Any conversation centering around gender identity tends to be convoluted, highly multifaceted, and incredibly emotionally charged. All of this is arguably (though unfairly) why these kinds of talks have been pushed to the back burner and not given the due consideration and attention that it deserves for so long.

All of that being said, if a recent report from the #Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is to be believed, nearly 2% of the population of high school students in the country at the moment identify as transgender. In addition to this, the study strongly suggests that this number is highly likely to grow in the near future.

What all of this essentially translates to is that we can’t push certain difficult discussions to a later date anymore, if the future of the young is to be properly fostered and secured. We have to start critically addressing the many crucial issues that the transgender community is currently managing and find viable and workable solutions to these affairs.

Along these lines, one of the most pressing matters that demand immediate attention is what to do with minors and children who are struggling with #genderdysphoria and may be transgender. It has been established that how many of these individuals turn out in the end is dependent on whether or not they get the access to gender-affirming medical care.

If it’s the general health and well-being of the minors in question, then, without a doubt, the very best thing that can be done here is to make sure that these young adults have unfettered access to all the gender-affirming medical treatment that they could possibly require and/or demand.

Now, of the hundreds of transgender students that the CDC interviewed in its study, 27% of them didn’t feel safe to be what they identified as in the school environment. In addition to this, 35% were constantly bullied in school while yet another 35% had attempted to take their own lives a year prior.

This highlights just how challenging it is for minors to be transgender, even today. The transgender community has come to receive a considerable amount of support from the general populace over the past few years. However, there is still a long road ahead.

Now, as anyone would rationally expect, these challenges are much more difficult to endure when you have to go it all on your own and without the support you feel that you need if you’re a child.

What most people fail to realize is that, even though we are talking about minors, it does not mean they don't know what is best for them. They may be young, but this should take nothing away from the fact that they feel the way that they do. This is because, contrary to public opinion, gender dysphoria isn’t just some “phase”. 

Gender-affirming medical care for minors mustn’t be banned because many studies continue to show that most of these treatments aren’t luxuries – they are necessities.

Why should anyone deny a minor the right to their feelings?

Why should anyone just naturally assume that they know better, simply because they’re older?

How is it right to consider taking away the rights of an individual to treatment that’s essential to their well-being?

What’s more, there are actually severe consequences when minors are denied or delayed gender-affirming medical treatments.

As Dr. Jane Chang, an associate professor of clinical pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine so eloquently put it, “Gender-affirming care, at its most basic level, is about validating and supporting children and loving them for who they are as they explore their gender identity. Gender-affirming care is evidence-based and done in a developmentally appropriate manner as we give patients and families the space to express the youth’s individual gender experience and journey.”

What happens when care is denied? Many minors end up developing mental health problems like moodiness, depression, eating disorders, self-harm, suicide, and more, all of which could’ve been easily avoided if receiving the care that they need. 

Dr. Chang confirms this by adding that, “Data also supports that transgender and gender-diverse youth have better mental health outcomes when they have the support of their family, including the use of their chosen name and pronouns at home. We always tell families we cannot predict the future, but we know that data and research show that children who are supported by their families and affirmed in their gender identity have better outcomes in terms of depression, anxiety, and suicide.”

To that end, banning gender-affirming medical care is a mistake that mustn’t be allowed to happen. It’s literally as simple as that.