The Myth of Saving Lives: A Critical Look at Gender Transition Claims
A recent ABC News article commended Dr. Michelle Telfer for “saving the lives of hundreds, even thousands of children without ever picking up a scalpel or treating a disease.” This bold claim warrants scrutiny, especially when considering the long-term outcomes of gender transition as documented in recent European studies.
What Does the Research Say?
Here is a brief summary of five notable studies that shed light on the outcomes associated with gender transition:
1. Amsterdam Cohort of Gender Dysphoria Study (1972–2017)
o Key Finding: While suicide risk in transgender individuals is higher than in the general population, this risk remains consistent across all stages of transition. The study noted no significant increase in suicide risk over time, and in some cases, a decrease in trans women.
2. Long-Term Follow-Up of Transsexual Persons in Sweden (1973–2023)
o Key Finding: Individuals who underwent sex reassignment surgery (SRS) exhibited substantially higher risks of mortality, suicidal behavior, and psychiatric conditions compared to the general population.
3. Suicide Mortality Among Adolescents in Finland (1996–2019)
o Key Finding: Gender dysphoria alone did not predict mortality or suicide among adolescents referred to gender identity clinics. Psychiatric comorbidities were the primary predictors of mortality, and medical gender reassignment did not mitigate suicide risk.
4. Mortality Among Transgender Adults in the UK (JAMA, 2023)
o Key Finding: Transgender individuals faced a 34–75% increased overall mortality risk compared to cisgender individuals.
5. Somatic Morbidity and Cause of Death in Denmark (1978–2010)
o Key Finding: Among individuals who underwent SRS, somatic morbidity increased from 19.1% pre-surgery to 23.2% post-surgery, with a mortality rate of 9.6%. The average age at death was 53.5 years.
Challenging the Narrative
If these studies are valid, the assertion that medical transition “saves lives” is, at best, unsubstantiated. The data suggest a different reality: those who transition often face elevated suicide risks, persistent mental health challenges, and reduced life expectancy.
The notion that transition unequivocally prevents suicide and "saves lives" is not supported by evidence from these peer-reviewed studies.
A Question of Ethics
While adults may choose to undergo gender transition, applying these interventions to children raises serious ethical concerns. Treatments often include off-label use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and irreversible surgeries, all for a condition diagnosed as a mental health disorder (gender dysphoria) in the DSM-5.
History provides a cautionary tale with the now-discredited practice of frontal lobotomies—another invasive intervention once considered a solution to mental health conditions.
Conclusion
The complexity of gender dysphoria and the risks associated with transition demand a careful, evidence-based approach. To claim that transition unequivocally “saves lives,” particularly in children, ignores substantial evidence to the contrary and undermines the need for robust, ethical medical practices.
The problem with the use of suicidality as an endpoint in assessing the efficacy of the affirmative model is that it relies on the stated intention of the patient. It appears that most of these patients come to clinics having learnt from the internet that the best way to convince their parents and the doctor to consent to give them the puberty blockers is to threaten suicide or to at least say they harbour suicidal thoughts.
Once they have succeed in getting the treatment they obviously will then say initially that those thoughts have gone.
It is only with long term follow up that we get the true picture.
And it appears from Dr Keane’s excellent summary that in fact long term follow up shows no reduction but in fact an increase in suicidality.
The Myth of Saving Lives: A Critical Look at Gender Transition Claims
A recent ABC News article commended Dr. Michelle Telfer for “saving the lives of hundreds, even thousands of children without ever picking up a scalpel or treating a disease.” This bold claim warrants scrutiny, especially when considering the long-term outcomes of gender transition as documented in recent European studies.
What Does the Research Say?
Here is a brief summary of five notable studies that shed light on the outcomes associated with gender transition:
1. Amsterdam Cohort of Gender Dysphoria Study (1972–2017)
o Key Finding: While suicide risk in transgender individuals is higher than in the general population, this risk remains consistent across all stages of transition. The study noted no significant increase in suicide risk over time, and in some cases, a decrease in trans women.
2. Long-Term Follow-Up of Transsexual Persons in Sweden (1973–2023)
o Key Finding: Individuals who underwent sex reassignment surgery (SRS) exhibited substantially higher risks of mortality, suicidal behavior, and psychiatric conditions compared to the general population.
3. Suicide Mortality Among Adolescents in Finland (1996–2019)
o Key Finding: Gender dysphoria alone did not predict mortality or suicide among adolescents referred to gender identity clinics. Psychiatric comorbidities were the primary predictors of mortality, and medical gender reassignment did not mitigate suicide risk.
4. Mortality Among Transgender Adults in the UK (JAMA, 2023)
o Key Finding: Transgender individuals faced a 34–75% increased overall mortality risk compared to cisgender individuals.
5. Somatic Morbidity and Cause of Death in Denmark (1978–2010)
o Key Finding: Among individuals who underwent SRS, somatic morbidity increased from 19.1% pre-surgery to 23.2% post-surgery, with a mortality rate of 9.6%. The average age at death was 53.5 years.
Challenging the Narrative
If these studies are valid, the assertion that medical transition “saves lives” is, at best, unsubstantiated. The data suggest a different reality: those who transition often face elevated suicide risks, persistent mental health challenges, and reduced life expectancy.
The notion that transition unequivocally prevents suicide and "saves lives" is not supported by evidence from these peer-reviewed studies.
A Question of Ethics
While adults may choose to undergo gender transition, applying these interventions to children raises serious ethical concerns. Treatments often include off-label use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and irreversible surgeries, all for a condition diagnosed as a mental health disorder (gender dysphoria) in the DSM-5.
History provides a cautionary tale with the now-discredited practice of frontal lobotomies—another invasive intervention once considered a solution to mental health conditions.
Conclusion
The complexity of gender dysphoria and the risks associated with transition demand a careful, evidence-based approach. To claim that transition unequivocally “saves lives,” particularly in children, ignores substantial evidence to the contrary and undermines the need for robust, ethical medical practices.
The problem with the use of suicidality as an endpoint in assessing the efficacy of the affirmative model is that it relies on the stated intention of the patient. It appears that most of these patients come to clinics having learnt from the internet that the best way to convince their parents and the doctor to consent to give them the puberty blockers is to threaten suicide or to at least say they harbour suicidal thoughts.
Once they have succeed in getting the treatment they obviously will then say initially that those thoughts have gone.
It is only with long term follow up that we get the true picture.
And it appears from Dr Keane’s excellent summary that in fact long term follow up shows no reduction but in fact an increase in suicidality.
Yes, it’s a vicious cycle in which these kids are constantly being told they are suicidal.