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Let the doctors and nurses treat gender-diverse youth in Montana – Daily Montanan [1]

['More From Author', 'January', 'Dr. Kathryn Lowe']

Date: 2023-01-11  

As pediatricians and pediatric nurse practitioners with the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, we care for children across Montana. We have undergone extensive education and training to be able to provide high quality individualized healthcare for all patients, and we continue to learn more with every patient that comes through our doors. We take this job and calling very seriously, and care deeply about each and every one of our patients.

Providing healthcare for gender-diverse youth is no different. It is individualized, developmentally appropriate medical care that is based on decades of research and backed up by guidelines developed by medical experts. It is healthcare that is vetted and endorsed by every major medical organization in the U.S., including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the Endocrine Society, among others. It is healthcare delivered in collaboration with parents and in consultation with other mental health professionals.

Gender-affirming care is crucial for the health of patients who require it, and policymakers in Helena should not interfere with this life-saving medical care.

Children and adolescents deserve to be happy and thrive. As medical practitioners, it has become clear to us that, first and foremost, youth need unconditional love, support, and access to medically necessary healthcare. These are essential for all children – young children and older adolescents, children in rural communities and children in urban communities, cisgender youth as well as gender-diverse youth. However, with Senate Bill 99, the Montana Legislature is attempting, once again, to take away healthcare for one of these groups, Montana’s gender-diverse youth. This is misguided, dangerous, and would prevent physicians and other healthcare providers from working with families to achieve the best possible outcomes.

Gender-diverse youth who have support from their families and their communities, and have access to healthcare, are thriving throughout Montana. Many gender-diverse youth in Montana are excelling in school, active in their churches, becoming leaders in student groups, volunteering to help others, and so much more. With the proper support, they are able to focus on all the typical things that youth do, like developing self-confidence and positive social skills, collaborating with others, learning how to be kind and respectful of others, and taking care of their physical and mental health.

If they are denied necessary healthcare, these youth are no longer able to focus on these crucial developmental activities. In fact, research shows that gender-diverse youth who are not able to access medically necessary care experience significantly increased rates of depression and anxiety, and attempt suicide at a much higher rate. Medically necessary gender-affirming care is just that. It is necessary. It is lifesaving. When it is taken away from those who need it, children’s lives are at risk.

Unfortunately, some lawmakers in Helena are proposing singling out some of our most vulnerable patients and taking away their healthcare with Senate Bill 99. This is misguided and dangerous.

Children’s healthcare should not be political, nor should it be determined in state legislatures. Medical decisions should be made by patients and their families in consultation with medical professionals who have the appropriate training and experience to provide this care.

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Dr. Kathryn Lowe is the American Academy of Pediatrics Spokesperson and Dr. Lauren Wilson is the President of the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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[1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/01/11/let-the-doctors-and-nurses-treat-gender-diverse-youth-in-montana/

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