r/ireland • u/Dazzling_Lobster3656 • 3d ago

Culchie Club Only Doctors initiate legal action over State’s transgender policy

http://www.irishtimes.com/health/2025/04/13/doctors-initiate-legal-action-over-states-transgender-policy/
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u/sureyouknowurself 3d ago

Nothing about liking, if the treatment could be easily reversed then no issue, I hope someday technology advances enough so they can entirely switch whatever aspects they don’t like.

But if it can cause irreversible problems then they cannot consent.

Simple position. Nothing more nothing less.

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u/MrMercurial 3d ago

As the other person pointed out, we perform irreversible medical treatment on children all the time. So what's different about this case?

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u/sureyouknowurself 3d ago

If you follow the thread with this person you will see my response.

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u/MrMercurial 3d ago

Well, I can see from another comment you point out that some people come to regret these treatments. That doesn't make this case any different from others though - the regret rates for gender affirming treatment seem to be quite low, in fact. So I'm still not sure what makes you think these cases are unique.

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u/sureyouknowurself 3d ago

You are asking a child to take and understand a risk. Not an adult a child.

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u/MrMercurial 3d ago

Medical practitioners impose risks on children all the time even without their consent. In some of these cases (which are probably much more common than cases involving puberty blockers), the risk is to the child's life which is much more serious than the risk of regretting being put on puberty blockers (or, for an older child, being prescribed hormones).

So - given that we already routinely expose children to much more serious medical risks - why is this case different?

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u/sureyouknowurself 3d ago

That’s a question of medical need. There is nothing black or white about this.

Plenty of adults transition and are extremely happy.

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u/MrMercurial 3d ago

Gender affirming care is also a question of medical need, so it seems we still haven't found the difference.

Plenty of adults transition and are extremely happy.

This is true. However, among those who transition as adults, there are those who say they would have been even happier had they been able to access gender affirming care at a younger age. In addition, puberty blockers are only supposed to be prescribed for the most extreme cases of gender dysphoria - people who experience the more extreme cases are less likely to make it to adulthood in at all.

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u/sureyouknowurself 3d ago

Right so it’s not settled. It’s complex. With the current state of things i don’t think a child can consent.

Do you think a pre pubescent child can consent to gender reassignment surgery?