A new study is calling for Canada to reconsider its stance on gender-affirming treatments, asking the country to “protect our youngest and most vulnerable patients.”
The Aristotle Foundation, a public policy think tank, alleges that the recent exponential number of children receiving transgender medical care is likely closer linked to social contagion, instead of the theory that gender is a social construct.
“The wide acceptance of this belief system has coincided with a substantial increase in the number of children receiving transgender medical care,” reads the study. “Between 2017 and 2021, the number of children known to be on puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones more than doubled. During the same period, the number of children diagnosed with gender dysphoria tripled.”
In response to concerns that the medical industry “allows such ideology to compete with or even usurp the scientific method as a guide to research and medical practice,” the foundation conducted a study of how gender affirming care is dealt with in the U.S. and Europe for contrast.
The Aristotle Foundation found that while Western European countries generally share the same values as Canada, this is one area where they begin to diverge.
While Canada and the United States are the “most permissive countries” when it comes to the legal and medical gender transition of children, most European countries have reversed their stances on gender-changing treatments.
For example, the majority of Canadian provinces do not have any age restrictions on puberty blockers as long as there’s parental consent, whereas in Scotland they are banned until the age of 18 regardless and were banned completely in England earlier this year.
“The only other country to come close is France, yet unlike North America, France’s medical authorities have recognized the uncertainties involved in transgender medical care for children and have urged “great caution” in its use,” reads the study.
Roy Eappen, who co-authored the study appeared on The Andrew Lawton Show to further discuss its results, and what they might mean for Canadian policy going forward.
Eappen said that 22 of the U.S. states now have legislation in place to pull back on the issue, while in Canada, Alberta and Nova Scotia remain the only provinces with some restrictions in place around puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
“In many European countries, most notably the United Kingdom, which has a system of healthcare very similar to our own, puberty blockers are basically banned except for research purposes,” said Eappen on The Andrew Lawton Show on Monday.
Eappen said that while it was the Tory government that implemented the ban, it has since been upheld by the newly elected Labour Party government.
Bans have also been implemented in Scotland, Finland and Sweden.
A recent challenge by a trans activist group against the ban was brought before the U.K.’s High Court, however the ban was ultimately ruled to be lawful earlier this week.
“The evidence for that is (ruling) was the Cass Review, which was a four year review of the literature and a series of systematic reviews by Dr. Cass who was the former head of the Royal College of Pediatricians,” said Eappen. “I think that’s pretty much a game changer in many ways.”
Eappen explained that puberty blockers stop the biological process of puberty until it has stopped completely, which can lead to health complications around fertility and bone density later on.
While there is much speculation about whether these gender-changing treatments can be later reversed, Eappen thinks it’s best to err on the side of caution.
“Puberty is an extremely complex process with many, many reactions. We’re not even sure what all the reactions are,” he said. “I think we need to do a lot more studies before we can say that these are safe and reversible. I think the opposite is probably the case.”
Eappen went on to say that Canada has done far fewer systematic reviews than European countries.