Affirming a Delusion: "[Gender] 'affirming' sounds like a good thing, a positive thing. It is replacing the term 'sex change,' [but] it is impossible to change biological sex, to switch out the Y or the second X chromosome present in every cell of a person's body.".

• Author: Orient, Jane M.
• Position: LIFE IN AMERICA

THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION is reinstating rules withdrawn by the Trump Administration that add gender identity to nondiscrimination protections. It also would expand requirements to include any providers who accept Medicare Part B. It is not altogether clear what this will mean. There is no evidence that trans-gender or gender-nonconforming persons are failing to get prenatal care or delivery of babies, treatment for heart attacks, gall bladder surgery, trauma care, or other types of care that all types of patients may need, though it is possible that some caregivers may use the "wrong" pronouns. The issue seems to be "gender-affirming" care.

Language is the tool we use for thinking, and the meaning of words is critically important. "Affirming" sounds like a good thing, a positive thing. It is replacing the term "sex change." Unarguably, it is impossible to change biological sex, to switch out the Y or the second X chromosome present in every cell of a person's body. Also, advocates claim that people "know" themselves "really" to be of a gender different from the one "assigned at birth," so the gender essentially is not being changed.

Puberty confirms and exhibits biologic sex but, in newspeak, this is not called "affirming." After going through natural puberty, the vast majority of gender-confused children accept the biological reality that their bodies constantly manifest. So, many transgender activists insist that "affirming" therapy must be started before puberty, using a puberty blocker such as Lupron (leuprolide). It works by stopping production of the pituitary hormone that tells the testicles to make testosterone or the ovaries to make estrogen. Its main approved use is in cancer chemotherapy. It also is utilized in infertility treatments and to delay precocious puberty. Employing it to suppress normal puberty is an unapproved "off-label" use.

Lupron has numerous severe adverse effects. It stops the maturation of sex cells, and may result in sterility. It stunts growth and reduces bone density, among other consequences. It is not a harmless on-off switch that can delay a child's development to give the child time to "explore" gender identity. While it may prevent or diminish irreversible changes such as a deepening voice, it causes its own, probably irreversible changes in many body systems.

The next step is to take cross-sex hormones to "affirm" (cause) the development of some secondary sex characteristics of the nonbiologic gender...