Päivi Räsänen questions trans care in Finland
Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen. Photo KD Lehti, Kristiina Kunnas
Northern Europe
Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen has asked parliamentary questions to the government about the quality of gender reassignment treatments. She argues that a thorough investigation is necessary to ensure the safety and necessity of the procedures.
Räsänen now submitted her written statement because the Finnish government will soon present a new transgender law to the parliament. That is reported by her party’s website KD Lehti. The politician points out that the government should look at British transgender policies to avoid lifelong damage to young people in need.
Recently, a British transgender clinic, the Tavistock Clinic, was forced to close. The authorities feared that the clinic's hormone treatments for young people suffering from gender dysphoria harmed thousands of children and young people. The court ruling came after a report showed that young people did not receive sufficient information before their treatment, Seurakuntalainen reports. Some were already given treatment on their first visit to the clinic. Employees of the gender clinic did not look into possible mental health issues of patients. They even treated children below the age of ten. Furthermore, there was no scientific evidence for the effectiveness and safety of the medicines used.
Ideological pressure
Räsänen points out that she notices the same trend in Finland. According to her, gender dysphoria is approached mainly from an ideological direction, which strives for the acceptance of all sexualities. Räsänen now warns that this approach leads to a lack of critical examination of treatment methods. "There have been messages from professionals in child psychiatry telling about the pressure of ideological interest organisations, which succeeded in silencing scientific evaluation and open discussion", she says.
Räsänen is concerned about the growing number of young girls who request gender reassignment. Sometimes, they are offered so-called hormone blockers, of which the long-term effects on growth and development are unknown.
Christian Democrats oppose transgender law
The Christian Democrats, the party to which Räsänen belongs, earlier rejected the proposal for the new transgender law. The party is concerned that offering legal gender reassignment overlooks the mental struggles that people with gender dysphoria often experience. "Neuropsychiatric, mental health and personality challenges should be dealt with and treated even before the process related to changing gender", the politicians wrote in a statement.
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