Why are conservatives obsessed with gender transition surgery for minors when it's an insignificant issue?

@Jackaloftheazuresand Blanket denial of gender care is abusive to children, same as denial of cancer care or any other medical care. I'm not hearing any conservatives saying that the process to qualify for gender transition surgery should take longer or have other qualifications. Instead, they're saying it should never happen for any reason whatsoever, and doctors who provide it should go to prison. This coupled with laws requiring teachers to inform parents if their child uses a different pronoun makes it look like conservatives aren't interested in children's welfare so much as they simply want to erase trans people. They lost on the same-sex marriage issue, so they're focused on oppressing trans people as a substitute since there aren't as many of them, so they're an easier target. And they're justifying it in the time-tested manner of "but won't someone think of the children?"

@LeopoldBloom I feel the same way as them on these policies though. I'll tell you what I think is going on here. I don't believe you actually see us that way or at least you don't want to. Your subconscious is telling you there has to be something more, something reasonable, which is why you made the post

@Jackaloftheazuresand Any permanent surgical alteration should only be done if there is no alternative. What you're missing is that opposition to genital reassignment surgery has nothing to do with its medical value. It's purely a culture war issue from its opponents. It's not like they care about anything else that only affects 300 people.

@MarmeeMarch A minor can't get gender reassignment surgery without parental permission, either. And insurance pays for it.

You seem to be under the impression that an 8 year old boy can walk into a doctor's office and say "I wanna be a girl," and the doctor castrates them on the spot. In reality, the reason so few minors have gender surgery is because of how long it takes to qualify for it.

@SW-User So we outlaw a medical procedure that affects 300 kids before we do anything to address other things that affect millions of kids? Sounds about right. Let's stop looking for a cure for cancer until we find a cure for Elephant Man disease that affects 2-3 people worldwide.

@LeopoldBloom 🤔 Who said let's stop looking for a cure? I know I didn't.

@SW-User Gender reassignment is one treatment for gender dysphoria. An insignificant number of minors have surgery compared to the number of minors affected by other things. Conservatives want to outlaw puberty blockers, which have been used for decades, are proven safe, and are used for many conditions besides just gender care.

"Won't someone please think of the children" has been exploited by conservatives for decades because it's an effective way to propagandize.

@MarmeeMarch I don't know - what insurance do they have? Check their policy and get back to me.

@MarmeeMarch Oh, so now we're paying for medical care based on whether you approve of it or not?

I don't approve of circumcision, so let's make sure the government doesn't pay for that either. And I'm also not keen on organ transplants.

@Fukfacewillie Which is my point. Very few minors are subjected to surgery, and nearly all of them are 17 years old by the time they qualify. Conservatives are conflating this with all gender care as a culture war issue.

@LeopoldBloom Right. Just wanted to stand up for the non-hysterics.

For what it’s worth while we are on the subject of right wing panic, I’d rather my kid be engaged and told a story by an exuberant and theatrical man in drag than the boring old school librarian.

@Fukfacewillie As Dan Savage said, if clowns molested children as often as clergy, it would be illegal to take your child to the circus.