Doctors are criticizing Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for her medically 91裸聊视频渇alse91裸聊视频� statements about transgender youth care and gender reassignment surgery, saying her plan risks harming the vulnerable group.

In a video posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Smith said the province will ban puberty blockers and hormone therapy for children 15 and younger except for those who have already started those treatments. Those who are 16 and 17 can begin hormone treatment as long as they91裸聊视频檙e deemed mature enough and have parental, physician and psychologist approval.

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Top and bottom surgeries for people 17 and under will also not be permitted.

91裸聊视频淢aking permanent and irreversible decisions regarding one91裸聊视频檚 biological sex while still a youth can severely limit that child91裸聊视频檚 choices in the future. Prematurely encouraging or enabling children to alter their very biology or natural growth, no matter how well-intentioned and sincere, poses a risk to that child91裸聊视频檚 future that I, as premier, am not comfortable with permitting in our province,91裸聊视频� Smith said in the video posted Wednesday.

On Thursday, she said changes involving the new policies will be rolled out in the fall sitting in the form of legislation, regulation and policies. She did not rule out using the Charter91裸聊视频檚 notwithstanding clause to preserve them.

Dr. Tehseen Ladha, a pediatrician in Edmonton, said Smith is stoking fears by inferring as 91裸聊视频渄angerous91裸聊视频� the therapies that are offered after extensive consultations among pediatricians, mental health experts and endocrinologists, sometimes over several years.

91裸聊视频淔irstly, she doesn91裸聊视频檛 have the medical expertise to be able to make that decision about whether gender-affirming care is appropriate. Secondly, calling some of these things irreversible or harmful is simply false,91裸聊视频� Ladha said.

91裸聊视频淭hese therapies that we91裸聊视频檙e offering below the age of 18 are reversible. Hormone therapy is reversible. It91裸聊视频檚 being framed as something that is harmful, when in fact, in my clinical experience, it has been quite affirming and positive for youth and children dealing with these issues.91裸聊视频�

No one in the province under age 18 has had bottom surgery so Smith seems to be creating an irrelevant issue, said Ladha, also an assistant professor at the University of Alberta.

Many teens have identified as the opposite gender since they were preschoolers and are not making a frivolous decision or being influenced by others if they seek medical help, said Ladha, adding she is wondering how trans youth, who already face higher suicide rates, will be affected by the province91裸聊视频檚 policies in the long run.

91裸聊视频淚 am very worried that parts of them will be integrated into legislation. For me, that sort of interference by a government is dangerous because it signals that the government can control your medical therapy or medical treatment.91裸聊视频�

The policies regarding trans care are part of a broader range of regulations that Smith announced in the same video. They include a requirement for parental consent for students 15 and under who want to change their names or pronouns at school.

Doctors are upset that their views were not considered before Smith announced the policy out of the blue by a government that tussled with the Alberta Medical Association before reaching a four-year contract agreement in September 2022.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檝e heard from medical professionals, all saying that they were not consulted when these policies were created, and that91裸聊视频檚 what makes me wonder if these are policies based on ideology, rather than evidence from the educational field, rather than scientific literature backing it up,91裸聊视频� Ladha said.

Dr. Sam Wong, medical director of the Canadian Paediatric Society, said Smith91裸聊视频檚 policies regarding trans youth have raised concerns among his colleagues across the country.

91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 a degree of sadness. And it91裸聊视频檚 disheartening. I91裸聊视频檓 angry. That was my initial impression of the video when I was watching it,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淭ransgender patients who are youth and adolescents have suffered enough mental health issues as it is without being picked on by the government and being denied treatment,91裸聊视频� he said.

No trans youth have travelled to other provinces for bottom surgery, said Wong, a pediatrician at Stollery Children91裸聊视频檚 Hospital in Edmonton.

91裸聊视频淎cross Canada, there are strict guidelines, generally, on this particular surgery for pediatric patients. It91裸聊视频檚 pretty much prohibited.91裸聊视频�

Camille Bains, The Canadian Press