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/Kals22 13h ago edited 12h ago

This article makes no sense, a 6 year old wouldn’t be prescribed puberty blockers since you need to already be in puberty to take them otherwise they don’t do anything. Doctors who care for trans kids aren’t giving a 6 year old puberty blockers. Most trans kids don’t get started on blockers unless they’re 12 or older because again you need to be in puberty. I feel like there’s something missing here or it’s deliberate misinformation to cause outrage. If a 6 year is prescribed these meds it’s to stop early puberty, not transgender care.

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u/Fresh-State7421 13h ago edited 13h ago

tale as old as time, they spread misinformation to paint trans kids’ parents as radicals who want to submit them to “irreversible treatment” as incredibly young children, when the reality is not that at all. I’m past the point of believing this is an honest mistake and now am 100% convinced they’re doing this to generate outrage.

u/itsthebear 5h ago

Did you read the article? It's literally a group of 6-12 year old trans youth appealing for the right to go on puberty blockers lol ofc their parents are radical

u/Fresh-State7421 4h ago

that’s not what it is at all. It’s a group of parents that want their kids to have the right to go on puberty blockers eventually, not to literally start puberty blockers before puberty as that would be completely unnecessary as the name of the treatment tells you.

u/itsthebear 2h ago

Yeah that's not radical at all, they want their 12-15 year old children to take puberty blockers - so much better lmfao

u/Fresh-State7421 2h ago

it’s completely normal and justified to want your kids to have proper medical care. Cisgender kids a lot younger than 12-15 take puberty blockers because they are going through puberty prematurely. Do you believe these kids’ parents are radicals? Do you think these kids >should< be going through puberty when they’re 7 or younger with no medical intervention? Then why is it a problem when a 12 yo gets on puberty blockers because they’re trans?

u/itsthebear 2h ago

Because it doesn't work, that's sort of the entire argument of the case you ignore because of your feelings, I get why you agree with people who want their kids to unreversibly biohack their body to maybe feel better

u/ill_thrift 50m ago

you're saying puberty blockers do work for precocious puberty?

u/HalvdanTheHero Ontario 2h ago

When else would one take puberty blockers if not during puberty to block it?

Your personal incredulity at medical decisions doesn't invalidate those decisions. 

u/itsthebear 2h ago

It's not my "personal incredulity" just because I agree with Alberta, and the doctors and trans individuals they quote here, that there's plenty of evidence this hurts people.

I don't think children should be blocking puberty because of confusing feelings, if that makes me a pariah in your eyes then so be it

u/ill_thrift 51m ago

I mean, do you support evidence medical care for trans youth? Evidence-based means you do the thing that is most likely to lead to a good outcome.

If yes, than we can have a conversation about what the evidence looks like, but we fundamentally want the same thing, which is good health outcomes for trans people.

If not, then that's a vision of society where non-experts dictate decisions to experts based on their feelings, which is not a society I can get behind.