WORLD NEWS GROUP – As 2024 begins, it becomes ever more clear that the question “What does it mean to be a human being?” will continue to be the pressing issue of the moment.
It’s also evident that those who put their trust in princes and who look to politicians to play the adults in the room and set things straight will be very disappointed.
In an age of televisual and social media, politicians cannot afford to be driven by convictions so much as by focus groups and soundbites.
The latest evidence comes from Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, who on Dec. 29 vetoed a House bill designed to ban medical interventions for children suffering from gender dysphoria and also to ensure that biological sex, not gender identity, determines participation in sports.
DeWine’s stated motivation is a good one, and he says he wants to uphold parental rights. He does not wish to see such children prevented from receiving the medical care that they need.
Only the most callous would wish otherwise. For those children and families affected by gender dysphoria, the toll can be brutal. I have spoken to many parents over the last three years who have a son now claiming to be a daughter or vice versa.
Too often the looks in their eyes are like those of someone whose child has a terminal illness or who has died. The agony is real. Such families and children truly need help.
Yet the problem with DeWine’s action is that trans medicine is really politics dressed up in clinical rhetoric.
DeWine has since nodded in this direction with a series of executive orders restricting trans surgery for minors, a move made, he said, to protect parental rights.
But one cannot play to both sides in this debate. The very nature of gender dysphoria is the point at issue.
