Parshall Partners

Transitioning to the Truth

         The ideology of “transgenderism” is plowing its way through our culture, leaving in its wake untold numbers of hurting, broken people.  A study out of Scandinavia may soon stem the tide of this irreparable damage.

         A study published in a medical journal analyzed data from 1996 to 2019 on the mental health of minors in Finland’s educational system.  The goal was to track patients who had been referred to Gender Identity Services for the purpose of receiving transition treatment.

         The results were stunning.  Teenagers who struggled with gender dysphoria and pursued medical treatment ended up having worse mental health symptoms long term compared to their peers. These patients had nearly three times the need for psychiatric treatment compared with those without a history of gender transition counseling or interventions.

         The authors of the study noted that teens who suffered in this area “showed significantly higher psychiatric morbidity” before being referred to gender clinics than their peers and believe that gender dysphoria “may be secondary to other mental health challenges.” They wrote:

“This underscores the need to thoroughly assess and appropriately treat mental disorders among those seeking [gender reassignment] before and after undergoing irreversible medical treatments. Psychiatric needs must be adequately met.”

         Nearly 46% of adolescents with gender dysphoria had obtained psychiatric treatment before being referred to a gender clinic. Two years later, that rate increased to nearly 62%. The study also found that the need for further psychiatric treatment increased significantly during follow-up for patients who underwent medicalized gender transition, rising from 10% to 61% for male-to-female transitioners and from 22% to 55% for female-to-male transitioners.

         The Finnish study replicates a study released in The Oxford Academic Journal of Sexual Medicine which focused on the effects of gender-affirming surgery. After analyzing over 100,000 patients, they concluded that those who received surgery had an increased risk of mental health issues and substance use disorders.  Self-harm went up, not down after the procedure.

         Our own HHS released a Comprehensive Review of Medical Interventions for Children and Adolescents with Gender Dysphoria where they noted a growing body of evidence revealing serious concerns about medical interventions like puberty blockers, surgeries, and cross-sex hormones.  The report pointed to significant risks and irreversible harms, such as infertility. The Director of the NIH stated:

“Our duty is to protect our nation’s children—not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions.  We must follow the gold standard of science, not activist agendas”.

         With more reports revealing the harms done to minors in the name of “compassion”, parents must actively prevent their children from succumbing to this dangerous ideology.  When some progressive change-agent tries to convince you that it’s better to “have a live ‘son’, than a ‘dead daughter’, listen instead to that still, small voice gently reminding you that “male and female, He created them both”. Then, find a good Christian counselor who can walk your family through this journey.

         Those are my thoughts. I’m Janet Parshall.