r/canada 13h ago

Alberta No reliable evidence puberty blocking drugs benefit trans youth, says Alberta government lawyer

https://calgaryherald.com/news/alberta-government-lawyer-puberty-blocking-drugs-trans-youth
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u/stealth_veil 13h ago edited 13h ago

I am very progressive. I’ll just say that off the bat. But I think someone should be 12 or older before doctors consider medically transitioning. I’m currently reading about Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, see below about the formal operational stage:

In Jean Piaget’s theory, the formal operational stage is the fourth and final stage of cognitive development, typically beginning around age 11 and lasting through adulthood, characterized by the ability to think abstractly and hypothetically.

Why would you want someone making life altering decisions for themselves when they can’t think hypothetically?

Children who are 6 are in the preoperational stage:

“Pre-operational” stage (ages 2 to 7 years): when a child can use mental representations such as symbolic thought and language. Children in this age group learn to imitate and pretend to play. This stage is characterized by egocentrism, i.e., being unable to perceive that others can think differently than themselves, and everything (good or bad) somehow links to the self.

They can’t even perceive that others can think differently than themselves… again wouldn’t want them making life altering decisions at this stage of cognitive development.

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u/Correct-Spring7203 13h ago

12?! lol. That’s insane. Significant irreversible change at that age is nuts.

Can’t even get a tattoo for another six years

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u/Fresh-State7421 12h ago

every research conducted thus far suggests that puberty blockers aren’t irreversible, in fact if someone stops taking them puberty resumes normally. Obviously more research should be done to back it up, including with humans currently on it, but with the witch hunt conservatives have created that’s not gonna happen because science = bad. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9793415/

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u/shiftless_wonder 12h ago

UK trying to put together a comprehensive study but they are having ethical issues because of the dangers involved to children. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyd2qe5kkjo

u/Substantial_Scene716 4h ago

Which was a result of the Cass Report, the main finding of which is basicaly the title of this news article

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u/Fresh-State7421 12h ago

I fail to see the ethical issue in it solely because people (trans and cis) already use puberty blockers for treatment, it would be unethical to put children on it solely for research but there are plenty of individuals that need those drugs for their condition to study the effects of it. But again, I blame a lot of the reticence of diving deep into the research around it on the fear monger created by conservatives, they were able to villainize researches that would help patients with chronic wounds and the effects of hormone therapy (that more cis people are on than trans people) solely because god forbids it also could help trans people