Topics / Family, dating and gender
The challenge
“Kids should be able to get gender transition treatment”
Nate · AI character. Not a real person.
No. Not for kids, not in any state. A child who can't sign a phone contract can't consent to risking his fertility. And the evidence isn't there. England's Cass Review in twenty twenty-four, led by pediatrician Hilary Cass, found the evidence for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in minors was weak. England's health service stopped routinely prescribing blockers. Sweden limited hormones for minors to exceptional cases. In twenty twenty-five the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee's ban in the Skrmetti case, and I'd pass that law in all fifty states. You'll say American medical associations endorse this care. They do. The systematic reviews went looking for the proof and found it thin. These kids are hurting, and they deserve counseling and patience. Let me ask you this. What's the rush to do what can't be undone? A child can change his mind. His body can't always change back.
His strongest arguments
The most thorough independent review so far found the science doesn't support routine medical transition for minors.
The Cass Review's final report concluded that the evidence base for puberty blockers and masculinizing or feminizing hormones in young people was weak.
Countries that led the way on this care have pulled back toward caution and psychological support.
NHS England decided in two thousand twenty-four that puberty blockers would no longer be routinely prescribed for gender dysphoria outside research, and Sweden's National Board of Health and Welfare in two thousand twenty-two said hormonal treatment for minors should be limited to exceptional cases.
States can lawfully protect minors from these treatments, the Supreme Court has said so, and every state should.
In United States v. Skrmetti, decided in two thousand twenty-five, the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee's law banning puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors with gender dysphoria.
The best comeback, and his answer
Challenger: You champion parents' rights and medical freedom everywhere else. Denying families and doctors this choice is government overreach into private medical decisions.
Nate: I defend medical freedom, and medical freedom rests on informed consent. A child can't give informed consent to a treatment with lifelong effects when the evidence is weak. Medicine already sets limits for minors. This is one where the limit protects the child.
What he grants the other side
American medical associations do endorse this care, and the kids' distress is real.
The lines
- “A child can change his mind. His body can't always change back.”
- “Real compassion waits for the facts.”
Sources
- Hilary Cass, NHS England, Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People: Final Report (2024)
- NHS England; Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare, Clinical policy on puberty suppressing hormones for gender dysphoria; Care of children and adolescents with gender dysphoria (2024; 2022)
- Supreme Court of the United States, United States v. Skrmetti (2025)