Re: Innisfail councillor speaks out against 'anti-trans policy'
The rhetoric surrounding the Alberta government's new parental rights legislation has been emotionally charged, to say the least.
I was interested to see the term ‘draconian' used in the article. Perhaps it would be good to review what exactly these policies are.
The legislation forbids gender reassignment surgery for minors under 18 years old, and prohibits puberty blockers and hormone therapies for youth aged 15 and younger.
Following the same path as neighbouring Saskatchewan, the new rules also make parental notification and consent compulsory from the school seeking to comply with the requests by a child under 16 to change his or her name or pronoun; schools will have to notify parents of 16 and 17 year olds seeking to make such change.
This legislation has been portrayed as an attack on the trans community. However, let's back up and consider it piece by piece.
Concerning gender assignment surgery. We need to understand that these surgeries change nothing but appearance. In addition, they come with frequent complications.
The possible risks of transfeminine bottom surgery include, but are not limited to, bleeding, infection, poor healing of incisions, hematoma, nerve injury, stenosis of the vagina, inadequate depth of the vagina, injury to the urinary tract, abnormal connections between the urethra and the skin, and painful intercourse.
Complications after a mastectomy can include bleeding, infection, delayed healing, pain, lymphedema, formation of hard scar tissue at the surgical site, shoulder pain and stiffness, numbness in the chest, or buildup of blood in the surgical site, called hematoma.
All of these are possibilities, but the one definite outcome is that your body is permanently and irreversibly changed.
We do not allow youth under 18 to purchase alcohol or marijuana, or to vote. Why? Because we know they are not yet equipped to make these decisions with maturity. But we would allow them to make a life-altering decision such as gender reassignment surgery?
We are repeatedly told that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, unlike surgery, are fully reversible.
However, weight gain, hot flashes, headaches, and mood changes are not likely to help the mental state of gender-confused youth.
Loss of bone density and loss of fertility are not things considered in the short-term, but will follow the person for the rest of his or her life. And the long-term effects on the brain and the endocrine system have not been studied.
Finally, we have the parent-child-teacher dynamic to consider. As I have listened to those opposed to the legislation, it is frequently stated that many parents ‘struggle with parenting.'
There is an unspoken assumption that whereas parents can fail their children terribly, teachers cannot. Take some time to think about that. Are teachers never wrong?
Are they never ideologically driven? And is our society never wrong? There was a time, after all, when slavery was fully accepted and promoted within our culture.
Puberty blockers are promoted as ‘putting a pause’ on unwanted secondary sex characteristics.
This legislation is ‘putting a pause’ on decisions made by those who may very likely grow up to deeply regret them.
Sheryl Patterson,
Water Valley
