With Skrmetti Before SCOTUS, Have We Reached Peak Trans?

December 9, 2024–Last week’s SCOTUS oral arguments in United States v Skrmetti (the case involving Tennessee’s ban on gender-altering therapies for minors) have people wondering if we’ve reached Peak Trans, and the answer is…no. Not yet, at least.

While the Court seems to be leaning towards upholding the Tennessee law, the Justices aren’t expected to rule until next June.

The federal government claims that denying transgender minors gender-affirming care violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. Tennessee’s counter argument is that such care has no clear documented benefit but carries significant risk, thus the state has a compelling interest to protect children.

The case promises to have a far-reaching impact, as more than 20 other states, including Alabama, have similar laws on the books.

The arguments for those opposing the Tennessee law ranged from the completely insane (that a 2 yr old can ‘know’ they’re trans) to the ludicrously dumb (Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson comparing mixed-race marriages to gender-altering treatments) to the technically accurate but grossly warped argument (Justice Sonya Sotomayor) comparing these treatments to taking an aspirin.

Okay, Sonya; here’s the deal. Yes, you’re correct—there’s a risk to essentially every medical treatment, including taking an aspirin. We all know that if aspirin was invented today, it probably wouldn’t get approved by the FDA (unless Bayer paid off a lot of bureaucrats, concealed the risks and side effects in the trials, and pushed it through in an EUA). It’s a dangerous drug that kills people every year—but millions take it with no problems. Transgender treatments, however, are orders of magnitude more damaging to the body’s normal processes, with permanent changes to endocrinologic and physical function being almost guaranteed in every case. It’s apples and kumquats, you “wise Latina woman.”

Tennessee’s point is that there’s no good evidence of clear benefit to the group of transgender children and adolescents as a whole, but there is substantial risk. They also argued that a large number of gender dysphoric youths grow out of their gender dysphoria, so beginning these treatments while the child is still a minor presents an unnecessary and unacceptable risk.

Both of these are true.

Yes, I have reams of data to support that. No, I’m not going to bore you with it here (you’re welcome!). Start with the Cass Report (linked below), and check out my Substack, where I’ll put some of the more interesting stuff.

I’m not going to say that there aren’t some adolescents who realize they’re gender dysphoria in their teens and that persists through into adulthood. That would be stupid, as I’ve known a few, and treated a few more. But, making policy for the exceptions rather than the larger group—in this case, all gender dysphoric kids—is a BAD idea.

Let’s lay out some basic facts: pre-pubescent kids do have infant sexuality, but it’s different from adult sexuality. It also used to be generally accepted (because it’s true) that the psyche doesn’t really settle down from the sturm und drang insanity of puberty until 18 or so, and doesn’t really crystalize until 25ish. Right now, there are parents who’re nodding, because they’ve seen it.

Knowing that at least half (usually more) of gender dysphoric kids won’t be gender dysphoric as adults is why I personally have very little problem with Alabama’s counterpart to Tennessee’s laws.

This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t support every single gender dysphoric kid. We know that they’re at increased risk for depression, anxiety, suicide—you name it. That’s why they need good, supportive psychotherapy, and a reluctance to use meds on the part of psychiatrists. They don’t need a therapist who’s pushing the trans agenda (like whistleblowers from the Tavistock Clinic and elsewhere have revealed) or a trans-happy doctor who ignores what we’ve known about normal growth and development for years in favor of the fad of the day.

Once the person turns 18, if they still insist they’re inhabiting the wrong body, I say let them have at it! Knock yourself out! You be you, and all that.

In my day the accepted practice was at least 1-2 years of psychotherapy before you’d even think about starting hormones, then 1-2 years of that (with continued therapy, dressing and living as the ‘proper’ sex) before going to see the surgeon for The Big Chop and replumbing.

Quite frankly, this “one visit, here’s your puberty blocker, let’s make an appointment to see the surgeon” (and in at least one case I’m aware of, NO therapy recommendation at all, at a major HMO) nonsense is just that—nonsense.

Of course, since the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) prohibited discrimination on the basis of gender identity and all but mandated coverage for “gender affirming care,” is it any wonder we’ve seen an explosion in clinics offering these “treatments?”

Oh, you didn’t know that about Obamacare? That was one of those things that Nancy Pelosi told us we’d find out about after it was passed, and you can thank John McCain for blocking its repeal, may he roast in peace.

Given my druthers, I’d have every gender dysphoric kid in therapy with a good, non-agenda-driven therapist. I’d evaluate the family, too, if for no other reason than to rule out Munchausen’s by Proxy. Also, if they’re a gender dysphoric boy, it’s a better than 50/50 chance their mother is a Borderline Personality Disorder. Period.

I hate breaking up families more than most, but in those cases a toxic mother-ectomy is the treatment of choice. Oddly enough, if you do that, the boy’s gender dysphoria often spontaneously resolves! It’s almost like the crazy mother was driving the kid’s pathological symptoms…but what do I know about things like that?

To be fair, it’s not always a crazy mother. There are crazy fathers out there.

I’d avoid meds, at least initially, and address the social and situational stressors these kids have. If they were getting bullied, I’d address that with the school, with a change of school, or sending them to the Magic City Acceptance Academy. Nigel Shelby’s suicide was the push Alabama needed to get the MCAA chartered, and it’s there specifically to provide a safe and supportive environment for these kids.

Yes, I know some people don’t like the “gay charter school,” and I. Do. Not. Care. For every whine and gripe you have about MCAA, I’ll match you one to one with horror stories of kid’s treatment at other schools. You don’t want to play that game with me. You will lose, badly.

We need to support the kids—ALL the kids—because these are horrible times to try to grow up in. We don’t need to risk destroying their future lives to feed an ideologically-driven progressive agenda that’s become a cornerstone of the Cult of Woke.

It’s interesting that some of the people being attacked the hardest by the trans fanatics in front of the Supreme Coirt building last week were members of Gays Against Groomers—a Gay activist group that opposes large parts of the TQ+ agenda and was there in support of the Tennessee law. They believe, as do I, that inflicting these biological treatments on minors is at least child abuse, if not frank child mutilation. I’d add medical malpractice to that list, and it seems I’m not the only one as lawsuits against the “transition” doctors are starting to pop up.£

As more and more detransers come forth, these “treatments” are being exposed for what they are. More lawsuits against physicians who prescribe and perform these treatments will invariably come, and doctors who have been rushing to do as many of these surgeries as possible before the new Trump administration shuts them down will be held accountable for what they’ve done. More people are realizing that many cases of gender dysphoria are either crazy parents acting out, or a socially-contagious condition.

So no; we’re not at Peak Trans, and won’t be for some time. When SCOTUS rules on Skrmetti, we may be one large step closer, but….

The Cult of Woke and the Trans Fanatics won’t go gently into that good night. Get ready for a bumpy ride!

There’ll be more references linked to this article on my free Substack, DocContrarian.Substack.com.

The Cass Review may be found at https://cass.independent-review.uk/home/publications/final-report/

“Leaving Amy” is a true transition story about @itsmattrey and the complications of transitioning. You can watch the trailer at https://x.com/againstgrmrs/status/1817713902538424567?s=61&t=aYyv3kAAQ2aPqsgKFbnvZw or at https://www.leavingamy.com/ It’s a grassroots project and would welcome your support._

Dr. Bill Chitwood is a retired Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatrist who does political consulting and media relations. He is the author of Beyond Maga, available on Amazon under his pen name, Doc Contrarian. He can be found on Substack and social media as @DocContrarian.

Opinions expressed in the Alabama Gazette are the opinions and viewpoints of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Alabama Gazette staff, advertisers, and/ publishers.