Are Parents of Transgender Kids Guilty of Child abuse?
Are Parents of Transgender Kids Guilty of Child abuse?
It is innately normal for parents to take care of their kids in the most tender way possible. Parents ensure that children access necessities such as clothing, food, and shelter. Most significantly, parents accept, appreciate, and love their children. All children deserve parental love regardless of their philosophical status. Recently, several authorities have accused parents with transgender kids of abuse for providing them with transgender-affirming care. It is worth noting that gender-affirming care is not child abuse; instead, it is healthcare.
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Parents know what is best for their children. Gender-affirming care is one of the ways many parents with transgender children have adopted to help their children live fulfilling lives like any other child. However, lawmakers have been incriminating such parents claiming to abuse their children. Greg Abbott, a republican governor, filed a lawsuit to investigate parents who provide gender-affirming care to their children (Gibson). Worse still, over twenty states in the United States have already tabled bills to restrict gender-affirmative care access (Kraschel et al., 1) for transgender children. Criminalizing gender-affirmative care could adversely affect families because parents could end up in jail, and the authorities might take children away from their families. Those against gender affirmative care posit that children are too young to make life-changing decisions that involve their bodies.
However, gender affirmative care is not a criminal offense and is far from child abuse. The Office of Popular Affairs (1) explains that gender-affirmative care for transgender children is critical because it allows them to focus on social transitions. Also, gender-affirmative care is vital because it instills confidence in transgender children. The Office of Popular Affairs(1) adds that transgender care aligns physical traits with one gender, thus helping individuals improve their mental health. Gender-affirmative care encompasses hormonal therapy, speech modification, behavioral modifications, surgery, and facial or hair removal.
Figure: Gender-Affirmative Care increases mental health. Courtesy, Science News
Transgender children deserve parental support for transitioning from one gender to another. Lack of parental consent can heighten mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal thoughts( Office of Popular Affairs, 1). Also, a lack of parental support can promote homelessness for their children and other adverse outcomes. However, new law proposals, especially in Texas, put parents in limbo, not knowing whether to seek medical interventions for their children or face jail terms for violating children’s rights. The United States Constitution is not clear on matters of gender affirmative, thus putting parents, health care providers, and lawmakers at loggerheads.
Laws incriminating parents providing gender-affirmative care are increasingly instilling fear in families, with parents and transgender youths contemplating relocating to safer states. Bills proposing the illegalization of affirmative care will break families and could threaten the health and well-being of transgender youths and children (Martin et al., 581). Many people in the United States already stigmatize families with transgender members, and charging parents with transgender kids for providing gender-affirmative care adds insult to injury.
Conclusion
Patents must ensure their kids grow up in an environment that supports their physical and psychological development. Parents with transgender children in the United States are going through thick and thin to seek gender-affirmative care. Many opposers of gender affirmative care have tabled bills in parliament to incriminate them for child abuse. However, parents with transgender children are not guilty because gender-affirmative care is not criminal and helps children grow like any other children. Gender-affirmative helps transgender youths and children evade mental health issues.
Works Cited
Gibson, Caitlin. “Dreading the Knock at the Door: Parents of Trans Kids in Texas Are Terrified for Their Families.” Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2022, www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/03/17/texas-trans-child-abuse-investigations/.
Kraschel, Katherine L., et al. “Legislation Restricting Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Youth: Politics Eclipse Healthcare.” Cell Reports Medicine, vol. 3, no. 8, Aug. 2022, p. 100719, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100719.
Martin, Simona, et al. “Criminalization of Gender-Affirming Care — Interfering with Essential Treatment for Transgender Children and Adolescents.” New England Journal of Medicine, May 2021, https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmp2106314.
Office of Population Affairs. Gender-Affirming Care and Young People. 2022, opa.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2022-03/gender-affirming-care-young-people-march-2022.pdf .