OR physically). My child has two loving parents and a myriad of other supportive, loving family and friends.

I’ll tell you what I discovered:

My child identifies as a MALE. He ALWAYS HAS. He probably ALWAYS WILL (I say probably because only God knows what the future holds). And MY CHILD deserves to live a life where he is comfortable, healthy, happy, supported and loved. He is smart, sweet, silly, well-mannered, well-liked by his peers, firm in his religious beliefs, and finally…. happy.

When the time comes, if my SON still feels the same way that he does today, we will visit Dr. Spack and begin hormone blockers…. then HRT. THAT is what is best for my son.

Please do not judge Dr. Spack or me or my son. God is our only judge, and yours too.

The critics here of Dr. Spack seem to all derive their views from their religion. What arrogance, what hubris!
The Bible instructs us to be humble. Where’s the humility in deciding for everyone what ‘God’ tells us to do? They point to scripture as their evidence. But it’s only THEIR scripture — it’s certainly not mine, and hardly unquestionable fact. No independent thought required — that would require too much effort. Just accept the superstitions of primitives who had never even heard of science.
Medical science has come to accept as fact that transsexuality is a birth condition. Paul McHugh’s persistent denials unmask him as a charlatan.
The crucial time to do something to help transgendered children is before puberty sets in. Once it does testosterone alters the male body irreversibly. A surfeit of estrogen causes similar deforming changes in female-bodied transsexual children. Denying timely intervention until the wholly arbitrary age of 18, when it’s largely too late, forces a child who knows that he or she is in the wrong body to undergo what is for that child a truly hideous deformation, in effect, forcing the child to turn into a werewolf in agonizing slow-motion.
What monster would do that? Only a self-righteous religious prig who hides his/her bigotry behind a transparently false veneer of piety.
Must these religious fanatics impose their irrationality upon every one else? Can’t they be content to just live their own lives?

Too many of you seem to be confusing TSes with the “Gay agenda”, which if it exists at all, we would have no say in the making. There is little love lost between gays amd the Transgendered. They have even less understanding of this than you do. Don’t equate us with them! The only thing we have in common with Gays is that we’re both minority status

For the Biblethumpers and pseudo-Christians, Have you ever heard of Matthew 19:12 ? I thought so! In Matt 19:12 Jesus says There are 3 kinds of Eunuchs. I won’t bore you with the first 2 types, but the third type are eunuchs who do it to themselves. And Jesus’ advice was, Let who can receive it, receive it. The effects of castrastion were well known in Jesus’ time, feminisation!
We find in India today the remains of an ancient, very wide spread custom of men becoming Eunuchs (Google Hijra) The Hijra live as women, dress as women, and take women’s names, They are Transgendered! This is what the Transgendered did for relief in Jesus’ time. And then there’s Mark 9:47 which states if thy left hand offendeth thee, cut it off. No where does the bible say don’t do this, it is barbaric! Jesus does say to do it to gain the kingdom of heaven.

Can it be that the backward nation of Iran is actually more advanced than the west on this subject? The Iranian goverment still abuses and mistreats Gays, but it gives free SRS to Transexuals. A Fatwah issued by Ayatollah Khomeini stated that TSes were made by God and have to be looked after. Gee what a bunch of “Neanderthals”! Even Islam alllows us to be ourselves! Well I hope this has helped some of you towards enlightenment on this subject.
Regards, Terry

Ths doctor has a dangerous mental disorter, and why in the hell is it so easy for him to to get away going forward with something so that is outraging so many peaple.

What a lot of people in their responses seem to forget, is what the doctor mentioned about suicide. Yes, there are MANY of you here that state that the children need God and the “Lord will save them” or that the parents are “UnChristian” and all types of dogmatic statements. Which is perfectly fine, considering that’s what you believe. But if you take all that to the side and re-examine what was stated, “i never had cases where patients given hormones or treatment would then in turn later commit suicide, it was the patients that didn’t receive hormonal treatment that would commit suicide.” Something along those lines is what the doc said. There are a lot of mom’s and dad’s here talking about God and this being “unnatural” but if these kids are simply “confused” like many of us where, then what drives them to want to kill themselves? There was a girl i met while i mentored at a high school while i was in college, who was extremely beautiful and was VERY popular with the local boys at her school. What no one knew but only a select few did (if they had seen her official record) was that “she” was in fact a “he”. i may have taken it a step too far by asking her, but i was curious what she had done to make himself look like a chick. He then told me about his parents accepting what he was at an early age (and they were a normal mother/father couple – in response to one persons questions about same-sex agenda fanatics) and since there were no doctors in the US that were willing to help, they went to Mexico (which was about an hour drive away) and got hormonal medication for him/her. She started her “transformation” at about 11 yrs old and began noticing dramatic changes by 13 and shortly after transfered school districts and began to live his life as a full-time teenage girl. She was happy, always smiling and VERY popular but she was really a he. i asked her one last question, “do you have plans to complete the process?” She replied, just like the doctor originally stated, “i would like to wait longer – i don’t feel ready yet. i want to be 100% sure that’s what i want to do.” The doctor said this process at an early age gives them more “time” and that’s what i realized after speaking with her and reading this article. Even though many of you feel that this is an abomination, i also believe NONE of you have met a transgendered person either, one that actually had a good story to tell. i wish all this hospitals patients and families the best of luck – because they’ll have to socialize with the likes of all of you and your ignorant school children. i wish them luck.

Just a thought, …to all those who claim that “this is barbaric” and that we must never intervene “in what God meant to be” , Does this not imply that we should close down ALL hospitals and medical clinics. No more open heart surgery, no more surgeries to repair broken limbs, no more efforts to assist those born with disabilities, etc, etc etc. for isn’t this also intervening in “what God meant to be”.

It seems that as soon as a condition mentions the word “sex” or “gender” that people scream “barbaric” and “outrageous”. I find that sad. I think you will find if you look deeper into what the actual treatment is, that no-one, the good doctor included, is performing surgeries on anyone under 18, if not 21 as most countries prescribe. Sixteen is normally the youngest age in which hormones are permitted. Any other treatment is merely to buy time, by delaying puberty to allow appropriate counselling and consideration to be given to, what is, a highly distressed human being. Unfortunately, a situation, no doubt, of God’s making.

This is such a big issue its life altering, it is a decision that will have huge consequence
and unforeseen consequence as we have seen lately with,
“Transgender man from Oregon says he is five months pregnant,”
What a womanly thing to do ,I don’t know too many men who would like to become pregnant.
But there you go.
I think there has to be an age limit on such a big big decision perhaps looking at the scope of this
an age limit of 16 + with parental consent or 21 with out?

I am utterly intrigued by all those comments claiming God’s high moral ground, that to treat Gender Dysphoria is seen as “interfering with what God meant you to be”. If this is to be true, then we can save a lot more money by closing down ALL hospitals and medical centres, for surely, open heart surgery, repairing a failing limb, or the treatment of any disability that someone is unfortunate enough to have to deal with as a daily aspect of their life. I don’t hear the same cries of “outrageous”, “barbaric” or “mutilation” for medical intervention there – despite such courses of action equally tampering with what “God surely meant to be”. I find it sad that people can totally change their perspective on what is right, merely because a highly distressing condition mentions the word “sex” or “gender”.

In any case, even a scant amount of understanding of the treatment of GID, will reveal that no doctor prescribes sex-change surgery for a child, but rather a course of treatment that buys time whilst the child sufficiently matures – generally around 21 for surgery, and 16 for hormone treatment – to make an informed decision about how to resolve their highly distressing condition.

The negative comments here betray the depth of ignorance on the part of so many and especially those blinded by the bigotry and prejudice of their religion. Before passing judgment, judges hear all the evidence and the arguments for and against. Until folk have done that conscientiously, they should keep their mouths shut and their ears and eyes open and look to learn about the world and the diversity that is the human condition instead of displaying a childish fear of what they know nothing about. Sarah

Kids 7 years old and older are learning in school, that it’s okay to choose to be somebody else; gay, lesbian, transgender, crossdresser, because these lifestyles are being taught as “normal and legitimate”. Our kids are being taught that if they are unhappy with whom they are now, they can be happy by being something they are not. In the everyday matter of things, the real definition of normal and legitimate refers to ideals that are natural, accepted and true, and justified in accordance with established principles, in this case, the heterosexual lifestyle of which GOD GIFTED TO US.
Kids today are being taught that if they do not measure up to their ultimate ego then they should plead to become a person of opposite sex or adhere to become one of the more uncommon, abnormal and illegitimate lifestyles being pushed upon them. What an INCREDIBLE SHAME.

Seek Jesus!!!!!!

I believe that this is a travesty. I am a healed transgender individual that by the grace of God was healed of this condition. It is a mental state and in which we are surrounded by so many examples of people living, wanting and expressing themselves this way. I still have thoughts, like an alcoholic may over alcohol. But it is the grace of God that keeps me in reality and not fantasy. As long as we continue to explore these avenues there will be issues of depression and suicide. That travesty here is our culture based on social concerns has allowed our government to step in and deciede what is good for our children. Already children are taken away or courts mandate that we teach, interact, or visit our children a certain way. Especially when it comes to religious freedom which our constitution was supposed to guarentee. Will it come to that in the future, that our children will be taken from us and given a sex change becuause we won’t suffer them to do that but our courts will? God help us!

I believe that allowing a 7 year old to live in the gender-expression they feel most-comfortable in, is entirely reasonable.

I also believe it’s wingnuttery to deny any human medical relief.

The medical relief provided to children with GID generally consists of entirely-reversible puberty-halting meds until the child reaches the age of majority.

The medical relief generally *doesn’t* consist of cross-gender HRT or surgery.

But Fox and Friends will feed off the general public’s confusion about that, and claim that doctors are giving children “sex changes.”

And that is the essence of wingnuttery.

I’m a Transsexual and I knew when I was 4 years old that I was this way which isn’t unusual. I have met others Transsexuals that were livin’ as female at 9 years old and they don’t go through the trauma that I did. It’s the 21st century join us there.

Dream the Good Dream,

Nikki

I know personally a transgendered teen who would not be alive today, but for Dr. Spack’s intervention. This is not a place parents go to happily or without years of trying to implement the advice of specialists who counsel parents in ways to help the child to accept his or her birth gender. For minors with exceptionally severe cases of gender dysphoria, the treatment involves the suspension of puberty, which is entirely reversible. There is no mutilation taking place and no permanent, irreversible treatments given to young children. If I had not witnessed first hand the incredibly positive outcome of this treatment (academically, personally, emotionally) for this child, I would also have been very skeptical. When we saw the well-adjusted, confident child who emerged after years of profound unhappiness (and who, years later, continues to do well on all fronts), we came to believe that for a small number of children, this may be their single best, and possibly only, option. Those who have not experienced this personally should avoid making judgments.

hey correct me if im wrong but im pretty sure u either have an XX or XY chromosome, everything after that is your imagination

Dear Jim,

Sorry I’m XXY …. See there is a tad more involved that many understand unless they study the Subject

Dream the Good Dream,

Nikki

I am actually amazed at all of the hateful ignorance espoused in this thread. It is difficult for me to believe that so many individuals strive willfully to be judge and jury over children in distress and a physician who would strive to alleviate their pain.

You know who you are – you completely ignore the facts.

There are posts from parents who describe the torment that their children suffer. Children do not receive hormones. Children do not receive surgery. They are provided with counseling. If necessary, they are provided with hormone blockers to stop puberty until they are old enough to make rational decisions. Without treatment, many children die from self destructive behavior…or outright suicide. But you ignore the facts. You claim society is crumbling or will crumble. You claim that a physician who would help these children is a monster…even comparing him to Mengele. You claim that helping these children is contrary to God’s will.

YOUR existence, and your desire to condemn these children and those who help them, is an example of a society that has already crumbled. I am a transgender woman. And I pity you… imagine that. You already occupy a hell on earth of your own design. You lack empathy and compassion and a connection to all of God’s children. You look, but do not see.

You are the true defects in God’s creation. I truly feel sorry for you.

That is one SICK DOCTOR.
I’m so appalled it’s hard to say something without breaking out in curses.

I am a 42 year old male to female pre-op transgenger, I am currently taking hormone replacement therapy and have never been happier. I served my country, had been in Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, I lived my life as everyone else thought I should, living two completely different lives and was more than miserable. Prior to my hormone replacement therapy, as a teen I had many troubles, drugs, suicide attempts, getting in trouble with the police, etc. I had always over compensated masculinity, trying to “fit” in with boys so no one would notice I was different. All this effected my grades in school as well as my social life. I can recall specifically telling other kids in my 1st grade class that I was not a boy, that I was a girl and couldnt understand why in the world I had to use the same bathroom as boys. I found at a very early age how cruel kids can be to someone different from themselves, matter of fact, things got so bad, that I was cutting school in the 1st grade. I would play sick, if my mom didnt fall for it, I would intentionally miss the bus, when she insisted on driving me to school, I would cry and cry and cry….why??? Because other kids were taught at home or church that kids like me are sick and disturbed, that the devil was inside me……I was getting beat up, bullied, etc..continuously, even teachers treated me as though I was some psycho and should be kept away from the other students and so, my desk was always placed next to the teachers desk, hmmmmmm, lets just single out the different kid. So my mom decided that we should move, but it wasnt long before the kids in the new neighborhood figured out I was different and low and behold, the bullying started back up. I was only in the 2nd grade when a 7th grader would wait for me at the bus stop to bully me, he even yanked my pants down in front of other kids numerous times to humiliate me, they would all stand there pointing, laughing and yelling at me “you’re a girl with a penis”….yet, I guess this behavior was acceptable, after all, even though I had been baptized, made my 1st communion, was confirmed and attended church and sunday school on a regular basis, I must be a godless child and deserved whatever happened to me, talk about barbaric, seems to be the mindset though. I would lay in bed and cry nearly nightly at the thought of having to go to school, having to get on the bus, having to leave school and go home to find other boys waiting for me at the bus stop when I got home. So, again, we moved, this effected my brothers as well, who were being constantly uprooted to move somewhere else. Finally, I repressed everything, burried it down deep, though this caused my over compensation of masculine behavior, I learned how to fight back, I became the bully, the druggie, the kid that the police knew by 1st name however, I still battled daily with the inner reality of my gender, so much so, that suicide seem to be the only answer, so I attempted to take my life several times. Now, I am extremely happy, living a very productive life and have moved forward in transitioning into the person I have always been but had to hide.
There are a few things I would like to address here, first being the notion that homosexuality has something to do with transgenderism, this is completely false. Sexual orientation and gender identity are NOT one in the same. Gender identity has nothing to do with sexual orientation or any other sexual activity at all, if that were the case, every gay man and lesbian woman would all be seeking HRT, GRS, etc. which is not the case. Gay men and lesbian women do NOT feel they are trapped in the wrong body, their gender identity is not in question, they are completely happy being men or women. Homosexuality is sexual orientation, the word homosexuality is deifined as “of or having sexual desire for those of the same sex”. Not that long ago, homosexuality was considered a mental disorder and was treated by placing homosexuals in mental insitutions and with shock therapy, if that didnt work, then a labotomy would be performed as though if one was homosexual they couldnt perform or function in a “normal” society, hello…..again, talk about barbaric.
Secondly, no doctor, not even one doctor in the U.S. performs genital re-assignment surgery on anyone under the age of 18, sorry to tell you, a 3 year old is not going to get genital re-assignment surgery no matter how much you misread the article, the article discussed “treatment” of children who have clearly been identified as having GID. Hormone replacement therapy is not by any stretch the same as GRS (or SRS, same thing, just different wording).
And finally, for all those whom wish to throw god into the mix, I find it extremely hypocritical for those of you to say it is god’s plan and then run to the medical community to heal your own ailment. Its hilarious to read all the bible toting loonies talk about divine intervention, yet when you get sick, you run to the doctor to get meds, certainly one doesnt go to church to get rid of the flu, to treat cancer or any other medical issue you may have, you go to the doctor. To talk about genital re-assignment surgery as though it is the same as body modification is barbaric and primitive in itself. How many of you have breast augmentation, face lifts, liposuction, color your hair, wear make up, get peircings, have tattoos etc..afterall, you were born with what you have, then why seek to improve what god gave you to begin with, certainly you havent been battling inside about it your entire life, certainly it hasnt caused you a whole host of social problems, yet many elect to under go cosmetic surgery. How many of you men take Viagra?? Why, if god intented you to still be able to get erect, then you would be able to, yet you will take it to satisfy your own deviant sexual desires and I say that because god intended sex for procreation, not your personal pleasure. How many of you take meds to control or subdue “god’s plan”?? I mean why if its god’s plan for you to have heart disease, do you go to the doctor to prolong the life that god obviously didnt want you to have. You intrust god through the hands of a skilled surgeon to save your life, yet isnt it the same god that gave these surgeons the skills to heal me??
Same as any other medical condition, if its god’s plan and you or your child has cancer, lukemia, MS, MD, Down Syndrome, name your ailment, etc.., live with it and die with it, certainly you wont, you will seek medical attention. You may pray to god for help, but you still go to the doctor, why?? Is it that your faith is so weak you cant trust god to heal you?? I am sure most of you would have a fit if you heard that a child had a medical condition and the child’s parents refused to take the child to seek medical attention, rather they choose to let god decide, you would all scream abuse, neglect, etc…and demand child protective services get involved.
Harry Benjamin Syndrome (note, Harry Benjamin called it a syndrome, not a disorder and appropiatley so) is not a mental disorder, it is a medical condition which can be treated and healed via the medical community. I have known people with all kinds of mental disorders, yet not one of them is cureable through medical treatment, they are only medicated through the psychiatric community, I had been medicated, heavily medicated as a teen by a psychiatrist, didnt change anything, didnt cure me, certainly didnt stop me from attempting suicied, yet I am now going through HRT, living 24/7 full time as a woman and wow….amazingly, I am no longer depressed, I no longer have low self esteem, I no longer use and abuse drugs, I am no longer taking psychiatric medications, hmmmmmm…soon I will be cured completely, certainly doesnt sound like a mental disorder to me.
The notion that it is only god’s plan when it’s something you are against, have no knowlege of and no understanding of is more than hypocritical, it is complete ignorance, might as well go back to the stone age.

The Internet has become a portal to inform young transgendered youth of their surprisingly numerous, proud, informed and active brethern. They want to change sex as soon as possible and they will not be denied. This is an honest-to-God social movement that cannot be stopped, and must be medically addressed. It cannot be wished or legislated away like most Conservatives believe.

I think I have lost faith in humanity. I too, am a pre-op transsexual who has suffered a lifetime of denial over who I am. After 50 years I have finally reached the point that I must be the person that I am. And I will be! You so called christians need to first research the topic and then atleast TRY to understand it. It really is a medical issue. It is a birth defect. as with other birth defects it can be corrected. But, out of fear and ignorance, the American public has decided to remain so on this issue. It is time people, to stop the Transphobic attitude and allow into your hearts and minds the compassion that Christianity is. Recognise that we are suffering from a birth defect that is no different from that which is suffered by others that are more visible. We should be offered the corrections necessary on our bodies so as to not have to suffer a lifetime of pain anguish and at times trauma inflicted by others or even ourselves.

Dawn

This doctor do not deserve to live. God should wipe him away so that he won’t destroy the works of God. Who made him God anyway? America is the most eveil place on earth. May God bring his wrath on all of them who think they are superior than him.

I don’t care but remember that no one should change another. God is the one that creats humans. By changing another person’s genda is saying, that God is stupid and he doesn’t even know what he was doing when he created that person. Why are doctors taking the place of God?

I think this is the most stupid thing of all the 72 years of my life that I have heard of. Have the doctors run out of adults that want surgery done on them, that they have to start cutting on our children with unnecessary reasons? This is the worse thing that I have heard of in my life time.
God forbid what will come next!

We do not allow minors to make financial decisions, do not allow them access to alcohol or tobacco, and otherwise limit their ability to make decisions that could have serious, but still reversible repercussions. Yet a physician is allowed to change the entire course of the child’s life through deciding that their still unformed and immature views of life should result in a change in their basic gender structure? How absurd and tragic!

What the physicians is doing to delay puberty, giving these children time to make their choices as older and hopefully more mature teenagers who have had the benefit of counseling and further thought is an excellent thing. For these children to be given the gift of having their biology aligned more closely with their gender will allow them to become happier, healthy and more productive people who have a greater ability to pass as their correct gender as adults. This medical technology, no less than pacemakers and chemotherapy, is a gift from God. Like all technology it needs to be applied carefully and judiciously with through scientific review. I have seen the suffering accompanied by being born in the wrong body and also the joy and freedom that is experienced after corrective surgery. Small children do not make this stuff up and it is not simple role play. These children’s experiences and lives need to be honored, they should not treated as mentally ill and ostracized from their families and communities as the pseudo-Christians propose. After all God don’t make junk.

God did not create a binary world. There is variation everywhere in nature, but most of the commenters here are too narrow to see it. Please do not judge the parents, children, or doctors who are trying to work through an extremely difficult situation. Behavioral therapy DOES NOT WORK for changing gender identity or sexual orientation, regardless of what some people think. Most transgender people pray and try their whole lives to change their gender identity. Often, those lives are cut short by suicide or addiction because of the “laws” society imposes upon them (remember the scriptural Pharisees?????).
Just because a means of healing is now available (hormonal and surgical), should we deny healing because we don’t like it? Let’s throw out ALL of modern medicine based on that argument.

<<>>
Comment by gary
May 21st, 2008 at 10:06 am
I believe that this is a travesty. I am a healed transgender individual that by the grace of God was healed of this condition. It is a mental state and in which we are surrounded by so many examples of people living, wanting and expressing themselves this way. I still have thoughts, like an alcoholic may over alcohol. But it is the grace of God that keeps me in reality and not fantasy. As long as we continue to explore these avenues there will be issues of depression and suicide. That travesty here is our culture based on social concerns has allowed our government to step in and deciede what is good for our children. Already children are taken away or courts mandate that we teach, interact, or visit our children a certain way. Especially when it comes to religious freedom which our constitution was supposed to guarentee. Will it come to that in the future, that our children will be taken from us and given a sex change becuause we won’t suffer them to do that but our courts will? God help us!
<<>>
Gary, there are varying degrees of being transgender and it sounds like you’re mildly affected. But at least you haven’t bowed to peer pressure and had surgery. Many transgendered adults have periods of denial and do a purge, only to find the only solution to their depression is to start their crossdressing and crossliving again. There is no cure and surgery is just cosmetic. Most of us wish we’d not be born with this “affliction” and just be “normal” one sex or the other.
I’m glad you’re so happy, I have tears as I type this.
Huggs,
Connie

I’ve been reading some of the comments on this issue, and am filled with both admiration and love for those of you who actually get it, and am filled with amazement, sorrow and outright losathing for those of you who don’t.

I, too, am a pre-operative transsexual (I prefer to call myself gender dysphoric), who proudly served this country for 26 years and TWO wars…so should I also be taken out and strung up? Anyone who has more than two neurons firing in their brains should take two seconds to stop and realize that this is not a mental abberation, but a treatable medical condition…one in which the ONLY proven treatment is hormone replacement therapy and gender reassignment surgery.

I knew when I was five years old that my body and my brain were not on the same page, as I have heard from so many others who have come before me and are coming now. If anyone thinks for a single minute that any of us freely asked for this, guess again….I would not wish this hell called gender dysphoria on my worst enemy.

If there is a way for these children to be saved from the years of torment, self-loathing, depression and suicidal tendencies or outright suicide, believe me, I am 100% behind this doctor.

Gender identity is NOT nurture, it’s nature….and as we all know, ambiguities certainly exist there. None of this was EVER an issue until the rise of the monotheistic religions…before then, we were not only accpted, but revered as special creatures…WE were the spiritual guidance counselors and healers.

If anything even CLOSELY approximating this was available when I was younger, I would have been tugging in Mom’s skirt and Dad’s trousers leg kicking and screaming to become complete…instead because of the times I was beaten and had to learn to suffer in silence. I can no more do that now than I can stop breathing…So to those close minded, my way is the only way individuals, all i say is…”get into the current century!”

It appears many people here don’t truly understand what is involved in getting a sexual reassignment surgery.

Benjamin Standards of Care.

In the space of a year Must do the following first …

Hormone therapy for a year (After the surgery hormone therapy for the rest of your life).

Live a gender correct role 24/7 for a year.

Psychological Therapy and Counseling with TWO Mental Health Professionals, one of whom has to be an MD sign a letter saying your mentally fit.

Surgical Consult because not everyone is a candidate for the surgery.

Then their is the cost …. none of which is covered by insurance

I live and work as a woman and I am very grateful to Sears for supporting me in my transition. I work in a very conservative area but I have only had one customer that had an issue with me and dozens and dozens hug me and say that they are happy to see how happy I am. Some people ask me what happened to the guy in the wheelchair … I tell them I’m his replacement

Yes I sold you your big screen TV last week.

My Sisters have been the nurse holding your hand when you were sick

The soldiers that have defended your country including combat vets like myself and my house mate.

The firefighter that helped save your house from burning down.

We fixed the damage to your home afterwards.

We are the Cop on patrol.

We are everywhere and we are just like you and you just never realize we are there for you no matter how you feel about us. Many times I had people say to me “I have never met a Transsexual before” my reply is always the same …. “Yes you have you just didn’t know it at the time.”

Dream The Good Dream,

Nikki

This is a sad story—one of the worst that I have ever encountered. Doesn’t everyone knows that young kids might have normal or abnormal sexual feelings at that age which will be totally reversed in just a few short years. To perform that kind of permanent and radical operation on sub-adult persons, parental permission or not, is most certainly not going to be the desire of that victim as he/she reaches adulthood. Shame on the medical profession for allowing that kind of radical transformation on young kids apparently all in the name of the homosexual lobby.

Shame on the medical profession for allowing that kind of radical transformation on young kids apparently all in the name of the homosexual lobby.

Dear Tom,

1) we aren’t Homosexual … Gender Idenity and Sexual orentation two ENTIRELY different subjects!

2) No “Ralical” anything is being done by this doctor! No Surgery or Hormone Therapy.

Dream the Good Dream,

Nikki

I thank God every day for Dr. Spack ~ he’s giving children that have been born in a body that does not match their brains hope for the future.

If your lucky enough to be born into the the sex that matches your brain AMEN. If not, who are you to say anything about this issue. It’s barbaric to force a child to conform just because they are different. Children are just little people and they know who they are just like anyone else.

If a child has any other medical problem we fix it! Well, not being in the right body should be top on the list of things that need to be changed!

Imagine for a minute that you were born into the body of the oposite sex. Now your body’s going to start to change and make it even more of the opposite sex. You’ll be forever tormented ~ unless you find a doctor that understands and is willing to help you through this terrible situation.

God created these children but he also created the doctors to help them to adjust. What do you do if a child is born with a cleff pallet, just because you can’t see the problem doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exsist.

I will continue to pray and look forward to the world accepting these children ~ they shouldn’t have to suffer more than they already have been.

Peace,
Debbie

The really sad thing about the sanctimonious comments, is the individuals making them have become so locked into dogmatic thinking, they have lost their humanity, and the ability to have compassion.

Sheer stupidity. This is what happens when people try to define morality on their own terms. I wonder what’s next. Bestiality? Pedophilia? Wait, there are already people doing that because they feel it’s their right and they probably were born that way. As disgusting as it is, these were foundational practices in Egypt, Rome and Greece. I guess they’re okay because they were highly civilized. That’s the humanistic thought anyway. Whatever feels good, do it. Yep, that’s a great philosophy that brought us so many problems that are still with us today. Play with the wind, you inherit a whirlwind. We’re going the same path as Rome did. There is a way that seems good to man but it leads to destruction.

I think this doctor is just out to make money, taking advantage of kids and parents. I think a child should be giving room to grow and develop to a mature age, leaving him capeable of making a consious choice of his gender/ feelings at age more appropiate.

This is a real medical condition. It has been proven that male to female transsexuals have the brain make up of a female.

http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/85/5/2034.

It is birth defect thought to be cause by lack of proper hormones inutero. Would you deny a child born with a cleft palate surgery to fix the problem? Would you say that child is evil? Why would you deny a person with this birth defect a chance to be happy? I say shame on you all!
In my case I was born Intersex but assigned male. I should have been assigned female and I am changing this birth defect medically which by default make me a transsexual. I am far from evil as some of you think. I have a much better relationship with Yahweh that most of you do. I don’t judge. I figure that this path was layed out for me to follow to the end and to not address this issue medically would be me denying God’s will.

Now you Flat Earthers who say it evil should really do some research on the subject before you open your mouth.

Jesus said about this in Matthew 19:12 For there are eunuchs, who were born so from their mothers womb: and there are eunuchs, who were made so by men: and there are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. He that can take, let him take it

Gender Dysphoria is a birth defect thought to be caused by an improper was of hormones in utero( in the womb). This causes the brain to develop one way and the body the opposite. It has been found that male to female transsexuals have female brains. Where as gay men still have male brains and gay women have women’s brains. So you tell me that a child with another birth defect such as a cleft palate is not evil and deserves to be fixed medically but a child born with Gender Dysphoria is evil because they want to fix themselves.
Me personally I was born without the ability to produce testosterone in proper amounts I also had ambiguous genitals. I should have been assigned female. I also have Gender Dysphoria due to that fact of being being assigned the wrong sex.
Now the way I look at it God has given man the ability to fix this problem medically. For me to not fix this problem using the medical abilities God has given mankind would be defying God.
Jesus said in Matthew 19:12 For there are eunuchs, who were born so from their mothers womb: and there are eunuchs, who were made so by men: and there are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. He that can take, let him take it
I think the best thing he ever said was judge not lest ye be judged.
Jonni

OK, Dr. Spack’s colleagues provide extensive counseling to help children through what is either a persistent phase or true gender dysphoria. After this extensive counseling and working with concerned, involved, loving parents, a FEW of the children are placed on hormone blockers to allow more time for the mental/social/spiritual maturity needed for these young people to make THEIR OWN decisions regarding what to do with their conflicted gender identity. There is NO surgery happening here, no mutilation, no abuse from what I can see.

On the other hand, some parents beat, berate, and bully non-conforming children, subjecting them to abuse to get them to “act normal”.

Who deserves the prison/death/hell/whatever that the FOXNews ranters demand? Here’s another Christian reference: When Pontus Pilate offered up the choice to the religiously motivated mob to release Jesus or a criminal named Bar-Abbas, the religious mob chose Bar-Abbas for release and Christ for death. Sound familiar, folks?

BTW, I have a question for you who keep throwing the Bible out there in your rants. What specific Bible references are you using against transsexuality and transgender? I think you read the Bible as often as you actually read this article – NOT AT ALL.

Ok after reading the comments and the story I thought I put an opinion out there. It is too many times when a boy is more sensitive than other boys that people believe that he must be gay and the same can be for a girl that loves to play sports is called a lesbian. Now in this story, because a boy might according to general opinion and this article be either a homosexual or now what they are saying a woman trapped in a man’s body, or a woman who by general opinion or socalled genetics is a man trapped in woman’s body is just another way to keep the stereotyping up. The whole idea of transgender is a stereotype because someone’s emotions or interests (outside of sexual interests) does not determine if they are gay or straight. I; however, won’t get into detail on my opinion of what makes a homosexual because that is not the topic (Note: some believe homosexuality is genetic and some believe it is environmental). Nevertheless, it seems now doctors are giving into the stereotype.

Nicole,

In context, gender identity and sexual orientation are the same. If you truly think you are a man trapped in a woman’s body or vice versa, your interest would be in the same sex though you would be believing it’s the opposite sex. You are born your gender and no real scientific evidence has been proven otherwise, so if you had interest for the same gender you are homosexual. Look at the example.

Born Female–>Thinks she is male but still born female–> sexual interests in females–> STILL A HOMOSEXUAL.

Any person who is homosexual will tell you that person is still a homosexual. I would further state even if a man did have a sex change or vice versa, the person would still be a homosexual. Why is it that a man or woman with interest in the same sex is categorized as a homosexual but a person who had a sex change who is interested in the same sex he or she was born into is not called a homosexual? So because some men or women who has interest in the same sex choose not to get a sex change, they are the only ones that are called homosexual? Really we talk about discrimination, what is this?

(I do want to note I write this as a man using logic and my views are not of the homosexual community because I am a straight man; however, I hope that at least some homosexual men and women would agree with this that it is a form of discrimination).

2 in 3 children with GID get over it without therapy of any kind. They become happy, healthy homosexuals instead. All of them, almost no exceptions. Those going through Dr Spack’s treatment regime merely cease taking gonadotrophins, their puberties resume, and they’re just the same (usually effeminate) gay boys or (usually butch) lesbian girls they would have been without it.

But of the 1 in 3 who aren’t merely gay….

We also have a good idea of the cost of not providing treatment. Most of the studies are flawed, with large uncertainties. One that isn’t was conducted by the Scottish Office in the UK. It showed that 50% of TS children had self-harmed by age 20. That doesn’t include “successful” suicides, which other studies showed were between 5% and 30%.

The rates of clinically depressive psychosis, alcohol and other substance abuse, were also high.

This condition kills or maims most of those kids who have it, if they don’t get treatment. Historically, success rates of treatment vary from 80% to 98%, depending on the quality of treatment. With Dr Spack’s regime, it’s close to 100%. I say “close to” because it hasn’t been tried long enough to find any failures.

Now many here won’t like those figures. They would prefer not to believe them. But they are as they are, and Dr Spack, rather than being some kind of inhuman monster out to destroy civilisation, the USA, and all that is good and holy, is doing the one thing we know beyond any doubt at all that is guaranteed to save these children from a painful and degraded death.

God doesn’t make mistakes… he means to make transsexuals. And intersexed people. Sometimes, he makes girls with breasts that have testicles. Sometimes he makes men with breasts. Sometimes he makes infertile females with XY chromosomes. Doctors keep telling me I have to take estrogen, so that I can go through puberty. Is that going against God too?

Let people be who they are please.

Franklin, you sound reasonable, but you’ve totally turned a blind eye to a significant group of people. As has been said before, gender identity and sexual orientation are not the same, nor are they even linked. The existiance of male to female trans lesbians and female to male gay men dismantles your homosexual argument completely. Your linkage shows your ignorance of the issue at hand.

These children are pre-sexual, pre-puberty in most cases. I have no idea whether they like boys or girls. It’s truly irrelevant. I do know that their gender IDENTITY does not match their externals. The “homosexual” argument has no bearing here. The goal of Dr. Spack and the parents is to provide the child both the time and maturity to make their own decision, and the physical ability to enable them to make the decision without being “poisoned” by undesired hormones at puberty.

Any more swine? I’ve got more pearls to throw out here… Yes, I know I’m violating scripture by throwing these pearls out, but maybe someone will open their heart and mind.

For those of you who dont know what its like to be transgendered – you are all saying where is god in this. if god made them a boy they should stay a boy.i am a ftm transgender and i have a question for you – where was god when i would cry myself to sleep every night because i didnt fit in? where was god when i tried taking a razor to my chest because i started to grow boobs? where was god when i repeatedly tried to commit suicide because i was miserable? for those of you who are “normal” – you have never had to question your gender. i thought i was a boy from the time i can remember..a very young age. If i had a dr who was willing to put off puberty so i could decide or even better, change my sex before puberty, i would have been thrilled. puberty was by far the hardest time i had to go through because female things were happening to my body and i didnt know how to deal with them. Imagine a biological male trying to deal with menstration. I may not have been a biological male but every part of me was male; dealing with my period was difficult to say the least. i would miss days of school, i would go into a deep depression for 2 weeks and i couldnt bring myself to tell anyone i had my period because i was too embarassed. Any chance these children have to escape the embarassment and pain that i dealt with is a prayer answered.

I think this doctor is a breaking new ground. Kudos to him.

I used to work in an in patient psychatric facility mainly catering to children and adolescents. We has a “girl” there who according to “her” chart was born sexually ambiguous. Surgery was done to make her appear “female” when she was preverbal. “She” was never told her circumstances.

“She” acted very much masculine. From looking at her behavior she was a boy through and through. A test had been done confirming her XY not XX status. Still “She” was never told and we were told not to tell her. “She” once told me she felt as if she was born into the wrong body. Although I did not break the news to her that she indeed had. I did tell her to trust in her feelings and that at 18 she could make the choice of what to do about it if “she” still felt that way.

What misery He could have avoided if He was only told the truth.

What people that don’t know anything about transsexualism is that they are born this way and that if they are forced to repress who they are then they can grow into their teens a suicidal risk. I can understand that people may feel that children shouldn’t be able to make such huge decisions, but what they need to also understand is that if they can take care of things such as hormonal treatment then they can save a child from having a really hard life along the way. A transsexual male to female, that if gone through a regular male puberty would grow up to be over six foot and would have a hard time looking like a girl in public would have to live with ridicule from their peirs, but if they can instead go through female hormones before they go through puberty then they will be more fortunate and instead be in the five foot range. They can also stop them from having their voice deepen and that can be really hard for any transsexual to train. I know all this is because I’m a 6′ 2″ male to female and I get constante stares. I can manipulate my voice to a point, but so many things in ones voice can be a dead give away. So you can say what you want about GOD almighty and how wrong this is. People are born with diseases and missing limbs. So how can people say that GOD makes us perfect and or that he doesn’t make mistakes. Transsexualism is just another one of them. And as far as it being wrong. Look at the world around you and tell me if the fact of people trying to be comfortable in their own skin is on the top of the list in this world. thousands of people are dieing from horrid diseases and being murdered for nothing. Several transsexual people are mudered every year for trying to live their life and its people like all those that wrote on here on how wrong this is that are doing it.

These children do not know what they are doing at that young of an age. Do you remember being able to make such decisions when you were that age? I think not! This is absolutely ludicrous and I cannot believe this is offered in our country. What is going on? Where is the morality? Is there anything that can be done to be rid of this hospital program??? Also, I would like to know where the parents of these children are that are having this done because they need to be locked up!!!

Such energy and vitriol, Holly. Yes, child’s gender identity is well developed by the age of 4 or 5. They aren’t making decisions – they are undergoing counseling. I don’t believe any medications are used at all until the onset of puberty. The parents are there, right beside them through their journey, like any parent SHOULD be with any child. Locking them up would solve nothing. Are you proposing that ALL parents who actually listen to their children’s hearts should be locked up? This is NOT something the parents want!!! It is what the child NEEDS.

What’s your point?

Mom of a transgendered child ~ MtF born a son ~ but really a daughter.

Well, if I didn’t have a child in this situation then I’d probably have all kinds of problems with this issue as well. I already had a 2 year old son when my second son was born. Unlike many other mothers I was thrilled! My first son would have a brother and that was wonderful!

Unfortunately when a baby is born we don’t have anyway to examine their brains to make sure they are truly a boy or a girl. Everyone just assumes they have a BOY! or they have a GIRL! Well, I’m here to tell you that it isn’t that easy!

I have a very strong faith in God ~ Have you ever heard “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle?” Well, I guess he thought my husband and I would love our child no matter what!

And God was right ~ we love our child no matter what ~ She didn’t ask to be born in a boys body it just is a fact! A toddler doesn’t pretended to be the opposite sex forever ~ maybe they play and have fun but eventually they are going to be the gender that they feel they are.

Before my child told us how she felt she never slept through the night! She woke every night and had a terrible time falling asleep! She’d say “I have something to tell you” We’d say what is it you can tell mom and dad we love you no matter what”.

It took her 10 long years to get up the courage to tell us how she truly felt. She’s beautiful and very happy now! There was always an underlying sadness. My husband and I raised her the same way we raised our other son and couldn’t believe that this was happening to our child.

No one wants a child to be in this kind of pain! Since she has been allowed to be herself she has more friends than prior. She’s healthier and can finally sleep without being haunted by her doubts about her body, etc.

Dr. Norman Spack is a God Send ! If not for him I can only imagine how terrible it would be for her to start growing into a man.

STOP all your condeming and think about this for a minute! MY HUSBAND AND I ARE JUST LIKE YOU AND AS PARENTS WE NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, THOUGHT WE’D HAVE TO DEAL WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS!

WHAT SHOULD WE DO? SAY YOU CAN’T BE A GIRL YOU HAVE NO CHOICES JUST BE QUIET AND DEAL WITH IT~ WELL, MANY PARENTS DO EXACTLY THAT AND DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THEIR CHILDREN?

THEY ARE RUNAWAYS ~ LIVING ON THE STREETS, SELLING THEIR BODIES, DOING DRUGS, OR THEY HAVE KILLED THEMSELVES BECAUSE NO ONE UNDERSTOOD THEM AND THROUGH THEM OUT LIKE YESTERDAY’S GARBAGE!

NOT ON MY WATCH! GOD GAVE ME THE GOOD SENSE TO HAVE MY CHILD SEE A THERAPIST AND NOT ONE BUT MANY, MANY! AND DOCTORS WITH MORE DEGREES ON THE WALL THAN MANY OF YOU SMART ASS PEOPLE!

TRY LOOKING IN THE MIRROR ~ DO YOU THINK YOU COULD HANDLE BEING IN THE WRONG BODY ~ REALLY ~ THINK ABOUT IT ? ~ YOU’RE A MAN BUT YOU HAVE A VAGINA OR A WOMAN BUT YOU HAVE A PENIS.

NOT SO EASY IS IT! STOP MAKING COMMENTS ABOUT SOMETHING YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT!

SHAME ON YOU FOX ~ YOU JUST LOST MANY VIEWERS ON THIS ONE!

GOD BLESS YOU ALL YOU NEED IT MORE THAN ME………………………DEBBIE

While I respect that some children readily recognize that their true self does not match their physical body, I do not believe they can truly satisfactorily communicate this to adults. Further, should they even be able to, I feel that there are very few adults (parents included) who would fully believe and support them. Worse … these very adults/parents are THE reason children (as well as young adults and LGBT people of all ages) are depressed and suicidal. True, they face prejudice and harassment from all too many community members in general; but, all too often the persecution begins at home. Science (and it’s history of wonderful promises while veiling genocide and, at best, serious side effects) is not the answer. Tolerance, acceptance, education, and most importantly, unconditional love and support from family members and (ideally) society in general, would do wonders.

Thank you for allowing this married, heterosexual, mother of three to submit my opinion.

We appear to be talking past each other.

At best, there are those like Franklin, who ignore the physical and biological evidence in this post and others in favour of the popular liberal-arts theory of social conditioning and stereotypes.

At worst we have those like Holly who appear not to have read any of the previous comments at all, and apparently just want to lynch someone to prove their own piety and righteousness.

Please just read the testimony and narratives of those who are closest to the issue. The parents of such children, and those who had less severe symptoms, and so managed to live past age 30 without treatment.

And if you don’t believe them, at least look at the scientific papers, there are over 280 of them on PubMed showing the effectiveness of this treatment, and the utter failure of every other treatment that’s ever been tried.

Here’s what one lady who did manage to get treatment 35 years ago said:

GID is like Diabetes – there are two types. The first (and the only one I had experienced in the 1960’s and 70’s) was “Juvenile Onset” – it struck early, hit hard, and required radical treatment if the person was to survive. The other was like Type II Diabetes – slow, insidious, creeping (progressive), and would eventually require medical intervention.

These kids are type I, “Juvenile Onset”. They need help, now. Or they will die. Those of us who had Type II know that all too well, and we can’t remain silent, no matter how much we might be condemned by the Pharisaic.

I am the oldest girl in a family of 10 brothers and three sisters. My growing up years I always felt that I wanted to be a boy, I loved everything about what my brothers did, and hated when my mother wanted me to wear a dress or act like a girl. I was a tomboy even through my teens. My parents pushed for me to date, but I did’nt start dating until I was 17, when I moved out on my own.
That’s when I finally grew to like, love being a girl. I fell in love with this man after 3 years of dating and got married and had two dauhghters and nursed both of them. If someone had told me I was meant to be a boy, boy I would have tooken it hook, line and sinker. I am so very grateful that my parents let me grow normally and naturally. I believe their is too much value put on sexual identity and not enough focus on the human child. Children should not be sexualized at adolesence. Children deserve to experinece a childhood a tom boy or tom girl without being confused by adult sexual concerns and issues. God made man in his image, he took a rib out of man and made woman. We cannot be whole without coming together as one, to produce children the family, the way God created nature. This is the promise of life itself. Yes some can live life without marriage and procreating, but life still needs the heart of a child, to light up the hearts and souls of adults, to remind us of what it is to be young and innocent and free from all the heartache of adult sexual concerns and troubles. By sexualizing children we are robbing them of their true smiles and laughs and innocence. And we as adults are forgetting about the most precious love of all. The Lord said- And a small child Shall Lead Them. This is the light is yearn for- Innocense, purity and True Faith and Love. Amen!!!

We can encourage children with the true love of a parent that appreciates a Man and a woman, husband and wife, coming together as one, to produce children the family. This is the true test
of the sexes, the true diversity of the sexes. To raise a child with this natural love and respect is the greatest accomplishment a true parent can achieve. This ensures family from generation to generation. Just think of it. No homosexuality, nor trans-gendered or bi-sexual missfits. Only the true sexes, For he made them male and female, with the ability to come together as one, to make
whole, to produce the children, the family. I think God was clear. Who is man to go against the Createor’s plan for mankind. No life would florish without God’s Creation.

You are Heterosexual

As the sun of the earth must rise
To give sustaining warmth, light and life
The son of man must rise
For he has a purpose too
To rise up and bring forth life
With all that God has given him
To honor and protect
To defend the blood of his offspring
To give and recieve this love
It takes a heterosexual
The blueprint of the Creator
You are heterosexual

What you people fail to realize is that God made male and female and everything in between.There isn’t just male and female. There is a wide spectrum of things in between. You can’t divide this issue into black and white terms. This world would be a pretty dull and colorless place if this was so wouldn’t it?
If you know anything about biology you would know that we all ALL start as female in the womb.Any number of things can and do go wrong that cause conditions like this.
Again read Matthew 19:12 and understand that these issues go back to the begining of human kind. Ancient Babylonian texts mention a third sex. These texts pre-date the Old Testament.Like it or not, much was borrowed from these ancient texts and found there way into the Laws of Moses and the Torah and then the Old Testament.
We are not abominations, We are not evil. We are God’s creations who, thankfully, happen to be born at a time that our problems can be fixed medically.
I pity you people who are misguided using God as an excuse to degrade these people for you will surely see the flames of hell for doing so. We were made in his image he doesn’t mean physically it means mentally and spritually. You know capable of having free will! From what you Bible Thumpers have posted I can say that you are the truly evil ones. Wishing for people to die, be strung up. I mean really. Do you really want to be like this when Jesus comes back? Full of hate and gnashing of teeth. You are truly sad excuses for human beings and poor example of how Christains are supposed to act and live. Again shame on you, you pseudo-christians

Kathryn,

Thanks for your contribution here. And congratulations on being such a proud mother of two wonderful daughters. I confess to being a little envious there. Thank you for sharing your very personal story to help others understand.

If someone had told me I was meant to be a boy, boy I would have taken it hook, line and sinker

That’s the crux of the issue though. It’s not them telling the kids, it’s the kids telling them. At age 3. And 4. And 5. And 6. And…. well, insisting on it. No matter what others tell them.

In some ways, my own life is similar to yours, but seen through a distorting mirror. Perhaps I may be able to clear up some natural misunderstandings if I tell you my life story too. Bear in mind that I never had it nearly as bad as these children.

I was a tomboy like you. I liked boy things. It’s not inaccurate to say that I even wanted to be a boy. In England in the 1950’s and 60’s, girls didn’t become Astronauts or Rocket Scientists, and I wanted to. Ok, my favourite toy car was Lady Penelope’s Pink Rolls-Royce, but I rather despised a lot of girlie stuff. If I could have been a boy, I would have been. I even had the body for it!

The trouble is, I didn’t think like boys. I didn’t feel like boys. I was different, and quite alone. The few times I felt “at home” was playing hopscotch with other girls. We had to sneak out to back streets, they didn’t want to be seen playing with an Eww Yuckk Boy.

Kathryn, I had my name picked out at age 10. I really thought, from all the evidence, that I’d just been put in the wrong group. I didn’t mind that so much, I liked boy stuff, but it was obvious a mistake had been made, and that when I hit my teens, all would be revealed and I’d grow up to be a normal girl. They weren’t big on Sex Ed in England in the 60’s. I figured that the adults knew best, all would turn out well in the end. There would be complications, I could obviously no longer follow the path picked out for me, boys school etc, but it would be Ok.

I was troubled by the fact that I still considered boys rather puerile, and certainly wasn’t attracted to them. I thought that was an essential part of being a girl. I’d never heard of lesbianism or homosexuality. Again, I figured it would all get resolved. As I said, they really, really were not big on Sex Ed in the 60’s.

Then in my early teens, I took a biology class, and my whole world view collapsed. Boys and Girls born different? Not just a matter of parents choosing? The term is “cognitive dissonance”, a contradiction so great it causes real distress. I had by then a veritable mountain of evidence that I was a girl. I thought like other girls, I cried like other girls, I moved my body like other girls, my instincts were those of other girls, and trying to fake being a boy, as I had to do to avoid violence at school, was getting increasingly difficult.

I guess you could say that they told me I was a boy, and I fell for it hook, line, though not perhaps sinker. I had to put my inner feelings aside, as they were obviously incorrect, and to be the best boy, the best Man, any woman could be. I could never be a mother, never give birth, as my instincts were telling me I should do. But perhaps I could be a father. Biologically, that was the only road left open anyway, and I needed children. I got the Family Sized dose of Maternal Instinct you see, as some women do.

I told myself that my silly feelings would go away, probably. And if they didn’t, so what? It’s not that I had a choice. My body was male, so I had to be too, no arguments, no shilly-shallying. So I tried to be. For 47 years.

My story until age 47 was exactly like other Transsexual women with “Type II”, “secondary” or “late transition” transsexuality. And a mild case at that. I could live with it, in increasing misery.

As they do, until they just can’t any more, and often lose everything, family, job, friends, marriage, becoming pariahs in society because they have to transition or die. Just read Jeff Jask’s post to see what it’s like for those whose condition isn’t mild like mine was.

There’s a twist in my case though.

I’m Intersexed. And my Intersex condition went into partial remission, as some endocrinal IS conditions do. As it turns out, even biologically speaking, I had been right all along. Oh, I’d looked male. But my diagnosis was changed after a whole slew of tests, MRI scans, Ultrasounds, blood tests, CAT scans, and gene tests had been performed. The tests were only made because my body changed. No-one had suspected, least of all me. I was diagnosed as a “severely androgenised non-pregnant woman”. By the time that diagnosis had come in, I could no longer “pass” as male, not remotely. Rather than being a “woman trapped in a man’s body” as I’d always assumed, I was a “woman trapped in a masculinised woman’s body”. So masculinised that with technical help, I was able to be a biological father, just. All you need for that is one partly working gonad. I had that for a short period, but of course, when my condition went into remission, I became instantly sterile.

This isn’t about sexualising young children. At age 7, how could it be? It’s not a matter of who you want to go to bed with, but who you want to go to bed as. And that is set in the brain, and is only changeable by years of torture or trauma, and even then, it won’t change in most cases. Yes, experiments have been done, and continue to be done. Just look at the NPR program two families.

Thanks once more for sharing your very personal and touching lifestory. One I wish I might have had too, except I have a son now, who is my whole world, and would not change things if I could. I hope my own story gives you some insight into the situation too. All the best, Zoe

Kathryn, I appreciate your point of view. I just don’t believe it applies to everyone. I’m so glad you have found happiness.
I did find that you used a very interesting quote from Genesis in your response. You said “he made them male and female” in your 2:39 PM note. God’s Word didn’t say “male OR female”, it says “male AND female”. The boolean statement makes all of the difference. “Or” would define two mutually exclusive units – a binary system. “And” defines a merged system, an additive system. “And” is not exclusively binary – it can encompass both “sides” of whatever binary you are studying. I feel that God chose His words very carefully. Within that passage, variation is not excluded – in fact, the Bible is clear that even in Eden, God created with variety – every sort of tree, of creature. To claim that certain variations did not exist in the original creation would not fit within the context. I, too, think God was clear – diversity was created.
God bless, Brenda

Kathryn, I know this will come as an unpleasant surprise to you, but what you say can’t apply to everyone. Most, certainly. But there are exceptions.

What you’re saying is explicitly contradicted by Scripture. I’m sorry to say that, as I know that must hurt you. And I certainly don’t blame you, it’s not exactly the most well-known part of the Good Book.

Please read Matthew 19:12, the first line. It states, in the language of the time it was written, that some people are born Intersexed. Not made so by men, nor who chose to be, but born that way. The last part of Matthew 19:12 is open to debate – does it mean voluntary celibacy, or does it specifically approve of aligning body and mind (paying the price of sterility) through surgery? I’d rather leave that aside, even expert Theologians differ on it.

So what should those such as I do? Are we to be cast out as Pariahs? No. God doesn’t work that way, as I’m sure you know.

Read Isaiah 56:4-5 for a statement of our duties and responsibilities, and the reward we are promised in Heaven for enduring the persecution we face here on Earth.

As for “true sexes” and “misfits” -

I am chromosomally male (and didn’t THAT come as a shock to the doctors, given all the rest of the tests!). But there are chromosomally male women who have become pregnant and given birth in the normal way. There are also people with not 46xy (male) nor 46xx (female) chromosomes, but 47xxy, 45x, mixes of 46xx and 46xy… it’s not that simple, and not of Man’s doing.

I am endocrinally (hormonally) female. But not normally so, it appears my body’s shape depends entirely on what my adrenals are doing, certainly presence or absence of testes has no effect. That’s not Man’s doing either, but I’m taking hormones to try to keep things stable.

Somatically, in my body, I’m indistinguishable from any woman who’s had a hysterectomy and vulval reconstruction. That is partly of Man’s doing, what was there after two incomplete sets of puberties, one male, one female, was a terrible mess and a cancer risk. Any internal female parts were removed when I was 20. Any external male parts were removed when I was 48, and the area reconstructed to look and function normally. But apart from that, my body is as Nature has made it.

Psychologically, and in my brain’s anatomy, standard female. Again, none of Man’s doing. Women who took the drug DES in the first trimester of pregnancy have a 20% chance of causing a male foetus to develop as a transsexual female (usually with other Intersex conditions too), but my mother did not take this drug.

God made misfits such as I. He doesn’t make mistakes, so there must be a reason, even if we don’t understand what that is at the moment. Like those children born with surgically correctable problems such as hare lip, cleft palate, “hole in the heart” etc, we have a positive duty to alleviate suffering, and not blame the Almighty for it.

Dr Sacher is not an outcast, like the Samaritan. He is more like the Priest, with much to lose, but unlike the Priest and the Scribe, he stopped to help anyway. The Priest in the parable was too afraid of being defiled by involvement. Dr Sacher has endured “unwanted publicity”, death threats, and on this very site, calls for his imprisonment and for his license to practice medicine to be revoked. Some verities are eternal.

Zoe Brain made some very good points about the already established evidence of biological factors being linked to the onset of transgender behavior. The biological factors do arise in the womb, and are often manifest in the physical characteristics of the transgender individual.

Someone trained in the biological and forensic sciences would observe cross gender physical characteristics in a significant fraction of these individuals, though perhaps post pubertal (provided the individual can survive until puberty). The trained individual would consider the presence or lack of supra-orbital ridges over the eyes, the presence or lack of adam’s apple, carrying angle of the arms and legs, shape of the pelvis, jaw angle and shape of the jaw. In some cases the pitch of the voice is more appropriate for the gender to which the individual identifies.

Harry Benjamin, a pioneer in the management of transgender patients, noted significant sexual under development in many of his patients, again an indication of biological factors.

If an XY individual has a more feminine face, coupled with voice that is contra alto or higher, plus more feminine carrying angle of the legs and arms, they will undoubtedly have more social trouble. Why? Their visible physical characteristics will say female, regardless of genital structure. Their face will look female, their voice will sound female, and the will be forced to move like a female because of the carrying angle of their arms and legs.

Since the development of the brain was also more female in pattern, they will also behave like females and identify as females.

Zoe;

You certainly are talking past them. There’s a deeper frame at work here that allows them to deflect your facts and rational arguments. You have to go deeper.

Look at the two consecutive posts above by Kathryn. Metaphorically, she has her hands over her ears and is going, “na na na na I’m not listening”. That’s what the ‘You are heterosexual’ poem is about — na na na na na…

The deeper frame is: Children are Blank Slates

That is, the belief that they are empty vessels, and the parents have the duty (and privilege) of filling them up with all the good stuff, and protecting them from the bad stuff so it doesn’t get in.

This ‘Blank Slate’ worldview is examined and taken apart in Steven Pinker’s book of the same name. In it, he also suggests that some humans may be bred for bigotry and the various flavours of xenophobia. So much for blank slates and childhood innocence.

That death-grip on the blank slate worldview is why we see, over and over again from these people, the they’re-too-young-to-choose-their-gender trope. 5 years old? “How could he ‘know’ he’s a girl?” Same comment about a 7-year-old. And 9 years. And 11… Blank slate. Gotta’ fill the kid up with the right stuff, not let any of the bad stuff leak in (and beat it out of them if it does…) And reject anything closer to the surface that does not conform to this deep-frame worldview. Transsexuality and trans children is rejected out of hand because they’re completely moldable putty/blank slate/tabula raza. Transsexuality (and homosexuality) CAN’T POSSIBLY be innate, because we’re born blank (primordial innocence), and thus transsexuality (and homosexuality) MUST be a choice.

I’m curious: why are there so many here concerned about male bodied kids expressing female identities, yet there seems to be no concern (or awareness) of female-bodied children who express male identities and a burning desire to live as male?

Zoe, you are the product of a rare but natural variant in the human condition. I’m much more common, having been made the way I am when the doctor overseeing my mother’s pregnancy with me prescribed for her one of those ‘Better Things for Better Living, Through Chemistry’. You know what I’m talking about…

You know, you’re not gonna’ convince most of these stunning examples of John Gabriels’s Greater Internet [......] Theory in action.

But you may persuade a few rationally-minded lurkers who happen by…

Keep it up!

Hazumu

In context, gender identity and sexual orientation are the same. If you truly think you are a man trapped in a woman’s body or vice versa, your interest would be in the same sex though you would be believing it’s the opposite sex. You are born your gender and no real scientific evidence has been proven otherwise, so if you had interest for the same gender you are homosexual. Look at the example.

Ah Franklin what you don’t seem to understand Sex isn’t the Issue …. Come on I;m a Male to Female Transsexual so am I a Homosexual when I have sex with a man or a Lesbian when I have sex with a woman … I keep forgetting.

Sex is between the legs and gender is between the ears … it appears you don’t know the Difference.

Dream the Good Dream,

Nikki

This is amazing, the amount of children that can be saved by treating transsexuality so early is brilliant! I just pity the doctors and and others who support such a radical move in such a closed minded imperialistic country. when will children be given a little more choice in how they want to live their lives? who are you to tell them who they are? I’m sorry if this goes against your religious views or morals (well… no i’m really not) but transsexuality is a fact, it exists and just because you can’t imagine what we go through doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. when they say a large number of transsexual people die, the statistic is about 50% by the age of 30. The proportion with same sex parents is the same as for ‘normal’ people, and as most of the rest of the world is starting to realise transsexuality is almost entirely rooted in nature, why can’t you?

Most of us will know that something is wrong by the age of 5 if not before, so before you want to argue or debate it, try actually knowing something about the subject.

Stupidity deserves pity, but willful ignorance deserves no such pity.

Dr. Norman Spack must have so much courage to go against the ignorance and hate of a dark age society. I’m sorry, but welcome to the modern day, and not everyone is the same, even if you’re too insecure to allow otherwise.

A major problem for the religious right individuals posting about this subject is they are basing their conclusions on data that is about 100 years out of date.

Modern medical research does suggest gender identity is a product of conditions that occur in the womb. Animal experiments have shown exposure to potent androgen blockers can cause cross gender behavior in genetic males. We also understand the biochemistry of various conditions such as androgen insensitivity syndrome, which also suggest testosterone exposure of the developing male brain is needed for masculinization of the brain and behavior.

The efforts at so-called ‘reparative therapy’ are cruel and inhumane, producing highly neurotic individuals, as evidenced by the case of Bradley in the NPR radio series. Dr. Spack’s approach, administering drugs to delay puberty, is far safer. It is not giving children a sex change, it is only buying time, so the child can mature sufficiently to make a rational choice at the best option for their own life. The child is the only individual, who has any right to decide. Spack’s approach gives the opportunity to make that choice.

Wow, I was waiting to see an article about this barbaric nonsense depicted in a 20/20 show last summer with Barbara Walters in which 3 normal, healthy children were being assisted by their parents in attempting to “live” as the opposite gender. But while I may not have thought as much of it a year ago, I can now say that it definitely makes me SICK and ANGRY to know that I live in a country in which these things can be done to children!!! How can you read the Bible, cover to cover, and even WONDER what the true cause of this “global warming” phenomenon is?!? Here’s a clue — maybe, just maybe, IT’S GOD’S ANGER HEATING UP because of the way Americans are perverting the meanings of male, female, and everything associated with or dependent on those terms!!!

I myself, if born into a sick, twisted home like the ones in which these children live (one of the MTF’s having been an in-vitro baby, so go figure), I would’ve been transitioned into a boy named “Cyrus” and given testosterone, its effects irreversible. But you know what?!? I am now GLAD my parents insisted that I display some semblance of femininity, never calling me anything besides “Iris” at any point in my life, because now that I am a “saved” Christian I find myself consoled by the fact that dispite my continued “gender variant tendencies” like short hair and pants, I am a VIRGIN (no men, no women, no others in my life) and have NEVER had so much as a cigarette, let alone testosterone!!! I thank GOD I don’t ever have to explain to someone that despite my appearance as a strong, handsome “man,” I was born a cute, sweet little girl who wore pigtails and dresses until I was 10 years old.

The most maddening thing in the world to me is that there are ADULTS willing to support and fund such abominations. I mean, sure, a kid is likely to be jealous of opposite sex siblings and cousins, but does that mean that an ADULT should be supporting the destruction of what God created?!? Don’t you think that if God wanted to make a person the opposite gender, He could’ve easily given them the other chromosome?!? Everything God creates is GOOD and COMPLETE the way it is, and to replace a person’s natural hormones with the alternate ones in order to DECEIVE others is no better than replacing DNA for human cloning!!! It sure doesn’t make me feel good as a Texan during hurricane season to know that this may soon be available in hospitals near us!!! God help us in this country when we think we can change something as fundamentally basic as our sex!!!

I hope some people have read these comments with an open mind. Education only works with people who are ready and willing to learn. Please read what you see, and determine for yourself which group is listening and which group is reflexively knee-jerking based on a couple of key words. Read with compassion and rational thought.
There is no agenda here. Dr. Spack is not crusading for anything (he didn’t even give an interview for this piece). I truly believe he is trying to help people whom society has oppressed.

Although Fox reported in an obviously biased manner here, after reading more you CAN decide what’s really happening. As they say, “We Report. You Decide.”

[Fox censor, you can take off the last paragraph beginning with "Although" if it offends your sensibilities or policies. I'd really like the rest posted (if not all).]

First, what is being consistently left out is the fact that there are formalized medical standards of care for the treatment of children diagnosed with gender identity dysphoria. The entire process is supervised by a multi-disciplinary medical staff, all of whom must approve treatment. This is not an arbitrary decision left to the parents or the children.

Secondly, it is also a medical decision and as such, by law, it must be kept confidential

Lastly, least we be confused, here is no religious justification for condemning the idea that children could have gender identity disorder, any more than the justification for condemning different races, sects or cultures, this condemnation is from the hand of man.

Iris, I hope you find peace in your journey.

I totally agree that everything God created is good. The diversity of this planet, let alone the universe, is awe-inspiring. To say, however, that God created everything exactly the same way with the same purpose just does not fit the God of the Bible. If adaption and wholeness aren’t seen as goals, why did Jesus heal the blind, deaf, epileptic, sick, and lame? Why did he raise the dead? From your statements, he would have been better off changing their minds so they were comfortable with their infirmity instead of using the means he had available to him to give them a wholeness that was otherwise impossible.

In the absence of divine knowledge (like Christ had), I think it’s admirable that Dr. Spack has found a means of allowing these children to make this life-altering decision at a more mature age.

I’m not a religious person, but I believe that they must make it a crime to perform sex change maimings. If some1 suffers from GID, then what they must do is cure GID, not mutilate the patient to make them what they’re not. Just as it’s wrong to Whiten a Black person because he or she thinks that they’re White instead of Black, it’s wrong to mutilate a patient to make them what they are not. They must make it a crime to perform sex change mutilations. The Drs. who perform sex change mutilations are arrogant know it alls who think that they know the answers because they’re Drs. The American Medical Association (AMA) are evil people & the AMA is an apologist for sex change maimings. There are secular reasons to oppose sex change mutilations.

It’s predictable that the AMA, PFLAG & most homo&lesbian groups think it’s OK to mutilate patients to make them what they’re not. The AMA & PFLAG oppose repair therapy to search for a cure for homosexuality, though homo&lesbian sexual behaviors have high co-pathology rates. Homos have higher Venereal Disease (VD) rates & co-pathology such as drugs, suicides & drunkards are higher amongst homos&lesbians. But the AMA & PFLAG oppose repair therapy to treat homosexuality, though there are homos&lesbians who would rather be straight & engage in straight sexual activities only. PFLAG & AMA support free will when it comes to engaging in homo&lesbian sexual behaviors, but oppose free will when it comes to quitting homo&lesbian sexual behaviors.

Since this is about GID, what is sad is how politics have trumped science when it comes to Gender Dysphoria (GID). What’s sad is how minor coverage is given to the harms of sex change maimings-the heart attacks, strokes & even certain cancer risks incr. because of the risky hormone shots. Once again, I am not a religious person (though not an atheist), but I see something wrong with sex change maimings. I also do not regard homo&lesbian sexual behaviors as a virtue.

One of the really sad things about some of the comments is that some of the posters sound as if they have become so religious, they have lost the ability for compassion. The plight of these children, who are afflicted with gender dysphoria, is grave. The suicide rate for these children, if untreated, may well be as high as 50%. If they do not get help, such as that given by Dr. Spack and the Boston Children’s Hospital, they will commit suicide or destroy their lives with alcohol or other drugs.

Delaying puberty stabilizes the condition of these children, and does give them a chance to live. The delay in puberty is reversible, and it gives time for supportive psychotherapy, so the child will be able to make a rational choice as to which gender the truly belong.

He made them male and female, he said be fruitful and multiply. God was very clear, Jesus spoke so all could comprehend, it is the rebellious, stubborn mockers of the Living Word, mockers of God
that cannot, willnot see the light. Amen!!! Prase Jesus!!!

A soceity with many victims. As the Catholic Church is guilty of hiding and protecting the homosexual abusers of children, so too is the adult homosexuals and backers of this abuse. When I shall bring back the captivity of my people, When I would have healed Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria, for they have committed falsehood, and the thief is come in to steal, the robber is without. And lest they may say in their hearts, that I remember all their wickedness: their own devices now have beset them about , they have been done before my face. They have made the king glad with their wickedness: and the princes with their lies. They are all adulterers, like an oven heated by the baker: the city rested a little from the minglingof the leavened. The day of our king, the princes began to be mad with wine: he stretched out his hand with scorners. Because they have applied their heart like and oven, when he laid snares for them: he slept all the night baking them, in the morning he himself was heated as a flaming fire. They were all heated like an oven, and have devoured their judges: all their kings have fallen: there is none amongst them that callest unto me.

Again, I ask the compassionate and rational reader to decide for themselves. Who is using dogma to further an agenda, and who is showing compassion for what these children are truly going through? I’ve said enough here. The words of the ranters speak for themselves at this point.

These kids are victims either by their parents deciding the wrong sex for them at birth or inadvertently ingesting chemicals or drugs that caused the fetus to develop abnormally. You’re looking at 60 years of exposure. There are 1000 times the instances of transexuality and intersexed births than there should be, All the prayer in the world isn’t going to fix the kids and adults who are living with this.

I have for 50 years….
My God is the same one as your God… I think.

huggs,
Connie

Kathryn has done a very good job of proving my comment about people becoming so religious, they have lost the ability to have compassion. Sanctimoniousness does not solve problems, it just antagonizes people.

God throws us some curves, so we have the opportunity to grow and develop compassion. The plight of these children is, as I have said before, desperate. Sanctimoniously ordering them to remain in the sex, they were assigned at birth, may well force them to attempt suicide. In fact, there have been a high incidence of suicide attempts by these children, prior to the children beginning treatment in Dr. Spack’s clinic.

The parents turn to Dr. Spack because of their concern their child will commit suicide. They truly believe that having a happier live daughter is better than having a dead son, or vice versa. The children, being treated by Dr. Spack, have not made suicide attempts, since beginning treatment by Dr. Spack’s clinic. The clinic does not just hand out puberty delaying drugs. There is a thorough psycholgical evaluation of the child and parents. The child also receives a thorough physical evaluation.

Delaying puberty is reversible, in the event the child decides they do not really need gender reassignment. It is a simple matter of ceasing the administration of the Gnrh blocking drug, and puberty will resume. Gnrh blockers have been used routinely for treating precocious puberty, to bring children back to a more normal schedule for puberty. The children have suffered no ill effects from this type of therapy.

Kathryn, I was born male and female. Both. I managed to be fruitful, though that was extraordinarily difficult under the circumstances, and required “technical help”.

You say I am heterosexual. Very well. In Australia, where I live, same-sex marriage is illegal, so I can only marry a man. In the UK, where I was born, same-sex marriage is illegal, so I can only marry another woman. They use different criteria for judging sex you see, Australia goes with medical reality, the UK goes with documentation.

In Florida, due to my chromosomes, I’d be considered male. In many other states, due to my endocrine system and female genitalia, I’d be considered female. I’m not confused by my gender, but the legal system and various religions certainly are.

It’s not that simple. Tell me, Kathryn, since you know God’s will, who should I be attracted to?

People, read and listen to the story!
1) The drugs mentioned are to hold off puberty NOT change sex. These drugs are totally reversible it is other drugs that make permanent changes.

2) Unless I misunderstand what I have studied – physical surgery is NOT being done on children – just the hormones (reversible) to allow a child’s parent to help the child choose WHEN THEY ARE OLDER!

3) The surgery is bad because it goes against God?! What about a harelip? What about IVF? What about people born with both sex parts? (They exist). Are they to be burned as witches? How about a woman whose female parts are burned in a fire- is cosmetic surgery evil then?

4) Do you eat bacon? Do you do ANY work on Saturday? Do you ignore people in prison? If you are doing these, STFU. God commanded about these things- and unless you are Christ himself, you have no place to judge.

5) Those who call listening to the child about their sex abusers, you either don’t listen to your child or you have no heart. We are talking about people who consistently (from age 3 up) have told of being the wrong sex AND the turmoil this has caused. A child who says it for a year? Phase. A child who says it for ten years? In the wrong body.

6) Judgment. Not yours to give or take, if you won’t reach out and adopt the nearby widow, or the orphan et. al. then your &^% will be judged on that day. If you have the light of the Bible, you know what is expected of you. Get off the backs of those who do what is right in spite of not being in the light.

7) “let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Where are your accusers?” “Gone.” “Neither do I judge you..”

There are many transpeople who’s lives would have been so much better for them if puberty could have been held back and they were able to make the choice later. Don’t do or allow anything non-reversible to 18- THEN let THEM decide.

9) “Everything living has only one common goal: to procreate.” So you are saying kill all the barren people and couples because they cannot do their one goal – the only single purpose in any life anywhere? So orphans should never be adopted because there are no barren couples who choose a better way? {God’s way! Look at the NT – over and over adoption is good – he adopted us, we weren’t born into the family.}

WHY would ANYONE choose to be T-anything? You bunch of viper’s have no heart for others and will cause someone to be so tormented they can’t bear to live: because YOU don’t understand something and choose even further not to. The blood of many suicides is on your hands.

Child abuse is damaging your already scared child by intimidation because you can’t imagine why anyone would be any different to you. Imagine for one minute you are wrong. How much pain are you causing. While you do that, I will imagine I am wrong, and what they are doing is wrong. My mistake is reversible. Yours is not.

“This is just wrong and definitely child abuse. A very small percentage of children are born with an indeterminate gender. They used to be called hermaphrodytes. The medical profession would then assign the most likely or most obvious gender and handle medical procedures to reinforce that gender appropriately. But that is so very, very rare.”

Not as rare as you think – and there are MANY horror stories BY the intersexed PATIENTS of a sex being assigned to them before THEY knew which one they were. Many times Doctors have arbitrarily decided on one and the child grows up angry and psychically wounded because someone else PLAYED GOD! We now have an ability to stop the confusion and suicides by allowing nature to be held back until the person is grown up enough to decide for themselves.

And why should anyone force ANY sex on a child that is intersexed? No cancer is stopped, they still can’t have kids … Doing so does NO good, the only thing you could possibly save is cultural shock – but if you people would get your heads out of your rears, you would find that human life is worth more than categories and prejudice!

Study both sides of the story before saying anyone is playing God: up to now, those who took away a person’s right to grow up and define whom they are, those have been your heroes. WTF does it matter to you if that child down the street has both parts and hasn’t had surgery yet – will your child suddenly grow extra parts too by being in the same classroom?? God, you make me so ashamed to be an adult; that you walk around reproducing and passing your hate and venom to the next generation as if it good! As if judging the next person’s physical perfection is your job. GROW UP!

“Keri,
Don’t misquote the Bible. Obviously you need to re-read the Bible since you never caught the point that God does not make mistakes. If he put a soul in a girls body, then He meant it to be a girl. To say that He put the soul in the wrong body would be saying that He makes mistakes, which would say that He is not perfect. Thus all of Christianity would be undermined. Boys are boys, and girls are girls. My daughter barks like a puppy, but that does not mean I am going to allow her to live outside and eat dog food and hire a doctor to affix dog ears to her. Insane!”

And what of the intersexed children? Is that the same? Then why do many advocate slicing off their parts – “Because it’s mean to the child no to”? But you proclaim to know the mind of God – if he doesn’t make mistakes – then a lot of Doctor’s have a lot of evil to pay back for the pain they’ve caused these children. You can’t have it both ways.

What of depression? That can run in families and can be treated with therapy AND medication AND prayer. BUT God doesn’t make mistakes – you’re suicidally depressed and that’s the way God made you! No Medication for you!!!!

What about circumcision? Excess surgery that means nothing anymore – it’s not done for religious reasons – it just because “we’ve always done it like that.” Isn’t that now far more frivolous than any surgery done for the heart of a person who can barely go on without it.

“Didn’y Hitler’s doctors do experiments like these during WWII?”
No. Those were “genetic experiments” done to learn things about Genetics that were already known. It was about mentally, ethically and physically degrading the Jewish people as far as they could “Look, we do to you what you wouldn’t do to an animal! That’s what you are worth, less than nothing.” It was done without the child’s or parent’s permission – in fact there was no choice involved.

This is about a voluntary program trying to help a group of people who are different, have always been different, and will always be different from you. Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t make it wrong – only confusing. And we are talking about helping kids with the experience of adults (who have friends and family who died indirectly because people wouldn’t accept a simple fact) , parents helping their kids, doctors holding back time so that the mind within the body is allowed to mature and either they have become ok with themselves (and go off the hormone regimen with no known side-effects) or are of age to decide to change in ways that HAVE NO HARMFUL effects to YOU!

I don’t understand nose and lip and tongue piercings, they just don’t make sense to me but as long as they are old enough to choose, I support those who choose to do so.

Cross-sexed is much farther up the changes menu but it’s still the same – WHAT MATTER IS IT TO YOU? As long as the parents and Doctors are working to the good of the child, I support them.

And do some studies. Find out how many people as adults have had the surgeries and it was wrong for them.

“How stupid are we going to let these ’scientists’ get before we realize that life is not just about sex and no amount of ‘assignment’, ‘permission’, or ‘alteration’ will ever fulfill or even mediate a persons relationship with the world. What a waste of tax dollars and scholarships. Are we just out of real deseases and problems to work on? Let the Psychology department take care of peoples’ relational and behavior issues, and let Real doctors and Real scientists have what they need to rid the world of desease and maybe even figure out how to end hunger and poverty.
This is absolutely the dumbest thing I’ve heard since, well since we called a transgendered man- ‘pregnant’. If it has a womb it is a girl- Idiot’s!”

Bite Me! If a person is in an accident and loses her womb is she still a woman? What about a hysterectomy to save her life? She’s not a woman now? What about a girl born without a womb? What about a person born with XXYY? XXXY? What about someone XXYY with both sets of parts? It has a womb = “girl”, but has penis = “boy” – it’s a “girlboy”? Get a grip and grow up – sex is far more complicated than you or I think – and being transgendered is about GENDER not SEX – Sex is between the legs, Gender between the ears and orientation is who you want to passionately kiss.

You have no idea what these kids and others have gone through – if you really cared – you’d learn a whole lot more and have far more empathy. Become a REAL Human.

Put not your faith in the ways of the world, for the world’s ways are not mine. Jesus taught that through faith, with God all things are possible. Jesus humbled himself in the sight of Almighty God, and prayed for guidance. Let your faith grow, turn to Almighty God and he will put light on the path that you will follow. For God fills the soul with the holy spirit, the heart with truth and faith and He will lift you up with rightouesness. For Our Lord our God is Mighty and Just. We choose the fear of the Lord. The Lord, our God is our rock, our fortress and our Healer, He is the Great Phyician.

Amen!!! Praise Jesus!!!!

Darya, as I noted, I’m not religious & I see something wrong with sex change maimings & believe in abolishing them for reasons already given. Stop presuming it’s just Judeo-Christians who oppose sex changes. Yes, Judeo-Christians such as Christian Minister Bob Larson (who has discussed the harms of sex change maimings) use faith to justify their beliefs, but so what? There are Shintos, Buddhists & Hindus who use their faiths to justify vegetarianism & there are plenty of vegetarians who are not religious or even atheists. Similarly, 1 can be an atheist & oppose sex change maimings.

With hermaphrodite, they must keep all parts intact (in medical terms that is not a sex change because the genitals are already intact). But hermpahrodites are a small # & what they have is a physical deformity, it’s no different than if a baby was born with 3 arms & you amputate 1 arm to make them a normal person. It would be an abomination however, if a Dr. amputated the healthy limbs because the patient has apotemnophilia & thinks they should not have limbs. Your comparison of sex change mutilations to harelip surgeries & plastic surgeries for burn victims are silly. Harelips are a physical deformity & a burn victim needs healthy skin. If they made it a crime to perform Artifical Insemination & vasectomies I would be for it. The pill, condoms & the Rhythm Method will suffice for birth control. Incidentally, I’m pro-choice on abortion (though it has risks) but I won’t do an abortion discussion here.

Whether Gender Dysphoria (GID) is because of genes doesn’t change the belief that it’s wrong to perform sex change maimings & make a patient what they’re not. Ethnic Dysphoria & apotemnophilia could also be inborn. But that doesn’t change the belief that it’s wrong for Drs. to change some1’s skin color, because the patient wants to be White instead of Black & vice versa. Gender Dysphoria (GID) must be treated the same way as Ethnic Dysphoria is-cure the mind. Mutilation must not be an option & the puberty delaying drugs must not be allowed. The transexual has to take a lifetime of hormones & the hormones will take their toll later in life.

While homosexuality & GID are 2 different things, the fact remains that most homo&lesbian groups such as PFLAG see nothing wrong with sex change maimings. What’s sad is that there are so many people who see nothing wrong with the mutilations that these Drs. do. Even if reversal surgery happens, the harms done by sex change maimings are irreversible. It wouldn’t be surprising if Darya & the other apologists for sex change maimings who post here oppose repair therapy to search for the cure for homosexuality. As I noted earlier, there are homos&lesbians who want to be straight, but have been told by mainstream psychologists since the mid 1990s that repair therapy to treat homosexuality is not allowed. While homosexuality was removed from the DSM in 1973, mainstream psychologists still offered repair therapy to homos&lesbians who wanted to change to straight sexual activity, though from the late 1980s, the shift was trending to affirm lives as homosexuals rather than seek lives as straights. Esp. after the 1992 Simon LaVey report which supposedly found the gay gene, mainstream psychologists completely abandoned repair therapy altogether to treat homosexuality & from 1998 onwards, groups such as the AMA & others have decried repair therapy & called for banning it.

The reason homosexuality is discussed, is because there are groups who want to remove Gender Dysphoria (GID) from the DSM. If this happens, then over time, you will hear psychologists saying that repair therapy to cure GID should not be offered & that only sex change mutilations are to be given. They’ll say that for therapists to offer treatments to cure GID is the same as offering treatments to cure or better treat homosexuality, because such therapy would reinforce bad beliefs people have of GID. It’s sad how politics have beaten science when it comes to homosexuality & how it is dominating the topic of GID.

With that said, it doesn’t mean that scientists won’t eventually discover the cures for homosexuality & GID. Given that science has discovered cloning, they can eventually discover how to cure homoexuality & GID. Dr. Robert L. Spitzer concluded in 2001 that some homos&lesbians can change not only sexual behavior but even orientation, though it was a long journey. If they eventually find the cures for homosexuality&GID, we’ll hear more about the co-pathologies of those who engage in homo&lesbian activities & we’ll hear more about the harms of sex change maimings, which sadly only get minor coverage.

Darya, please don’t be too hard on them.

They’re trying to do what’s right in their eyes.

We just have to educate, and the great majority who are not merely using sanctimony as an excuse for Divinely-sanctioned hatred will come around.

We have to say “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

This is all so far outside most people’s experience that of course they have difficulty with the concepts! It goes as much against common-sense as, well, the Earth not being flat, or the Earth moving round the Sun. Common-sense is a really good guide, and we ignore it at our peril, it’s just not infallible.

So please don’t be too hard on them. Explain, don’t condemn. And though by their actions they are condemning children to misery and death, they don’t realise that. We mustn’t hate them. They’re trying to do what’s right too, they just don’t see the consequences. Only a very few don’t care.

Awareness

Treading waters of yearning
I search the horizon
For an island of resolve
Finding solace
On a beach of self Indentity

Jesus, Is our rock, our fortress
He is the great phyicain
He knows our Pain, through that we gain
So use self- restraint
Be strong in Him
Our hearts may yearn, for love
That comes from the Lord above
For He is our Creator, Our hope is in Him
The saviour of Mankind
For we were made in His image
Never left to our own device
Ask Jesus in, seek his advice

Yes, I do oppose reparative therapy, on basic grounds: there’s no proof it works. There has been a lot of anecdotal evidence that, in most cases, it does more damage than it helps. As to behavior vs state (cure vs changed behavior): a homosexual may abstain from having homosexual relations (which I have read of some cases where reparative therapy was quoted as having “fixed” someone) but that doesn’t change the basic fact of orientation, that you don’t choose who you fixate on romantically. Where are the cases of Homosexuals being cured permanently? A few cases are listed here and there, but a large portion of previously “cured” individuals were found to have returned to being gay. How do you know this is not the future case with present examples?

How many transpersons do you actually know? Have you seen reparative therapy work, with actual clear results, where the gender identification dysphoria is totally cured? How do you know that it isn’t just being repressed and later to emerge as some far more destructive complex?

I notice that you state that the harelip and burn victim are not good examples. How about hysterectomy? How about the idea that under some cases the prevention of suicide is a higher
goal than avoiding surgical reconstruction? I note in some studies of the amputees, they will actually do damage to themselves to bring about the removal of the limb whether or not they do it in a clean safe environment. Transpersons have done this too – will it require transpersons in the future to physically mutilate themselves so that doctors will complete the process? Is it not better off the bat to avoid numerous deaths by giving these people what they want? (With medical and psychiatric oversight of course.)

Rather than take up arms against the 10’s to 100’s of thousands of cosmetic surgeries done in the U.S., you want to classify transpersons at the same level as necrophiliacs and these pour souls with the amputee “needs.” A 50 year old woman wants to remove a large portion of her nose surgically so that she can ‘feel better about herself’, and that’s ok, but SRS/GRS (for this argument, cosmetic surgery on a much higher level) isn’t? Isn’t that a hypocritical thought? Where does your right to my body start and end? What damage is done to society when GRS/SRS is performed on a consenting and wanting adult? Couldn’t you apply those same thoughts to any non-life threatening related body changes (including piercings?)

As to genetics, it could also serve to create replacement clone organs such that excepting a DNA study, you couldn’t tell if the patient was ‘actually’ born a man or a woman. A transperson with these organs can reproduce sexually, thereby meeting the “requirement of procreation” by many stated. I won’t go more into Eugenics than this: removal of “the gay gene” by medical society should not be allowed for by referring to the very same argument is made against transpersons having SRS/GRS: it’s not what “God intended”. As usual, we have no idea of what the long term effects are from such ‘genetic pruning.’ Perhaps there is some correlation between the “gay gene” and positive effects on other gene workings that are not clearly evident but possibly life-saving?

I will support you 100% on banning GRS/SRS IF you can show me a large number of actual cases where, over the long haul 10, 15, 20 years, medical society is unable to refute the fact that reparative therapy did more good than it did damage. (say, insert arbitrary number here, 500+ cases.)

Zoe, I’m hard on them because I used to be one of them: I used to think there was only black and white, and anything seemingly gray, isn’t. When people (as I used to) will not look at their total personality choices and see the dissonance between their different actions on similar subjects, a lot of harm is done to the people around them, and often within as well. And yes, they know not what they do, but sometimes you have to knock over the tables in the Temple: whether they understand or not, it still has to be done.

Kathryn, you are right, and my God is big enough to allow complexities and challenges in everything I do; including gender, sex and orientation.

To all others, until you have lived with your own child being a transperson, or you are a transperson, you cannot begin to fathom the depth of these beliefs and the apparent inability to change the mind compared to the ease of changing body to match mind. When all it takes is some acceptance and support for a transchild to transform into a much better, happier individual, why is it so hard to love and accept them as persons? You don’t understand it, okay, but what is the ROI on repression vs acceptance?

“It’s predictable that the AMA, PFLAG & most homo&lesbian groups think it’s OK to mutilate patients to make them what they’re not. The AMA & PFLAG oppose repair therapy to search for a cure for homosexuality, though homo&lesbian sexual behaviors have high co-pathology rates. Homos have higher Venereal Disease (VD) rates & co-pathology such as drugs, suicides & drunkards are higher amongst homos&lesbians.”

IF this is true: Could this possibly because we as society have marginalized these people? Could it be due to family and society created self-destructive behaviors inculcated by the message of self-hate? Could they be coping mechanisms to deal with the hypocrisy of society at large? Could the fear (or side effects) of being abandoned by family, friends and church be a root cause of a lot of these pathologies? Maybe it is NOT inherent in the orientation, but in the lack of acceptance!
Have there been any studies as to the relation of acceptance and family caring versus these damaging behaviors?

I promise you, IF AMA and PFLAG saw some sort of good coming from Reparative Therapy, they would not be so quick to cast it aside; there are still thinking individuals in the organizations noted; not all will ‘toe the line.’ Reparative Therapy appears to be on the level of Creationist Science: religion doesn’t belong in science – it cannot be quantified, and that is the point of science. Until more has been proven that Reparative Therapy actually works on a large scale, of course these organizations will decry it as harmful.

Anirb, show me the money. I need to see the proof, as in clinical studies etc. Depression was once considered “all in your head.” After enough study and medical studies, we know SOME depression is, but a lot is chemically induced. Right now you are saying to these transpeople, “it’s all in your head”, perhaps that, like clinical Depression, is an over-simplification of a complex chemical and mental problem.

Besides all this, WHAT RIGHT IS IT OF YOURS to tell my son or my daughter, or some other poor person, that elective surgical changes aren’t right for them? Are you a doctor with proof that far more people are harmed by these procedures than are helped? SHOW ME THE MONEY!