Transparent heart icon with white outline and + sign.

Life's busy, read it when you're ready!

Create a free account to save articles for later, keep track of past articles you’ve read, and receive exclusive access to all RP resources.

White magnifying glass.

Search thousands of RP articles

Articles, news, and reviews that celebrate God's truth.

Open envelope icon with @ symbol

Get Articles Delivered!

Articles, news, and reviews that celebrate God's truth. delivered direct to your Inbox!

A A
By:

“It’s wrong to mutilate minors,” says governor

Both Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis and Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith have backed bans on transgender “treatments” – breast and genital amputations, puberty blockers, and hormones – for anyone under 16. And both have been rightly celebrated by conservatives for their position.

But even as she announced her ban, Danielle Smith also promised to make it easier for Alberta adults to get these same amputations, chemical castrations, and other experimental drugs. Currently, Albertans have to go out of province to get “bottom” and “top” amputations done, but Smith pledged to make efforts to attract “specialists” to Alberta, so these terribly-confused people can have their healthy body parts cut off in-province instead. So what Smith banned for children, she affirmed as legitimate medical treatments for adults.

Meanwhile, after a federal judge struck down Florida’s ban in June, Governor DeSantis pledged to appeal and actually called out these “treatments” for what they are.

“…it’s wrong to mutilate minors…. You’re not allowed to get a tattoo, but somehow you can have your privates cut off? Give me a break. This is wrong…. Are we going to be rooted in truth as a society or not? If we are rooted in truth, then you would say, of course you can’t do these surgeries because it’s not going to take and transform somebody that’s a male into a female.”

Let’s not minimize the good Smith has done for confused children in Alberta, but let’s also not overlook the monstrous harm she’s doing to the province’s deluded adults. We can praise her as the bravest premier in the country, even as we demand she be all the more so by following Governor DeSantis’ lead. Smith, too, needs to call out transgenderism for the lie it is, and denounce bottom and top amputations for the mutilations they are.

Edited photo from Gage Skidmore/Flickr.com and used under a CC BY-SA 2.0 license.

Enjoyed this article?

Get the best of RP delivered to your inbox every Saturday for free.



Red heart icon with + sign.
News

Alberta government announces new transgender policies 

Yesterday, the Premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, announced several transgender policies concerning surgeries, hormone treatment, parental rights, sexual education, and sports. Smith delivered the policies in a video posted on social media. Surgeries and hormone treatments  Smith declared a ban on transgender top and bottom “surgeries” for minors aged 17 and under. Previously, “bottom surgeries,” involving the mutilation of a child’s genitalia, were already prohibited for minors. Levi Minderhoud is the BC Manager at the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA), which has been advocating for these changes through the “Let Kids Be” campaign. He mentions that before this announcement, “top surgeries” – breast removals – were happening to minors: “The National Post reported last year that hundreds of girls in Canada have had mastectomies under the guise of ‘gender-affirming care.’ These are not only medically unnecessary but also cause permanent damage to young women's bodies. Alberta is right to prohibit them for minors.” Additionally, Smith announced the ban on hormone treatments for children aged 15 and under. She clarified that children currently receiving hormones would not be affected. Those aged 16 and 17 could start hormones with approval from parents, a physician, and a psychologist. Parental rights in the classroom Under the new policies, students aged 15 and under who wish to use another name and/or pronouns at school must get parental permission. Students aged 16 and 17 will not require permission, but parents will have to be informed by the school if their child is using a new name or pronouns. Regarding sexual education lessons in the classroom, parents will need to opt-in to every lesson covering sex education, sexual identity, or gender identity. Smith’s decision to implement an opt-in policy, rather than an opt-out policy, is significant, as it could remove contentious presentations from the classroom without facing a major political backlash. If most parents choose not to opt-in, it could lead to the shutdown of these classes if only a few students participate. Female sports   The new rules will also prohibit so-called “transgender female athletes” (aka, men) from participating in female sports. As Smith noted: “There are obvious biological realities that give transgender female athletes a massive competitive advantage over women and girls.” Although Smith failed to articulate that “transgender female” really means “male,” she did affirm the reality of biological differences between males and females (Gen 1:27). Two steps forward, one back It wasn’t all good though. Children 16 and up will still be able to get hormones that may leave them irreversibly sterile. Smith also announced efforts to advance “transgender care” for adults. Currently, Alberta residents seeking transgender surgeries have to travel to Quebec. Smith aims to change this by bringing specialists to Alberta to facilitate these genital mutilations within the province. It’s important to care for those around us struggling with gender dysphoria, but it’s not caring to harm a patient’s body in an attempt to remake them into a gender they can never become. These policies have faced significant backlash from transgender advocacy groups, some arguing that Alberta’s policies surpass the parental rights policies in Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.  John Sikkema, Director of Law and Policy for ARPA, expressed gratitude for the announcement, stating: “ARPA is very thankful for Premier Smith’s policy announcement this week. We urge her government to follow through with implementing these sound policy changes, despite the predictable backlash by progressive activist groups and media.” Smith took questions today, at a press conference on these new policies. You can view it below. ...