EDITORIAL

The Truth of Gender Identity

Posted

Contemporary culture frequently affirms gender identity as a free, liberating and arbitrary choice. Some online “expert” medical sites claim that gender cannot merely be a matter of biology or birth, but is fluid and should flow in the direction of the child’s feelings. Many pediatricians, when treating children experiencing confusion about gender identity, provide opposite-sex hormones or “puberty blockers,” to assist them in their “transition,” often destroying their fertility permanently. The fact that such a prescription for children is even legal is a significant sign of the sickness of our culture today.

The American College of Pediatricians recently released a statement detailing the medical dangers of puberty-blocking hormones and noted how the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) explains that as many as 98 percent of gender-confused boys and 88 percent of gender-confused girls eventually accept their biological sex after naturally passing through puberty. Thank God there are still pediatricians who love both science and truth.

On December 15, a group of ecumenical and interfaith partners, along with bishops of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage, issued a statement on gender ideology. They affirmed that “sexual difference is not an accident or flaw” but a gift which brings persons together with each other and with God. They also recognized the complicated and sometimes painful reality of individuals struggling with gender identity, calling for respect, compassion, mercy, love and truth. Children deserve at least that much.