In an exclusive interview with CNA, Simons said the association is responding to “skyrocketing” calls from physicians about “one of the biggest threats to children: this transgender ideology.”
Simons described three phases to “gender intervention.” Questions about one’s natural sex identity was once labeled “gender dysphoria” but is a term now discarded by medical and mental health professionals.
“The first is social intervention where a child and a family are encouraged to change a name or pronoun, and change the way they dress. This really sets a child on this conveyor belt towards the next intervention, which amps up the danger to the child. Once the child gets on this social transition path, it’s hard for the child to change its mind and say ‘I don’t want to do this’ because it is getting lots of attention and the family has bought into it. It’s not harmless,” Simons said.
The next step is the application of “puberty blockers” that prevent normal natural growth. The blockers “stop normal hormones and the normal natural puberty process in children. It is harmful in many ways we know but also some we don’t know. Imagine, you stop the hormones the brain needs to grow. The brain is developing so much during adolescence, and we know that testosterone, estrogen, and other hormones play a role in how the brain develops, bone structures, muscles, cardiovascular. When these are paused, it is very dangerous,” the doctor said.
The third step: large doses of cross-sex hormones, which are also harmful, Simons said. “Cross-sex hormones, that is extremely high doses of opposite sex hormones, when following puberty blockers. The biggest danger is that [children] will never have mature sexual organs, ova, and sperm. In other words: They will be infertile and never have biological children,” she said.
“That’s not only tragic,” Simons said, “it’s something kids should not consent to. It’s not something they can comprehend at their stage in brain development.” She also warned that high doses of cross-sex hormones have been blamed for cancer, endometriosis, osteoporosis, diabetes, premature menopause, and heart conditions.
