First, stop doing harm

Are children’s hospitals across the country performing invasive procedures on minors in the name of “gender affirmation”? Many of them insist it is not true, but some of their own staff appear to claim otherwise—some on hospital videos.

Boston Children’s Hospital released a series of informational videos about transgenderism in children, featuring doctors explaining the process and rationale behind gender “transition.” In one video, psychologist Dr. Kerry McGregor claims children know they’re the opposite gender “seemingly from the womb.” Dr. Jeremi Carswell, director of the hospital’s Gender Multispeciality Service, says evidence of a baby’s knowledge of their transgender is “refusing to get a haircut,” “trying to stand to urinate,” or “trying on siblings’ clothing.” Still more stunning are comments made by Dr. Frances Grimstad, who explains that “gender affirming hysterectomies” are just like hysterectomies performed for other reasons. The Boston hospital has repeatedly denied that surgical procedures are being performed on minors, but their own staff members appear to be making the case for why such procedures are to be seen as necessary and justified.

Beyond the obvious absurdity of these statements and the evil of removing the healthy reproductive organs of a young person in service to delusions about his or her identity, there are physical consequences at stake when it comes to hysterectomies: sterility, early onset menopause, an increased risk of ovarian cancer, and a higher likelihood of early dementia.

Boston Children’s Hospital isn’t the only entity involved in pushing the transgender ideology on children. In recorded audio, a representative of National Children’s Hospital in Washington, D.C., confirmed to Chaya Raichik that doctors there have performed hysterectomies on girls 16 years old and even “younger kids.” Raichik’s Twitter account, Libs of TikTok, which has 1.3 million followers, was later suspended. Cultural authorities are circling the wagons—protests must be silenced.

A psychologist at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Oakland, Calif., appears to admit on tape that the hospital has performed double mastectomies on girls as young as 12. Dr. Scott Mossner of San Francisco’s Gender Confirmation Center, performs mastectomies and other reconstructive procedures on people who identify as transgender, confessed to believing that there should be no minimum age in considering whom to serve. According to the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, over half of the surgeons performing “gender affirming” vaginoplasties, which involve removing male genitalia and replacing it with a fake female genitalia, have done the procedure for patients under the age of 18. A study by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology cites gender-confused girls as young as 16 undergoing hysterectomies.

Even the most ardent supporters of gender “transition” are hard-pressed to justify these procedures on children and teenagers. A Swedish study from 2011 demonstrates the drastically increased risk of suicide in people who identify as transgender even years after “reassignment” surgery. As for less invasive gender treatments, like puberty blockers, the evidence supporting their use is just as shaky. Earlier this year, the media touted a new study by the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital, which they claim show the positive mental effects of puberty blockers in kids. But that’s not the conclusion the data supported. Rather, researchers observed no decrease in depression due to puberty blockers. Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones may cause irreversible damage, including infertility and lack of sexual function, in patients who receive them.

To much of the mainstream media, the real horror is not that these atrocities are occurring but that people are drawing attention to them. At the Washington Post, NPR, and NBC, journalists rely on the hospitals’ denial of the existence of these services and shift focus away from the real story and instead to the backlash the doctors have allegedly received. The doctors, and not their patients, are presented as threatened.

Several authorities are endorsing the genital mutilation of children. The White House has also voiced support for these procedures, citing an unreliable study from the Trevor Project, an organization that advocates for LGBTQ policies and programs. Hundreds of major corporations support the Trevor Project and have lobbied for the “right” of boys to access girls' bathrooms and locker rooms. An analysis recently published by National Review reveals Major League Baseball’s financial support of organizations that advocate for child gender transition.

Christians must stand against those in power on behalf of the vulnerable victims of gender ideology. It is dystopian, barbaric, and diametrically opposed to what is good, right, and true (Ephesians 5:9). Christian theology views the body, which determines gender, as good, purposeful, and for the glory of our Creator (Genesis 1:27, Psalm 139:14, 1 Corinthians 6:19). When society rejects this Christian view of the person, chaos and abuse ensues—from abortion to the maiming of children’s reproductive organs.

There is, therefore, a dire need for Christians to speak the truth about this subject with uncompromising clarity. The lives and well-being of children and teenagers are on the line. The church must be a refuge of both love and truth as the world grapples with such fundamental, consequential questions as gender and identity. This is neither the time nor the place for equivocation, unnecessary nuance, or apathy clothed in fake empathy. There is simply too much on the line. In fact, if you’re still looking for a line that must not be crossed, this is the one.