In my role as a pastor, I've been quietly - or as quietly as is possible for my temperament - concerned about the circumstances around the sudden wave of transgender considerations that have flooded in on families and friends over the past few years. There has been hot debate, loud advocacy and heart-rending stories on both sides that make it hard to sort out reality and from there prayerfully share life in the Gospel. To see previous posts of mine about this, click HERE, and HERE.
A recent case before the Supreme Court regarding restrictions in Tennessee on medical gender transition for minors extended that same sound and fury. Below, I offer an extended quotation from an analysis of that decision that expresses my own understanding and convictions in words better than my own.
These five opening paragraphs from a June 29 article in the Atlantic Monthly caught my attention in a BIG way:
Allow children to transition (gender identity), or they will kill themselves. For more than a decade, this has been the strongest argument in favor of youth gender medicine—a scenario so awful that it stifled any doubts or questions about puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
“We often ask parents, ‘Would you rather have a dead son than a live daughter?’” Johanna Olson-Kennedy of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles once explained to ABC News. Variations on the phrase crop up in innumerable media articles and public statements by influencers, activists, and LGBTQ groups. The same idea—that the choice is transition or death—appeared in the arguments made by Elizabeth Prelogar, the Biden administration’s solicitor general, before the Supreme Court last year. Tennessee’s law prohibiting the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to treat minors with gender dysphoria would, she said, “increase the risk of suicide.”
But there is a huge problem with this emotive formulation: It isn’t true. When Justice Samuel Alito challenged the ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio on such claims during oral arguments, Strangio made a startling admission. He conceded that there is no evidence to support the idea that medical transition reduces adolescent suicide rates.
At first, Strangio dodged the question, saying that research shows that blockers and hormones reduce “depression, anxiety, and suicidality”—that is, suicidal thoughts. (Even that is debatable, according to reviews of the research literature.) But when Alito referenced a systematic review conducted for the Cass report in England, Strangio conceded the point. “There is no evidence in some—in the studies that this treatment reduces completed suicide,” he said. “And the reason for that is completed suicide, thankfully and admittedly, is rare, and we’re talking about a very small population of individuals with studies that don’t necessarily have completed suicides within them.”
Here was the trans-rights movement’s greatest legal brain, speaking in front of the nation’s highest court. And what he was saying was that the strongest argument for a hotly debated treatment was, in fact, not supported by the evidence.
"It's not true . . . There is no evidence . . . Not supported by the evidence." WOW! Those are strong statements from a source - The Atlantic Monthly - that has a long history and consistent reputation. I encourage you to read the entire article - CLICK HERE. It is called The Liberal Misinformation Bubble About Youth Gender Medicine by Helen Lewis posted June 29, 2025 on the TheAtlantic.com site. There may be a paywall, but take the steps to get a free look. Or call the Harderwyk office and I can get you a hard copy to read for yourself.
CLICK HERE for a link to the the British medical paper - the "Cass Report" - mentioned above. CLICK HERE for a helpful summary of that from Rebecca MacLaughlin, a favorite mother/speaker/theologian of mine.
What Would I Recommend You Do Next?
We all will or do have family, friends, neighbors, or congregation members who have been told or will pass along the "transition or death" statement. How would I recommend you respond when that happens to you?
First, stop, take a deep breath and pray in your heart. You want to begin by listening deeply to the person speaking.
Next, realize that it it may not be helpful or appreciated for you to engage them with a "you-must-do-this" demand - and even if a response is asked for, certainly do not respond in an argumentative or condemning way. But I am writing this because I think it is important for you, the reader, to know for yourself that this statement has no evidence on which it is based.
If you are asked for input or your opinion, you know the truth about the evidence for this statement - namely it's glaring lack. If they are open to hearing about that lack of evidence, then this blog has the information and resources.
As you do that, recognize this as a "God-moment" for them, and commit to be available to them. They need more than a two-minute information transfer. They need a friend. Someone who will pray, listen and think through all the next steps in their circumstances WITH them, not FOR them. Most espcially, they will be well-served by a friend who will help them look for and find the guidance, comfort and insight of Jesus along the way.
As For My Part
Feel free to call me through the Harderwyk office. I will find a time to talk with you or with both you and your friend.
I am committing myself to being available with empathy, agape love and relationship along the journey of navigating the issues of a person's life. Truth is certainly truth, I can not change that. But my attitude? My willingness to walk with someone through both their decisions and any consequences? A heart of welcome even when someone chooses something that I might not recommend? I have concluded that those attitudes are on me. I'll speak truth as I honestly as I know it, but my relationship towards people is based on the love that Jesus has showed me, not on their agreeing with me, listening to me or following my recommendations.
I hope you will join me in that, or at least pray for me as I step out in that journey.
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