Citation

Pang KC, Notini L, McDougall R, Gillam L, Savulescu J, Wilkinson D, Clark BA, Olson-Kennedy J, Telfer MM, Lantos JD. Pediatrics 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Bioethics Center, Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri jlantos@cmh.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, American Academy of Pediatrics)

DOI

10.1542/peds.2019-1606

PMID

31974217

Abstract

Many transgender and gender-diverse people have a gender identity that does not conform to the binary categories of male or female; they have a nonbinary gender. Some nonbinary individuals are most comfortable with an androgynous gender expression. For those who have not yet fully progressed through puberty, puberty suppression with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonists can support an androgynous appearance. Although such treatment is shown to ameliorate the gender dysphoria and serious mental health issues commonly seen in transgender and gender-diverse young people, long-term use of puberty-suppressing medications carries physical health risks and raises various ethical dilemmas. In this Ethics Rounds, we analyze a case that raised issues about prolonged pubertal suppression for a patient with a nonbinary gender.

Copyright © 2020 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Language: en