Marci L. Bowers: 'The field of transgender medicine is evolving rapidly, but it is every bit as objective- and outcome-driven as any other specialty. Allow the remaining scientific questions to be answered by knowledgeable researchers.'
By Marci L. Bowers | For The New York TimesThis year more than 350 anti-transgender bills have been introduced in state legislatures, pushing discussion about treatment for trans and gender-diverse patients further into the national spotlight. It isn’t hard to surmise that politically convenient doubts about the validity of trans identities have come to take the form of prohibitions against trans health care.
Although gender diversity has existed for centuries, medical treatment of gender dysphoria — the diagnosis for those who experience discomfort when their gender identities do not match their sex assigned at birth — developed as transgender people became increasingly visible in the late 20th century. In 1979, a group of trans-knowledgeable professionals, surgeons and mental health experts met to establish standards for the health care needs of transgender patients.
When considering the growing body of overwhelmingly positive data about adult transgender treatment, it makes sense that earlier intervention, which can lessen the permanent effects of puberty, would make gender transition easier for teenagers. Puberty blockers had been used with minimal concern about side effects since the 1980s. They have been approved by the F.D.A. to treat endometriosis, prostate cancer and precocious puberty.
As is the case for any recommended treatment in medicine, set the bar too high and patients are left untreated. Set the bar too low and patients are treated unnecessarily or inaccurately. For transgender and gender-diverse patients, setting the bar too low would equate to allowing hormones or surgery with little evaluation.
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