"The Protocol" - How U.S. Doctors Sowed the Backlash to Trans Rights

How are affirming Christians to respond?

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The “Dutch Protocol,” the standard of care for trans youth, was misapplied by some overwhelmed doctors in the U.S. and U.K., sowing the seeds of a backlash against trans rights. Now, many trans kids may lose access to puberty blockers and hormone therapy — treatments that many trans adults credit with saving them from crippling anxiety, devastating depression, and inevitable suicide.

That’s my summary of the New York Times’ documentary podcast, “The Protocol.” The six one-hour episodes cover the development and controversy of gender-affirming care, or prescribing puberty blockers and hormone therapy, for minors. The podcast does not tell listeners what to think about the complex issue, other than perhaps, “It’s very complex.”

One of the show’s main reporters sounds like a strong supporter of gender-affirming care when interviewing people opposed to such care. Then she comes off as a staunch opponent of using puberty blockers for gender dysphoria when she talks with the care’s supporters. This podcast asks tough questions of everyone in an effort to discover the most reasonable view.

I fully support trans rights, especially their right to potentially life-saving healthcare. I believe the bible does not speak meaningfully either way about trans people, except that Jesus would love and welcome trans people as unconditionally as anyone else.

But the history of trans healthcare in America is more complicated than I knew. Knowing that history helps us understand how the trans debate reached its current state of hyper-polarization, misinformation, and name-calling.

Knowing this history can, and should, guide our ongoing response as Christians to the trans community. I thought I was well-informed about trans issues because I had interviewed a few trans people. Now, I know there is much more to contemplate regarding the “standard of care” in the U.S. and U.K.