A recent interview with the country’s top gender expert shows how out of step the American medical establishment is with its European counterparts
Dr. Riittakerttu Kaltiala knows gender medicine. She is the top expert on pediatric gender medicine in Finland and the chief psychiatrist at one of its two government-approved pediatric gender clinics, at Tampere University, where she has presided over youth gender transition treatments since 2011. Her research has even been cited—though not accurately—by American supporters of “affirming care” for gender-dysphoric youth. She is one of the last people in the world who could be accused of being “reactionary,” a “transphobe,” or uninformed on the subject of trans health care.
Earlier this month, however, just a few days before Finland passed a law granting its adult citizens the right to have their self-defined gender recognized in government documents, Dr. Kaltiala gave an interview with Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s liberal newspaper of record. Her comments were a sobering reminder of just how out of step the American medical establishment is with its European counterparts when it comes to treating minors who reject their sex.
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Leor Sapir is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Adapted from City Journal.
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