this post was submitted on 12 Dec 2024
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To be clear, it defunds any treatment for body dysmorphia that would result in infertility for under 18s, which does not exclude the most common forms of care for under 18s.
Yes, so you're likely right that it's just for show and it's unlikely to affect trans children in any meaningful way. But WHY do we need this? If this was never something that cost money why are we spending the time of our most expensive politicians in this? Furthermore why are politicians meddling in medicine? What do they know about trans care or any other medical care? The last president thought we should inject bleach, let's not dismiss the fact these people have no place in medicine.
They wasted a huge amount of the time they had left and millions of tax payer dollars to pass a budget restriction that will save no money and to pass legislation that converts a medical decision into a rigid law. Best of all the only thing this ACTUALLY accomplished is to make sure that trans kids and trans people feel alienated and attached.
There is no defending this egregious waste of money, idiotic meddling of politics in medicine, and this targeted decision to make trans people feel unsafe and threatened.
To be clear, I am not endorsing the decision or criticising, I merely sought to state the fact of the change.
I believe it is important to be clear and factual when reporting and discussing such changes to avoid causing unnecessary panic, alarm and outrage. While the actual change is provided in an article linked from the one in the OP it isn't directly stated in this article.
The language used in the article makes this sound like a much more impactful change than I suspect it is.
To address your points
It could be argued that those under 18, as minors and not adults, can not consent to sterilization. We know that human brains are still developing until around 26 years old, so allowing someone under 18 to make such an enormous life altering decision may be irresponsible of society. Again, I am not aiming to endorse this decision, merely trying to understand the possible logic behind it.
Cost is hardly the only factor that should be considered when politicians are making decisions, ethical and moral factors should also apply, though I doubt many politicians are aware things such as morals exist.
For better or worse healthcare for is political for everyone, even in countries with universal healthcare. Healthcare is an enormous part of the social fabric of nations, of their economy, and impacts everyone. Healthcare professionals can hardly be trusted to always act in the best interest of people (see the Tuskege experiments, lobotomies and more) and so laws must be passed and enforced.
The relevant GOP memo on this makes very clear the intent, as it explicitly names puberty blockers as a target. Top on page 4 in the pdf
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/internal-house-gop-memo-reveals-what-republicans-celebrating-895b-defense-bill