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A couple of days ago I saw a video of comments made by Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. The statements Flanagan made shocked me to my core. She proposed Minnesota become a transexual refuge state. She went on to outline a program that would guarantee teenagers, preteens and even children the right to transsexual surgery, including castration, breast removal and puberty blocking drugs. She also implied that parents should not have the right to block such procedures.

I then did a little research and was surprised to discover that the Mayo Clinic is one of few medical centers in the country offering such procedures.

What happened to the commitment doctors make to “First do no harm?”

I have no doubt that in today’s highly charged sexual world that many of our children struggle with their sexuality. But, these surgeries and associated puberty-blocking drug therapies are irreversible and leave these children scared and sterile for life.

I can’t begin to imagine the mental anguish a child experiences when he/she feels that they are born in the wrong body. I also realize the suicide rate among these youngsters is far above the national norm. However, it is an established medical fact that a person’s brain is not fully developed until the age of 25. Are these youngsters really capable of making life-altering decisions? I don’t believe so! How many will realize later in life that they made a mistake and discover the clock can’t be turned back.

I suspect that many of our young people are identifying as “Trans” simply because it is now the “in thing,” and by doing so they can garner the attention they crave. No matter where one is in life, the grass always appears greener on the other side of the fence. It is not!

If one is not mature enough to drink alcohol until age 21, how can preteens be considered mature enough to make life-altering decisions on experimental transsexual treatments? In my humble opinion trans-sexual surgery and associated drug treatments on any individual under the age of 21 should be grounds for revoking one’s medical license.

How does this make us any different from the Nazis and the medical experiments Dr. Mengele performed in concentration camps during World War II?

I’m ashamed to live in a state that promotes such barbaric medical intervention on children that proposes parents have no voice in such procedures and must question the wisdom of being associated with a medical center that provides such treatments for children.

I am sure there are many other states considering the same laws. For me this is not political or religious! It is common sense.

As a society we should be ashamed of ourselves.

Don Sorensen
Albert Lea