Children's hospital launches sex change for kids program - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

waybomb · #1 04-21-2008, 09:26 PM

Somebody sent me this - can this be true?

A doctor at the renowned Children's Hospital Boston has launched a new program to drug children to delay puberty so they can decide whether they want a male or a female body, according to a report today in the Boston Globe.

Pediatric endocrinologist Norman Spack, 64, says he started the Gender Management Service Clinic because he found himself encountering 20-somethings who were "transgendered" and in good shape socially, "but they were having trouble getting their physique to conform to their identity.

"I knew the 20-somethings could have better chances of passing if they were treated earlier," he said.

"We don't think that demonic is too strong a word to describe this," said a statement from the pro-family Mass Resistance organization. "It brings us thoughts of the Nazi doctors who thought they were doing good things."

WND has reported previously on some of the controversies prompted by the belief that a man can be born in a woman's body, or vice versa, including in Montgomery County, Md., where county officials have adopted a law that precludes those who provide public accommodations from discriminating based on that "gender identity."

Matt L · #2 04-21-2008, 10:27 PM

WND is World Net Daily? Consider the source.

waybomb · #3 04-21-2008, 10:30 PM

Ya, but I did a search on this Doctor. Google him. This guy and his ideas are for real. Has nothing to do with the source.

aklim · #4 04-21-2008, 11:51 PM

How is it a bad thing?

TMAllison · #5 04-22-2008, 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

How is it a bad thing?

Only that it pertains to KIDS who haven't even reached puberty yet.

Let em make a decision when they have lived with it a while and are 30 or 35. They'll still have 60 or 70 years to enjoy whatever decision they make as informed adults.

aklim · #6 04-22-2008, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMAllison

Only that it pertains to KIDS who haven't even reached puberty yet.

Let em make a decision when they have lived with it a while and are 30 or 35. They'll still have 60 or 70 years to enjoy whatever decision they make as informed adults.

I thought he isn't talking of picking a kid off the street but rather kids who have problems living in the gender they are born with and seem more comfortable in the opposite gender?

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/03/30/qa_with_norman_spack/

Last year, the pediatric endocrinologist started a new clinic at Children's Hospital Boston; it is one of a few in the world to give children treatments that change their bodies. Working on a model borrowed from Dutch researchers, Spack uses drugs to delay the first stirrings of youngsters' puberty, granting them a few more years before they develop bodies that are decidedly male or female. The effects of these puberty-blocking drugs are reversible; that is, patients can later change their minds. Unfortunately, this is not the case with hormones. Therefore, Spack prescribes estrogen and testosterone to only a few teenagers - after months of consultation with the patient, his or her caregivers, and psychiatrists. When kids take this step, they are rewriting their own future: The hormones have a powerful, pervasive effect, changing their height, breast development, and the pitch of their voices.

IDEAS: When are children old enough to declare what gender they will be?

SPACK: All I know is that when I see preadolescents, they have been dressing in the underwear of the other sex for years. These kids are almost certainly transgendered. They're a unique population of patients. By the time a kid comes in to see me, both parents have agreed that the child is in danger and needs some form of intervention. And that has led to heavy-duty counseling for the child and parents. Therefore I see young people and families who have been evaluated by skilled professionals.

Ara T. · #7 04-22-2008, 12:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMAllison

Only that it pertains to KIDS who haven't even reached puberty yet.

Let em make a decision when they have lived with it a while and are 30 or 35. They'll still have 60 or 70 years to enjoy whatever decision they make as informed adults.

Bull honkey. A kid can tell something's wrong earlier than puberty.

TMAllison · #8 04-22-2008, 12:35 AM

I didn't read the article Aklim....didnt have to. They are Kids. Not adults, and as such are too young to make that decision as it is life changing.

Am not against gender changes but am against children making that decision when they can't possibly fully understand the consequences.

aklim · #9 04-22-2008, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMAllison

I didn't read the article Aklim....didnt have to. They are Kids. Not adults, and as such are too young to make that decision as it is life changing.

Am not against gender changes but am against children making that decision when they can't possibly fully understand the consequences.

By the time a kid comes in to see me, both parents have agreed that the child is in danger and needs some form of intervention. And that has led to heavy-duty counseling for the child and parents. Therefore I see young people and families who have been evaluated by skilled professionals.

For the sake of argument, lets assume the article is not lying. You'd rather leave the kid in danger then?

TMAllison · #10 04-22-2008, 01:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aklim

By the time a kid comes in to see me, both parents have agreed that the child is in danger and needs some form of intervention. And that has led to heavy-duty counseling for the child and parents. Therefore I see young people and families who have been evaluated by skilled professionals.

For the sake of argument, lets assume the article is not lying. You'd rather leave the kid in danger then?

The article I said I haven't read?

Kids in danger; different situation. Kids who Doc decided A or B on their behalf (perhaps incorrectly) at birth; different situation. Kids prior to reaching puberty who are confused about preferences and/or gender identity in general were more to my point as not being capable to making those decisions for themselves. That is not to say they can not live as whatever gender they feel most comfy with; just that IMo they should not make life decisions concerning changing how they were born until they are adults and udnerstand the ramifications of those decisions.