Thread by @LeorSapir

The myth that trans-identified kids will kill themselves if not given drugs and surgeries is pernicious disinformation.

Here are 10 things you need to know to combat it: 🧵

1. "Suicide" is not the same thing as "suicidality." The one refers to death and serious efforts to die, the other to ideation about suicide and non-lethal self-harm (typically cries for help). Helping kids deal with "suicidality" does not necessarily mean "life-saving" care.

2. Kids who identify as trans DO seem to be at higher risk for both suicide & suicidality. Thankfully, however, suicide is extremely rare even among trans-ID youth. There is NO evidence of an epidemic of youth suicide before "gender-affirming care" became available 15 years ago.

3. There is NO evidence that the risk of suicide/suicidality is because of "gender" issues. Consequently, there is no evidence that it can be best managed through social or medical transition.

4. There IS evidence that teenagers who ID as trans and seek medical transition have very high rates of preexisting mental health problems that are themselves linked to suicidal ideation and behavior.

5. It is very likely, therefore, that kids with suicidal tendencies are gravitating towards a trans ID rather than the other way around. The use of "minority stress" to explain (away) suicidality is unscientific. Classic correlation/causation confusion.

6. Systematic reviews of evidence abroad have found that studies linking hormonal interventions to reduced suicidality suffer from problems of bias and confounding, and are too unreliable to support "gender-affirming care" as an evidence-based practice.

7. Finland's top expert in pediatric gender medicine, the psychiatrist Dr. Riitta Kaltiala, recently told the country's liberal newspaper of record that the suicide narrative is "purposeful disinformation" and that using it is "irresponsible."

8. Putting the therapeutic focus on "gender" can come at the expense of proper exploratory therapy, which is the best tool we have for discerning and addressing the true causes of distress ("diagnostic overshadowing").

9. The CDC, suicide prevention groups, and LGBT advocacy groups have themselves warned NOT to say that some law or policy (like restricting access to sex change drugs and surgeries to age 18+) will cause suicide. Doing so can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

10. Despite telling the public that decisions to medicalize are "highly individualized" and deferential to parental wishes, many parents report being bullied into agreeing to medicalization with suicide threats made by the clinicians, at times in front of their kids.

For citations and to read more about the affirm-or-suicide myth:

tabletmag.com/sections/scien…

city-journal.org/article/reckle…