Fears that new certs will be used by teens as ‘passports to sex change’
TRANSGENDER groups are encouraging teenagers to use their State gender recognition certificates to access ‘potentially dangerous and irreversible’ surgery and hormone treatment abroad, one of Ireland’s top doctors has claimed.
Irish teenagers aged under 18 cannot obtain gender reassignment surgery in Ireland or the UK, but can avail of hormonal treatment including puberty blockers to prepare them for possible surgery.
However, with 11 new roles due to be filled in this area by the year end, there is an 18month waiting list for transgender
Irish doctors ‘left picking up the pieces’
patients to be seen by medical professionals.
Professional Donal O’Shea, consultant endocrinologist at St Vincent’s and St Columcille’s Hospitals in Dublin, told the Irish Mail on Sunday that he has been informed by patients that some representatives of transgender groups encourage people to use their certificate to obtain surgery abroad.
Prof. O’Shea was speaking in light of the review of Ireland’s gender recognition law, which was presented to Cabinet this week for consideration.
The proposed changes under the Gender Recognition (Amendment) Bill reportedly seek to allow 16- and 17- yearolds to declare their own gender – as distinct from their assigned biological gender – without the consent of their parents and be granted a gender recognition certificate from the State. Changes would also allow those aged under 16 to have legal gender recognition, with parental consent.
Crucially, the proposed changes in legislation would also seek to remove a psychiatric assessment from a diagnosis, sparking serious concerns among medical professionals who have highlighted patient regret in adults and teenagers.
‘No medical professional is concerned about people selfdeclaring their gender,’ said Prof. O’Shea. ‘What is of concern is the potential use of the certificate as a passport to treatment that involved major hormonal manipulation and surgery, and we are already aware it is occurring, particularly in Poland where patients are told, “Bring your cert”.
‘There needs to be great caution before proceeding to anything that is irreversible. We are seeing the downsides and my heart sinks because we are left picking up the pieces.’
Representatives from the Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) and BeLong To, which assists LGBTI young people, did not respond to a request for comment on Prof. O’Shea’s comments.
More than 90 submissions were made to the review, however not all were published online.
The MoS highlighted to the Department of Social Protection this week that a number of submissions had not been made available online. That day, the department updated that part of the website to include two submissions – including one from the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, which included Prof O’Shea’s views, and another from the Irish College of General Practitioners.
The former contained words of caution from Dr Susan O’Connell, a consultant paediatric endocrinologist, who argued that a gender recognition certificate is ‘a reflection of someone’s identity which may not be fully established at a particular age cut-off.’
A submission by St Patrick’s Mental Health Services also stressed that ‘young people increasingly present with gender variant feelings for a relatively short period of time’.
‘Patient regret’ reported in adults