Distributed messages – almost identical content: “In Canada, a pediatric clinic offers gender reassignment services for newborns. “High-class” pediatricians are ready to mutilate the baby due to the parents’ unhealthy desire: prescribe puberty blockers or inject hormones”.
It is said that these procedures are offered by a Toronto-based company „Thrive Kids Clinic“.
The clinic’s website states that it is classified as an LGBTQ+ safe space.
“A safer space is a supportive, non-threatening environment where all participants can feel comfortable and share experiences without fear of discrimination or repression. (…) By acknowledging the experience of each person in the room, we hope to create the safest possible environment. Creating a safer space is especially important when dealing with health issues, which can be a sensitive area for people related to deeply personal or traumatic experiences.” – it is announced on the website.
These sites are saved on the Internet in copies there is no information about alleged gender reassignment surgeries being performed on babies.
“We are committed to providing exceptional healthcare for children of all ages and offer services such as newborn and toddler care, general pediatric consultations, pediatric screening and immunizations, newborn circumcision and tongue-tie procedures,” – stated on the website.
Unlawful lying
A message that has been widely circulated on social media states that it is possible to change the gender of babies or even newborns in Canada, but this is against the laws in force in the country.
In different areas of the country different ones apply rules from when special hormone therapy can be prescribed to minors.
Puberty arrest drugs give children more time to decide whether they want to transition to another gender and ease the feeling that their bodies are changing in the wrong direction.
Alexander Grey/Unsplash photo/Teen
In Journal of the Canadian Medical Association a published review recommended that, under the now widely practiced approach to gender reassignment, hormone blockers should not be prescribed before a certain stage of puberty, which begins on average at 10.5 years for girls and 11.5 years for boys.
According to the health care standards set by the country, to allow sex reassignment surgery, the person must be of legal age. Therefore, the required age for genital reconstruction surgery is 18 years, and for torso masculinization surgery (mastectomy) – 16 years.
Thus, the claims that clinics operating in the country could change the sex of babies are not true.
123RF.com photo/Sad teenager
Transgender and intersex
A transgender person is a person who does not identify with their biological sex, the gender that they were “given” by their genes, which is indicated by their appearance and genitalia. This concept can cover many categories, and non-identification can manifest itself in many ways, from the desire to wear clothes typical of the other gender to the desire to change gender.
A transgender person can express their gender identity in different ways.
Vida Press photo/Transgender actor Elliot Page
In order to make the physical changes permanent, surgery and hormone therapy may be chosen.
This can take several years and does not always involve a complete gender reassignment. Gender identity can also be expressed through clothing and cosmetics (called “cross-dressing” or “transvestism”).
Read more: 15min explains: Who are transgender people and what do they want?
Depending on what the baby’s genitals are, it is assigned one or another gender, usually female or male.
“Third gender” refers to individuals who cannot be assigned to either gender in the binary division of women and men.
123RF.com photo/Chromosomes
Each person inherits sex-linked chromosomes from their parents.
Men have XY chromosomes, women have XX. Intersex people can have a mixture of chromosomes, such as XXY. Or some of their cells are XY and some are XX. Alternatively, they may have only one X chromosome (XO). Other combinations may occur.
Read more: Intersex: When a child is born neither a boy nor a girl and their gender is decided by a doctor
An intersex person may have ovarian and testicular tissue (ovotestes). For example, one may have genitalia that are associated with being assigned male at birth, such as a penis. At the same time, may have internal genital anatomy or increased levels of female hormones, such as estrogen.
It is assumed that about 1-2 percent of such children are born (to determine the number, professors from Brown University in the USA are often referred to Anne Fausto-Sterling completed studythat the total number of intersex people in the world is approximately 1.7 percent), sometimes gender differences become apparent only after the child grows up.
Vida Press photo/Transsexuality
Make a decision – when you reach the right age
In the past, intersex children underwent surgery to match their genitalia to the gender they were assigned at birth, or to remove reproductive anatomy (such as gonadal tissue) that did not match their assigned gender.
These operations were often performed before the child was two years old.
Recently, intersex people and their advocates have spoken out against such surgeries, calling them unnecessary.
It says parents should let their children decide for themselves whether they want surgery or treatment when they are old enough to give informed consent.
Many organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, support the right of intersex people to make decisions about their bodies when they are old enough to make such decisions.
Shutterstock photo/Operation
15min verdict: lie. Canada does not perform gender reassignment surgery on babies, nor does it prescribe anti-puberty drugs.
The publication was prepared in 15 minutes in partnership with Metawhich aims to stop the spread of misleading news on the social network. More about the program and its rules – here.
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2024-08-13 00:06:34