11-Year-Old Given Hormone Therapy So He Can Choose Gender Causes Controversy

A same-sex couple has decided to give their 11-year-old son hormone blockers to stop the onset of the beginnings of puberty because they want to give him more time to decide if he wants to be a girl or a boy.

Tommy’s parents argue that from the earliest point in his life, he has insisted that he is a girl.

Psychiatrist Keith Ablow and Physician Dr. Marty Makary joined America’s Newsroom to weigh in on the psychological and physical implications of the decision.

Ablow asserted that a complete psychological evaluation should be given not only to the boy, but also to the two women raising him to ensure that physiological forces aren’t at play in making him say that he feels as though he’s a girl. Ablow contended that “We need to do away with stigma and look at this as scientists and really understand what’s happening.”

Physician Dr. Marty Makary said that his concern is that when children are medicated, their physiology changes. Makary said, “Anytime you change the natural physiology of a kid that’s about to undergo puberty, there’s going to be some health consequences.”

Ablow concluded the doctors and parents need some guidance on handling situations such as these, saying, “It’s time for the President’s Commission on Bioethical Concerns, just as with stem cells to get involved here, summon the best minds from around the world to look at this issue because the theory that people are born into the wrong bodies needs to be looked at scientifically. We need guidelines here for how to behave toward those young kids, particularly who are at risk to be misinterpreted.”