It’s the lie that convinced a thousand parents — and, increasingly, politicians across America.
As a psychologist specializing in child-behavioral issues, I frequently talk with parents misled into believing their child will commit suicide unless allowed to transition genders.
Suicide fears have led medical professionals to threaten to call Child Protective Services if parents don’t affirm their child’s chosen gender identity.
Governors and lawmakers have given in to the same fear.
The mere mention of suicide stops them from enacting laws that protect children from undergoing unproven and experimental medical procedures.
Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed such a bill, saying it could lead children to kill themselves.
The Legislature overrode his veto Wednesday.
Good thing, too.
Those who use the threat of suicide to encourage children to go down a transgender path either don’t understand the research or are being deliberately manipulative.