Gender transitioning of minors on the parliamentary agenda
Minister of Health Sophie Löhde dodges questions about her own opinion and the rationale for the practice
A resolution to stop “gender-affirming care” for minors (DK) is coming to the floor of Parliament next month. Similar bills are appearing in Republican-controlled state legislatures in the US, where they are often described in the mainstream media as “anti-trans” or an attack on “LGBT rights,” comparable to bans on abortion.
The difference is that in Denmark the leading driver of the initiative is itself an LGBT organization, the Danish Rainbow Council (Danske Regnbueråd), which was formed primarily for this very purpose. I wrote last December about its efforts to counter transgender activism (DK) and to promote science and women’s rights.
In January, the Council wrote to all the recently elected MPs, asking them to hear its concerns about this issue. Only one party responded, the New Right. Yes, the one that I made fun of only last week for its internal conflicts and its trash-tweeting board member. The party has now sponsored a bill that would ban puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgery for persons under 18 years old.
Strange bedfellows indeed
Not a single member of the centrist governing parties or the left-wing Oppositions parties accepted the Council’s invitation. Most members of the Council probably disagree with much of the New Right’s platform on topics such as immigration and tax cuts, but as they write on their website, “In politics, one’s friends are those who will fight to carry out the things one fights for.” They add that its own board members and association members span the entire political spectrum, as do many other citizens who are aware of the problem and support its position.
Bill B 62 , submitted on 14 March by the three remaining members of the New Right, reads as follows: “Proposal for parliamentary decision on the prohibition of surgical or medical gender-transitioning treatment (kønsskiftbehandling) of children under 18 years old.” The ban would take effect by the end of 2023. The sponsors’ remarks accompanying the proposal include many of the arguments that the Council has been publicizing since its founding (and can be found in greater detail on the New Right’s website (DK)):
The risks of erroneous diagnosis are great.
Some 80 percent of children with gender dysphoria grow out of it after puberty.
The treatments are irreversible.
Several countries, including Sweden, Finland, and the UK, have stopped medical transitioning for minors because of insufficient evidence of its necessity and benefits.
The head of the Sexology Clinic at Denmark’s Rigshospital has admitted that she doesn’t know whether the treatment is beneficial or what its long-term effects are.
The alternative approach of “watchful waiting,” consisting of cognitive-behavioral therapy and other forms of psychotherapy, has proven successful in helping children overcome gender dysphoria after puberty.
Preliminary skirmish
On 11 April, Parliament’s Health Committee held a public hearing at which Minister of Health Sophie Löhde from the Liberal Party was questioned on the existing policy. You can watch the hearing on ft.dk (DK) (starts at 1:12). The two designated questioners from the Opposition were not from the New Right but rather the Danish People’s Party. This was a curious happenstance, since both of them—Mette Thiesen and Mikkel Bjørn—had recently resigned from the New Right.
In any case, they did a creditable job of elaborating on the points listed above and pressing Löhde to give her opinion of the current practice, which had begun when she was also Minister of Health in 2015. Refusing to answer directly, Löhde maintained repeatedly that she believed the matter is best left to medical professionals’ evaluation of specific cases on the basis of medical knowledge.
She pointed out that the treatment, which she referred to as “healthcare help” (sundhedsfaglig hjælp) has not involved surgery, that after evaluation the number of referrals for treatment has fallen, and that the Health Authority and Clinic stay abreast of research both in Denmark and abroad.
Politics as usual
The exchanges devolved into bickering about the trend in treatment referrals, policies in other countries, and suicide rates before and after treatment. Showing her frustration, Thiesen protested that these are “medical experiments on children” with irreversible effects and without evidence of benefits. But it was clear that Löhde wouldn’t budge from “the government’s position.” If she had, it might have been seen as an admission that the policy had been mistaken, if not irresponsible.
The Danish Rainbow Council recognizes that the support of the SVM government, which holds a narrow parliamentary majority, is necessary for the passage of the bill. It says there are reports of internal disagreement in the governing coalition and the left-wing parties and argues that child welfare should transcend party politics. It looks forward to the debate and the vote in Parliament, when every MP will need to take a position on the issue. But if the proceedings of the hearing are any indication, the decision will follow party lines and defend the status quo.
The usual qualification
As I wrote at the end of my earlier post on this subject:
To be clear, I am absolutely opposed to discrimination of persons based on gender identification, and in favor of legal protections and programs to support trans people and especially young people with gender dysphoria. I want to warn against the kind of biology denialism and zealotry that I believe is hurting American children and exacerbating the nasty culture wars (for a sample, see the Reality’s Last Stand and Year Zero Substacks). And for a realistic approach to transgender inclusion, see the Danish Sports Confederation’s guidelines.
PS. Substack has launched its new Notes feature, which has the potential to be Twitter minus the hate. Join in here.