Modern Thinking About Transgender Issues Not Supported By Science

Need a travesty if an ethical issue. If a moral issue and medical liability issue. I really believe it's wrong. This is family policy motors with NC family Pres. John Weston thanks for joining us this week. Policy matters today will be discussing the topic that has been at the forefront of policy and political discussions here in North Carolina and across our nation and that is the growing trend toward the identification and acceptance of transgender rhythm, especially as it relates to children and families are yesterday is Dr. Meg Meeker, a pediatrician with 30 years of experience in pediatric and adolescent medicine and a fellow of the American Academy of pediatrics today will be talking with Dr. Meeker about transgender is him transgender bathroom policy and how the growing acceptance of this form of identity among Psalm is putting the rights, development and well-being of some of our children and families at risk I Dr. Meeker walking the family policy matters. It's great to have you back on the show. Thanks so much for having me. Well, it's always a pleasure to know you recently wrote an article entitled transgender bathroom policy. What the government can't tell you but a pediatrician can now is a pediatrician. You clearly have a vested interest in the development and well-being of children. How does your perspective on this issue differ from what we have seen being pushed more and more by many areas of our government, including public schools and some in the healthcare arena.

Well, you know, I'm so glad that you brought this up because it's a it's a topic that is really concerning to a lot of parents and I'm sorry they have to be dealing with that. There is an agenda going on here. It is not a medical agenda. It's not a psychological agenda the political agenda and and here is why I say that if you look at the medical research in the medical evidence for transgender is in an and in children. The reality is that children who are born who have a sense that their living in the body of the wrong person, i.e. outwardly on the girl but I feel very much like a boy or vice versa, from early on, you know in in childhood say, four, five, six, seven years of age, the children are very very rare and I will tell you I worked in some major hospitals in the country.

I've been practicing pediatrics for over 30 years I work with my husband has also pediatrician I'm on medical boards. I'm on the board of the medical school and I have never seen a true transgendered child in in my years of work and people table that doesn't matter will know it really doesn't matter, but the truth is, what does matter is the real incidence a number of people out there who are really struggling with gender identity is very very small but what were seeing cropping up now is a lot of kids course it's a monkey see monkey do.

Oh yeah, you know, I I think I want to be a girl and I'm really a boy and so on so forth. If we just take the kids who are really disturbed on an emotional level and this they live with this angst that something is deeply wrong with me. These are kids that have been followed for many many years.

Decades actually in the medical literature and what we have found is that amongst those kids who really truly identify as transgender. Those who undergo gender reassignment surgery. Those who are given medical intervention by medications hormone changes so forth.

When those young kids end up in their 20s and 30s the kids to bond transformation to the identity that they feel they are rather than the way they genetically are don't do better than kids who have not had gender reassignment. In fact, they show that they are at a much higher risk of suicide. So this whole idea that you know she was not. Gender is really up for grabs. We need to figure out what you feel like you are in will and will accommodate you is really malpractice and the sad thing is there physicians across the country who say yes okay I will help these kids and I will intervene and an early age with these kids before puberty to help them change gender and reassign their gender and to me this is a travesty. It's an ethical issue. It's a moral issue and it's a medical liability issue. I really believe it's wrong. Dr. Meeker with your experience and from your perspective what is transgender is.

It seems to be an issue in a word returned were hearing more about around every day. But there is a good bit of complexity wrapped up in that, is there not, and that's one of my real pet peeves about us bathroom legislation because our culture are the political, social, higher ups were trying to push an agenda here are trying to make trying to use this term transgender as though it really isn't complex. It's simply a matter of feeling the reason they are having problems is because we are not.

We on the outside are not attending to them while they were not approaching them well were not treating them well. And therein lies the problem that not true. The truth is the problem with a transgender person is this genetically they are fully male or fully female but psychologically they do not feel that weight there is an enormous disconnect there. It seems that it's a psychological disconnect. It's a painful reality for somebody who lives with that disconnect. These children need to be treated very carefully.

They need a lot of TLC and simply slapping a simple answer unto a complex illness is eight incredible disservice to them and I that's where I really believe it. It's malpractice to say oh you think you're transgender. There you are.

Call yourselves transgender. Use this bathroom in life will be well. How dare you do that to somebody who is in this amount of pain will in and we have seen stories of individuals really is going. As for five and six years old who themselves and their parents have come out and will, I may be a biologically appear as a boy, but she is to identify a girl or vice versa. Do children as young as four, five and six have the physical, emotional and psychological capacity even make a choice to identify as transgender in them to understand the complexities of the term referring to surrounding this claim about the now they have feelings for five-year-old has very elementary feelings. They do not have fully developed complex cognitive abilities to to think clearly and thoroughly. They have feelings.

And yes, those feelings can be very strong.

I'm a girl wearing a dress but I don't feel like a girl now at an early age.

These are just very, these are strong feelings can there be something deeper which is hormonal or or a physiologic that if causing them to believe they are the other gender perhaps, but we don't know what what is true is exactly what you're saying is that this is a very complex issue, it could involve hormones it could involve brain chemistry. It could involve situations that could involve life experience, it could involve a relationship issue.

If it's multifaceted and it's very complex but with the child know that I feel this way, or I don't feel this way. So we, as adults, they okay will it help unpack that over time. Let's not rush to something and go okay five-year-old okay seven-year-old you feel like you're this will make you this. I am so intrigued by many letters that I get from parents of a 1516-year-old José Nina my daughter really sleep feel she's a boy she wants to be a boy. I'm scared.

What should I do and I respond back that mother will what else does she know for sure. Nothing she doesn't know what she wants to be when she grows up she doesn't know if what you know what classes she wants to take.

She doesn't know what you want for dinner, but how can you be so sure she's this sure about this one area. We can't be weird were talking about children's psychology here.

What kind of impact does puberty have own gender perception of things about nature from your experience. I am enormous amount enormous amount again on an emotional level IC prepubertal girls who are moving into puberty become very emotional day that they had a field feelings that they feel are beyond their control. For instance, begin to cry for no reason and I'll say I don't understand will be angry for no reason.

And so we do see the physiology at work manifested in the behavior and the feelings of a child always as well. You know they have hormonal changes that are going to change their their moods that a change in other perception of things there to change their perception of other people, and in addition to that, it's going to hormones alone will shift a child's perception of who they are. It's going to shift the perception of their feelings in addition to that they get bodily changes that are going to change their perception of themselves and life around them. So on so many different level.

Their bodies are changing their feelings are changing their thinking is changing their body chemistry is changing all of this culminates in any and a shifting of perspective of who they are and what the world around them is all about. And again. It's very complicated and nobody would look at puberty and Sable. That's a pretty straightforward simple to interrupt that you can't do that sort of like saying we are a one-dimensional person. We are just jeans were just body.

No one, not even a child knows that we seem as the byproducts are the results of introducing children to gender dysphoria, and these kinds of confusing questions about sexuality at such a young age. Well first of all I think that what what what we're seeing is tremendous strong abort confusion in kids that here's where I think the real danger is for the child who's not struggling with gender dysphoria and that is and this is 99.9% of kids in America okay, let's say, Sally is in the third grade and Sally has her little friend Betty who is introduced in her class and Sally and all of her friends. The Betty they see a girl. She looks like a girl but the teacher says she's not a girl called her bill today because Betty doesn't feel like Betty so the child being a child goes with the teacher must be right because the teachers bigger and smarter than I am clearly Betty that I see in front of me. I must be wrong and what I'm assessing. If I see a girl in my mind assesses a girl but my teacher says it's a boy I'm wrong. So now you have 1/3 grade child who doesn't believe he or she can adequately assess their surroundings and and they realize if I can't even tell if a girl is a girl or a boy is a boy and believe what I'm seeing what else can I not get right is the grass green is my mother. My mother is the son. The son, yet they call into question every judgment they make will sing out in so many different petroleum public schools with stories that are being told books that are being read or presented. How can we accomplish these goals of treating children and families who may be promoting these issues with appropriate levels of acceptance and respect, but also understanding that were operating in a culture these days were parents who stand up for privacy and safety of children and what they believe to be right and true are often really vilified by others who are pushing such an aggressive and controversial agenda, but it's really arose. Is it because I think one of the cruelest things you can do it, or child, a transgender child who already feels confused who already has a poor self-esteem who is already struggling on so many different levels. The cruelest thing you can do that child is shyness spotlight on day go now to the bathroom you want.

I think the most compassionate thing that that any of us can do is to protect all children. What we should be advocating for if you really want to help a transgendered child have them have a bathroom that is separate. That is like we have in airports it says family bathroom. Anybody can use it.

Do not force a child to feels like a girl, but really is a boy to use the girls bathroom and vice versa.

That makes a mockery of that child. It puts us spotlight and it's cruel well that's great advice Dr. Meeker.

This is been a fascinating discussion and like so much for being with us on family policy matters and for your great work working on behalf of children and families across our nation. Thank you so much family policy matters. The production of NZ family to listen to our radio show online, and for more valuable resources and information about issues important to families in North Carolina go to our website and see family.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook