Children should be encouraged to “love the bodies they have”, rather than try to medically alter them, an MP has warned.
David Davies issued the caution in a riposte to Parliamentary support for making it easier to ‘change sex’.
He has also challenged the Prime Minister to tighten transsexualism law after a doctor in his constituency reportedly prescribed powerful cross-sex hormones to children.
Privacy invasion
Davies was speaking out against the Women and Equalities Committee’s call for ‘self-declaration’ of gender, which has been given Government support.
But the MP for Monmouth said such a move would lead to commonplace “invasions of privacy” in toilets and changing rooms.
Adding, “any attempt to question this could well end up being seen as an infringement of human rights, and a hate crime as well”.
Clear differences
Davies warned that some activists are already encouraging children to think they should ‘change sex’ merely because they do not appear to “conform” to certain gender stereotypes.
“Children may want to be different in many ways”, said Davies. “We need to encourage our children to love the bodies they have, not to yearn for something else and to take drugs to get it.”
He concluded by opposing all forms of abuse against anyone for their views on transsexualism, calling it “unacceptable”.
“There are clear biological differences between the two sexes. If things that have been taken for granted for centuries are suddenly turned upside down, then at the very least we should be able to discuss our concerns openly without the risk of verbal and physical abuse.”
‘Mistreatment’
Davies’ article, for the Conservative Woman website, came ahead of his question to Theresa May at Prime Minister’s Questions last week.
He said: “In my constituency of Monmouth, children as young as 12 have been labelled as transgender and prescribed potentially life-altering sex change drugs.
“Does the Prime Minister agree that the law needs to be tightened to prevent this potential mistreatment of vulnerable young people?”
Theresa May replied that the issue was “very sensitive” adding that she ‘recognised’ his concerns.
New birth certificate
Currently, an adult who has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and lived for two years as a person of the opposite sex can apply for a gender recognition certificate.
They are issued with a new birth certificate declaring that they were born in their chosen gender.
Fewer than 5,000 have been granted since the 2004 legislation came into force.