Ban Child Sex-Change in Canada
Dear Provincial & Territorial Premiers, Prime Minister Trudeau and Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre:
I urgently call on you to follow the UK's lead and take steps to ban the practice of child sex-change.
Gender dysphoric children who toy with the idea of “transitioning” to the opposite sex should not be permitted to undergo gender reassignment surgery or cross-sex hormone and puberty-blocking therapy. Child sex-change is harmful, misguided, and immoral.
The government of the United Kingdom has announced its intention to ban “genital reconstructive surgery” for all youth under age 18, and the only children's sex-change clinic in England and Wales closed permanently in March of 2024. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss has stated: “I believe strongly that adults should have the freedom to lead their lives as they see fit, but I think it’s very important that while people are still developing their decision-making capabilities that we protect them from making irreversible decisions.”
Banning child sex-change is a common sense proposal that puts the health and well-being of children first. While some transgender lobbyists and their political allies may gripe over such a ban, they do not have the support of science or reason.
Science has proven the health risks of child sex-change. Gender reassignment surgeries result in the mutilation or amputation of completely healthy and functioning body parts through mastectomy (breast removal), hysterectomy (uterus removal), or penectomy (penis removal). Puberty suppression and cross-sex hormone therapy alters normal biological development, producing permanent sterility (inability to have offspring), and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, sexual dysfunction, and other conditions. The elevated risk of mental illness and suicidal ideation is also well documented among children who “transition” via medical intervention. Those who undergo gender reassignment surgery are many times more likely to commit suicide than non-transgender individuals.
According to the American College of Pediatricians, “The treatment of GD [gender dysphoria] in childhood with hormones effectively amounts to mass experimentation on, and sterilization of, youth who are cognitively incapable of providing informed consent. There is a serious ethical problem with allowing irreversible, life-changing procedures to be performed on minors who are too young to give valid consent themselves; adolescents cannot understand the magnitude of such decisions.”
Furthermore, statistics show a high rate of desistance among transgender children. Up to 98 per cent of children who identify as transgender come to accept their true biological sex by the time they reach adulthood. In the normal course of their development, if left without medical sex-change intervention, most of these children become quite happy in the body God gave them. These children have the right to be spared from the negative long-term consequences of permanent gender reassignment.
There are many psychological and social factors that might lead a child to question his or her gender and seek to “transition”. Some experts have reported a phenomenon known as “rapid-onset gender dysphoria”, which has many children choosing to “transition” as a fad. The UK alone saw a 4,000 per cent increase in children seeking to transition in 2018, which has alarmed many health care professionals. Fads are temporary, and they should not be treated with permanent, irreversible medical procedures.
Many parents are also upset about the erosion of their rights concerning their own children. Some children are bypassing their parents and turning to local transgender activists in schools and community organizations, who are directing them to pursue sex-change on their own. At the same time, reparative therapists, who are trained to help children accept their biological identity, have been criminalized under a so-called “conversion therapy” ban in Canada. This is making it impossible for parents to find help.
The fact is that children are very impressionable and changeable. As they develop and mature, they outgrow old tastes, interests, and thought-patterns. We, as a country, need to safeguard our children during this natural growth process and ensure they are protected from all harm – including the harm caused by their own childishness and immaturity. This is why we do not allow children to purchase alcohol or marijuana.
Therefore, I urge you to bring forward legislation to ban the harmful and immoral practice of child sex-change as soon as possible. Canada needs to follow the prudent example of the UK in prioritizing the health and well-being of our children.
Our children are our future. Please protect them.
Sincerely,
[The Undersigned]
A printable version of this petition is available here: PDF