While I like to publicly stay out of this debate entirely, the topic of transgender rights has been so hotly debated over the past week that I felt I could share a bit more about the conversations I’ve had.
I interviewed several people with wildly differing opinions since Premier Danielle Smith announced her new policies on transgender rights last week and not all what people told me made it into the articles. (That’s what happens when people are passionate about something, they have a lot to say, and we only have so much space to share it.)
One interviewee pointed out that as Albertans, no matter your stance on transgender rights, we should be concerned about how these new policies are a clear government overreach.
Why are we suddenly OK with the government meddling in medical decisions that should only be the concern of doctors, their patient, and their parents in case of minors?
Dare I say that a lot of the people shouting about “my body, my choice” when we were required to get the COVID-19 vaccine, don’t seem to apply that same rhetoric when others want to make decisions about their bodies.
The argument, I anticipate, is about the irreversible damage these medical decisions have on youth.
In Alberta, medical decisions for minors related to gender identity always required parental consent, according to the interviews I had this week. Which would mean that youth always had their parents' guidance when it came to these decisions and they were never taken lightly.
Both sides of the conversation want to protect kids, but it's clear there is a lot of misunderstanding between the two camps. At the end of the day, we need to learn to respect each others opinions and accept that some people will never agree.
As a parent, I want to protect my kids too and I would like to be informed of what is going on with my kids at school. I understand the intention behind Danielle Smith’s policy of informing parents, but I’ve also learned about the damage this can cause some kids with parents who may not be supportive of all their choices.
In the end, I hope my kids trust me enough to talk to me despite what any policy says. Isn’t it up to me to talk to my kids and provide a safe space for my kids to confide in me?
