Bioethics commission would protect children from sex change

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Bioethics commission would protect children from sex change
James Georgulas with father, Jeffrey Younger. | SaveJames.com

For the first time since 1974, the president does not have a bioethics commission.

In light of recent bioethical assaults on society, it is urgent that President Trump find prudent counselors on the subject.
In Dallas this week, a court ruling sacrificed 7-year-old James Georgulas to the worship of the progressive agenda.

Anne Georgulas — a pediatrician and the mother of twins James and Jude — brought Jeffrey Younger, her ex-husband and the boys’ father, to court to demand complete custody of the boys. The jury ruled 11-1 decision to grant the mother full-custody of the 7-year-old twins to Anne Georgulas. Georgulas believes that James is a transgender girl, and she now calls him Luna. The court’s decision disregards Younger’s concerns about the gender dysphoria diagnosis of James, permitting Georgulas to begin hormone therapy treatment on to James.

The hormone-blocking drug to be used on James is called Lupron, and was developed to treat prostate cancer. Its effect is essentially a chemical castration. The FDA has never approved the use of Lupron in cases of pediatric gender dysphoria, and it is only just now testing Lupron’s class of drugs for long-term nervous system and psychiatric events. There are online support networks, such as forming for former patients of pediatric Lupron who are now in their 20s and suffering through the long-term effects, such as degenerating spinal disks, shedding teeth enamel, and deadly seizures.

Cross-sex hormone therapy, Georgulas’ long-term goal for James’s treatment, poses serious mental and physical health risks, from depression to and higher suicide rates to pulmonary embolisms and shorter lifespans.

Most 7-year olds don’t know what sex is, let alone understand the ramifications of an operation like a gender transition. Three of the most obvious risks associated with a gender transition are permanent infertility, the inability to engage in sexual intercourse naturally, and a shortened decreased lifespan.

Can, and ought, a 7-year-old child be able to fathom that a gender transition may leave their children without parents to celebrate them at graduation, and their grandchildren without grandparents?

The three presidents preceding President Trump established their own bioethics commission to research and report on various developments in ethical issues: for Clinton, cloning and stem cell research; for Bush, stem cell research and reproductive technologies; for Obama, STD management, epidemics, and genome sequencing.

Upon Trump’s inauguration, Obama’s commission was dismissed from service and has yet to be replaced, whether by government organization or official commission. Now more than ever, the President needs a commission to guide him. Whereas past presidents and congresses handled one or two major subjects, such as stem cell research, Trump is faced with an increasingly diverse list of threats as technology develops. From robot brothels to hormonal therapy for gender transition, it is crucial that Trump base decisions on a firm understanding of the issues.

The decision to give the mother custody of James Georgulas reflects a serious flaw in the direction of our judiciary system. In the courtroom, six testifying physicians commented on gender. Nobody defined gender the same way, and every definition began with “I think gender is…” Without a consistent definition of gender, how can gender dysphoria be diagnosed in general, and particularly in the case of James Georgulas? Only one psychiatrist diagnosed James with gender dysphoria. If no two physicians have the same definition of gender, it only seems appropriate that each diagnosis requires at least two medical opinions.

Younger’s position as a parent is not unique. Across the United States and Canada, there are two crises tearing families apart: on the one hand, the paradox of autonomous dependents, and on the other hand, pediatric diagnoses with disregard to the simple example of the patient’s opinion and disposition.

Earlier this year, a father used female pronouns to refer to his 14-year-old daughter who had started taking gender-transition drugs. The reference was deemed family violence.

In February of 2018, a 17-year-old girl was transferred to the custody of her grandparents because her parents objected to her gender-transition drugs.

Last fall, Toronto’s Sick Kids hospital announced a new policy that permits pediatric physician assisted suicide, regardless of parental consent or information. In other words, for the protection of a child’s privacy, a child may submit to physician-assisted suicide, and his parents will not be informed of the decision until after their child dies.

These cases are neither isolated nor rare, and they will only continue to increase in frequency. Trump must establish a board of ethics to address these children’s health issues as the relationship between parent and child continues to be challenged by the progressive agenda.

Reagan Cool is a senior studying theology and a columnist on faith and religion.