Heal the mind, not cut the body

We live in a culture that emphasises personal identity against holistic health – ideology against biology – and we saw a screaming example of that last week when the media trumpeted a tragic case of a teenager who needed counselling and care, not castration and confusion.

Have you heard of BIID –body integrity identity disorder (BIID) describes the extremely rare phenomenon of persons who desire the amputation of one or more healthy limbs or who desire a paralysis. Some of these persons mutilate themselves; others ask surgeons for an amputation or for the transection of their spinal cord. According to Wikipedia, it’s also called amputee identity disorder or xenomelia, and formerly called apotemnophilia, is a rare mental disorder characterized by a desire to have a sensory or physical disability or feeling discomfort with being able-bodied, beginning in early adolescence and resulting in harmful consequences. People with this condition may refer to themselves as transabled.

Here’s a woman who blinded herself. According to Jewel, her fascination with blindness began early in childhood. She said: “When I was young my mother would find me walking in the halls at night, when I was three or four years old. “By the time I was six I remember that thinking about being blind made me feel comfortable.”

Here’s the case reported last month of a  20-year-old patient said he had been experiencing ‘incessant thoughts’ about the fourth and fifth fingers on his left hand. The two fingers that caused him stress were ultimately cut off in a bid to treat him. Oh – by the way, the bizarre case emerged from Quebec in Canada. You may not be surprised by that. No insult to my Canadian friends.

And there are plenty more examples.

And I’m sure you know of someone who has had anorexia nervosa.

According to the MAYO Clinic

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by an abnormally low body weight, an intense fear of gaining weight and a distorted perception of weight. To prevent weight gain or to continue losing weight, people with anorexia usually severely restrict the amount of food they eat. They may control calorie intake by vomiting after eating or by misusing laxatives, diet aids, diuretics or enemas. They may also try to lose weight by exercising excessively. No matter how much weight is lost, the person continues to fear weight gain. Anorexia isn’t really about food. It’s an extremely unhealthy and sometimes life-threatening way to try to cope with emotional problems. When you have anorexia, you often equate thinness with self-worth.

How do we respond to anorexia? Do we offer  weight loss pills, liposuction, prescription for enemas. Of course not. That would not be loving or healthy.

There are a number of options – psychotherapy, family based therapy, nutrition support, treatment to restore health.

But what you’ll notice is that none of these treatments – for either xenomelia OR anorexia involve cutting the body. That would simply worsen the confusion and harm.

So let me show you a case last week where the rules completely change for a condition where the mind rejects the reality, and where we should heal the mind, but the cultural narrative is to support the confusion and cut the body.

The NZ Herald on Friday featured this story

Transgender teen tries to cut off breast in self-mastectomy – Wellington doctors

A New Zealand high schooler attempted to cut off his own breast in an “act of desperation” after years on a stretched public health system wait list for gender-affirming surgery, according to a report in the New Zealand Medical Journal today.

The 18-year-old female-to-male transgender man (no – a girl who believes she’s a boy) went to hospital several hours into the self-attempted mastectomy after he became concerned about damaging a nerve.

….Surgery went well and the teen was discharged a day later, with his scars well healed and his self-esteem and confidence up at a post-operation appointment a month later, Wellington Regional Hospital doctors Mairarangi Haimona, Sue Hui Ong and Scott Diamond wrote.

“(S)He reported improvement in self-esteem and self-confidence and his ability to complete school work, and was looking forward to enrolling at university.”

Assessment by the acute mental health team after the teen’s emergency department admission found he didn’t have a psychiatric disorder and wasn’t suicidal, they wrote.

….The teenager, who had a background of gender dysphoria, was on testosterone treatment and was awaiting gender-affirmation surgery, had watched a “how to” video on YouTube, prepared appropriate equipment, marked the incision and considered pain relief and bleeding

There are so many problems in this report.

We are expected to believe that an 18 year old girl who attempts to cut their own breasts off after watching a YouTube video has superb self esteem and there are absolutely no issues with mental health.

And I have a bridge to sell you.

What would these same doctors say if the same patient was a skinny girl who was trying to gouge the fat out of her stomach, or cut her buttocks off because she said she was fat.

What would they say if a young patient pleaded with them to cut their arm off because they wanted to be disabled.

This is what the doctors said about the 18 year old girl cutting her breasts off.

Not all transgender people wanted gender-affirmation surgery, but those who did should be able to get it, and limited access to the surgery in New Zealand was an increasing issue, the doctors wrote.

The Post in Wellington (who just aren’t very smart) had the report

A young transgender person’s attempt to perform their own mastectomy highlights a healthcare system where gender diverse people’s needs are being chronically unmet, experts say.

Let’s just change that for a minute. The article is about a young girl desperately ill from anorexia and stick thin.

A young anorexic girl’s attempt to perform their own gastrectomy highlights a healthcare system where anorexic people’s needs are being chronically unmet, experts say.

You wouldn’t read that. You might read – it highlights a system where needs are being chronically unmet.

The 3 doctors who wrote the article also said

“In Aotearoa New Zealand, there is an overwhelming unmet need for masculinising chest reconstruction for transgender men.” 

Overwhelming need to cut off women’s breasts.

They aren’t real doctors. They’re almost no better than butchers.

Newshub had a similar report

And featured a documentary done by Paddy Gower where doctors attempted to persuade us that puberty blockers are reversible and there’s no negatives.

And an interview with Dr Rita Yang – one of the only doctors who perform these operations.

You know why there’s so few? It’s like abortion doctors. And euthanasia doctors.

It’s not normal. It’s not what life-affirming Hippocratic oath doctors do – First do no harm.

Watch this clip – and imagine that we’re talking about a young girl with anorexia or a person who wants to be disabled. Remember – when she says a trans man – that’s a girl who wants to be a boy. And vice versa.

Oh yes we just need to accept trans – and anorexia – and xenomelia

Do we need more of you? Yes! We need more butchers. We need more operations. Follow the money.

Now the Newshub article showed the effect of the operation. If you’re a bit squeamish, you may want to look away for 15 seconds.

This is a teen girl’s chest and breasts. Apparently all normal. Nothing to see.

Now Newshub weren’t finished with the issue – and they took the opportunity to question the Prime Minister Chris Luxon on it. They said will there be better access to so-called gender affirming health care to a teen girl watching a youtube video and then attempting to remove her breasts

Now rather than Luxon saying what all of us would have said i.e. “wow – I haven’t heard about that case. how tragic. It sounds like she needs urgent mental health care – and I have the minister of mental health next to me (because you’ll see Matt Doocey next to Luxon in the interview) – and we will commit to giving her the counselling she obviously needs –

No, he doesn’t say that, He fluffs his lines with this unequivocal and morally deficient response.

“You’re going to see a lot more money being spent on healthcare in general” – rather than – young girls butchering themselves need mental health care first. That’s our priority for these young people.

So that’s the sorry state of things.

Now just before I finish, let me tell you about something that happened at the conference at the weekend in Wellington that I spoke at that featured speakers from around the country and overseas who are challenging gender ideology in both our schools and in our health system.

The conference went for 5 hours – the protestors outside lasted an hour. It was rent-a-mob. But that’s all Newshub showed. They never came in to hear what we were actually talking about. Shameful.

One of the surprise speakers was Mel from Australia. She was on the Spotlight documentary in Australia last year. Here’s her story

She was at our conference in Wellington and in the conference which featured more diversity, equity and inclusion than anything left wing politicians or activists could even dream of (or protest about), I had the privilege and honour to pray for Mel who shared her powerful testimony.

A double mastectomy (and even removed her shirt to prove it.)

Her testimony and her brokenness and mental anguish from her journey moved many to tears.

The Scripture that came to mind and which we prayed over her was Psalm 139 (that she is fearfully and wonderfully made) & Jeremiah 29:11 (God has a plan for good and not for evil – to give her a future and a hope) over her, for healing of mind & body. And boldness ‘for such a time as this’. A Queen Esther moment.

God has a plan for good for everyone of us – no matter our past.

She gave me a really powerful hug after the prayer.

It was a moment of truth – Mel’s testimony – in complete contrast to the deception of the media coverage of the tragic 18 year going down the road that Mel had. We can only pray that the 18 year old receives truth, healing and peace also.