Children should be protected from chemical or surgical sex ‘change’ intervention in the same way that the law bans female genital mutilation, says FamilyVoice national director Ashley Saunders.

“Minors are not permitted to buy alcohol or cigarettes and yet they’re allowed to be chemically and surgically mutilated.

“Children are too young to make life-changing decisions which are likely to bring more confusion and harm,” he said.

“Studies have shown that sex ‘change’ intervention creates greater psychological harm.  Johns Hopkins University and Medical School scrapped its sex “change” program for this very reason.

“There has already been a large increase in children being treated for gender confusion over the last decade.  Making it easier to subject children to sex ‘change’ intervention will only cause more harm.

“Rather than encourage children to entertain confused thoughts and mask their problems with radical interventions, we should be helping them by treating the underlying cause.”

“State governments should work together with the federal attorney-general to protect children by banning sex change interventions in the same way that we ban female genital mutilation.”