DOCTORS ' LOUNGE sponsor ’ s prejudices matter . You don ’ t .” Its language is very broad :
“ Create new sections of KRS Chapter 344 to define terms ; prohibit discrimination against medical care providers who decline to perform procedures that violate their conscience ; grant providers the right not to participate in or pay for services that violate their conscience ; exempt providers from liability for exercising these rights ; establish a civil cause of action for persons injured by violations of these provisions .” 5
Four state senators have introduced SB 106 , echoing multiple southern states ’ efforts to prevent transgendered youth from participating in sports with their self-identified sex . It too sits in the Committee on Committees . 6
The Kentucky House has piled on with several bills , including the multiply-sponsored HB 336 , which essentially prohibits medical care to transgender youth , coupled with civil protections for those who do so . This bill was still languishing in the Committee on Committees as of March :
“ Create a new section of KRS Chapter 438 to prohibit medical professionals from performing surgeries or prescribing medications to a minor with the intent to alter the sex the child was assigned at birth and create a civil cause of action for violations ; create a new section of KRS Chapter 405 regarding parental rights in the area of gender identity or gender dysphoria ; create a new section of KRS Chapter 61 to create employee protections for public employees who express opinions regarding gender identity or gender dysphoria .” 6
What is most hurtful about all of this is the willingness of adults to harm children , over and over , for what is essentially a genetic abnormality occurring during development ( a variant genotype for a gene called CYP17 ) or other variants of genes relating to failure of the brain to properly masculinize , or not . 7 , 8 , 9 Multiple groups are studying this phenomenon , including Dr . Theisen et al , quoted below .
“ Twenty-one variants in 19 genes have been found in estrogen signaling pathways of the brain critical to establishing whether the brain is masculine or feminine ,” says Dr . J . Graham Theisen , obstetrician / gynecologist and National Institutes of Health Women ’ s Reproductive Health Research Scholar at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University . “ Basically -- and perhaps counterintuitively -- these genes are primarily involved in estrogen ’ s critical sprinkling of the brain right before or after birth , which is essential to masculinization of the brain . They are experiencing dysphoria because the gender they feel on the inside does not match their external sex ,” Theisen says . “ Once someone has a male or female brain , they have it and you are not going to change it . The goal of treatments like hormone therapy and surgery is to help their body more closely match where their brain already is .”
Imagine your teen years again : even simple things like the “ right ” jeans caused angst , not to mention the turmoil of unrequited love or even , ugh , pimples . Imagine being hated and feared for what your brain tells you is normal , even though your body , and the world around you , says is weird and wrong and worse . These legislators are trying to force their definitions of “ right ” down the throats of the innocent who are born carrying the cross of genetic difference . Everyone like them nationwide would do well to remember that man who famously carried the cross , who welcomed all to experience God ’ s love , just as they were : no one has to change just to feel grace .
God ’ s Love We Deliver goes to all in need , even to straight white people who are afraid of anybody and everybody not conforming to their worlds . Now that ’ s grace in action .
References :
1 https :// news . gallup . com / poll / 329708 / lgbt-identification-rises-latest-estimate . aspx , Jeffrey M Jones , 2 / 24 / 21
2 https :// www . census . gov / library / visualizations / 2019 / comm / living-together-same-sex . html . United States Census data , published 11 19 19 .
3 https :// www . nytimes . com / 2017 / 02 / 23 / us / transgender-teenagers-how-many . html ? searchResultPosition = 10 Niraj Chokshi
4 https :// pediatrics . aappublications . org / content / 142 / 4 / e20174218 Russell B Toomey et al
5 https :// secure . kentucky . gov / billwatch / BillTrack . aspx
6 https :// www . aclu . org / legislation-affecting-lgbt-rights-across-country
7 https :// www . sciencedaily . com / releases / 2020 / 02 / 200205084203 . htm Medical College of GA
8
Boucher FJO , Chinnah TI . Gender Dysphoria : A Review Investigating the Relationship Between Genetic Influences and Brain Development . Adolesc Health Med Ther . 2020 ; 11:89-99 . Published 2020 Aug 5 . doi : 10.2147 / AHMT . S259168
9
Foreman M , Hare L , York K , Balakrishnan K , Sánchez FJ , Harte F , Erasmus J , Vilain E , Harley VR . Genetic Link Between Gender Dysphoria and Sex Hormone Signaling . J Clin Endocrinol Metab . 2019 Feb 1 ; 104 ( 2 ): 390-396 . doi : 10.1210 / jc . 2018-01105 . Erratum in : J Clin Endocrinol Metab . 2020 Jan 1 ; 105 ( 1 ): PMID : 30247609 .
Dr . Barry is an internist and Associate Professor of Medicine ( Gratis Faculty ) at the University of Louisville School of Medicine , currently taking a six-month sabbatical .
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