My opinion about Gender altering surgery for children

It used to be that professionals who worked with children, such as school teachers, pediatricians, and mental health professionals understood that cognitive functioning gradually develops in children as they grow older, and that the ability to make difficult, fully informed decisions about major issues such as marriage and medical treatment was best left to their parents. That is why we have age limits for certain important milestones in life, such as deciding to join the military, being able to vote, and consuming alcohol. But somehow in the past 5 years or so some professionals have decided that it is okay for children as young as 12 can make a good decision about having gender altering surgery. While there may be a few older teenagers who are intelligent and wise enough to make such a decision, it is my opinion that such a decision should not be made by any individual until they are at least 18 years old and have been fully informed about the possible consequences. Recently we have been told by medical professionals who do this type of surgery that we are causing significant emotional distress to children who want to change their gender and are not allowed to do so. What makes this so disturbing is that medical professionals who provide this opinion are usually the ones who have the most to gain financially from these surgeries being done.

While I have a lot of empathy for children who may be struggling with their sexual identity, I do not believe that it is appropriate to have that type of surgery done on our children. It actually physically sickens me to know that these surgeries are being done on a regular basis, and that no one is likely to be held accountable for the long-term consequences. There are many factors that may encourage a child to consider this type of surgery such as the need to be unique, peer pressure. or mental health issues. However, these do not justify conducting this type of surgery on children. I am not sure why some professionals think there is such a rush to transition a child from one gender to another. In my opinion a better option would be to provide emotional support for a child struggling with their sexual identity to better understand their struggle and help them to make a good decision in the future.