The hottest issue in bioethics at the moment is paediatric gender medicine. Is it ethical for doctors to help children affirm their chosen gender identity? Is it ethical for doctors to suppress puberty in gender dysphoric children? Is it ethical for doctors to sterilize young males with estrogen and females with testosterone so that they can physically mimic the opposite sex? Is it ethical for doctors to surgically remove the breasts of girls under 18?

Gender-affirming doctors answer Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes to these questions. Dr Jack Turban, of the University of California, San Francisco, one of the leading defenders of trans medicine for children, has this to say:

“pubertal suppression can be reversed”

 “access to pubertal suppression, when indicated for gender dysphoria, [is linked] to improved mental health outcomes”

 “there may be instances in which providers may consider starting [gender-affirming hormones] as early as age 13”

 "gender-affirming hormones … improve mental health for adolescents with gender dysphoria”

 “The vast majority of gender-affirming surgeries are not considered until adulthood. The most notable exception to this is masculinizing top surgery for trans masculine and nonbinary adolescents (i.e., mastectomies).”