In a nation with world-class institutions, why are vulnerablekids being ushered into drugs, surgeries, and lifelong sterility in the name of “care”? That question anchored this GoldCare Townhall moderated by physician-attorney Dr. Simone Gold, featuring child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Mark McDonald and advocate Billboard Chris.The conversation challenged the prevailing “affirmation” model, warned of apipeline that begins in schools and online, and offered concrete guidance forfamilies trying to protect their children.

Why this, why now

Dr. Gold set the stage: suicides among youth remain high,highly publicized violent incidents involve self-identified transgenderoffenders, and parents who question protocols often meet hostility. GoldCarelaunched these public townhalls, she said, to cut through politics andpropaganda so families can make clear-eyed medical choices.

Dr. Mark McDonald: a psychiatrist’s alarm

Drawing on years of clinical work, Dr. McDonald describedtoday’s “gender-affirming care” as the medicalization of adolescent distress.What used to be explored as identity, family, social, or developmental struggleis now treated as proof that a child is “born in the wrong body.” He arguedthat this is not a medical condition to be drugged or surgically treated, but asocial problem—shaped by peer culture, school environments, andsmartphones—that should be addressed with patient, reality-based therapy whenneeded. He criticized professional boards and training programs for enforcingideological compliance and pressuring clinicians to affirm rather thanevaluate. For parents, he cautioned that in some states resistance can triggerinvestigations or custody challenges, making early prevention—via school choiceand limiting phone exposure—crucial.

Billboard Chris: what happens outside the clinic

Chris Elston, a father turned full-time advocate, recountedconversations from campuses and city streets that echo the clinic: anxious,autistic, or traumatized teens—especially girls—are being told discomfortequals a new identity. He detailed cases where children were sociallytransitioned at school, shielded from parents, and fast-tracked to pubertyblockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries with minimal assessment. Hehighlighted detransitioners now speaking out about lost fertility, sexualdysfunction, and regret, and described mounting legal scrutiny of hospitals andinsurers over coding and consent.

Inside the “affirming” pipeline

The panel traced how the process often starts: a teen voicesdistress; school staff or club advisers introduce a transgender label; parentswho hesitate are warned they’ll have a “dead daughter or live son”; cliniciansprescribe blockers or hormones after cursory visits; and surgeries follow,sometimes in early adolescence. Dr. McDonald underscored that these pathwaysfrequently bypass root causes—bullying, social isolation, sexual trauma, autismspectrum conditions—and that puberty itself often resolves adolescentbody distress when given time.

Medicine, evidence, and the drug stack

On psychiatric medications, Dr. McDonald urged precision.While many youth in crisis receive SSRIs, he noted the lack of strong evidencelinking SSRIs to homicide, cautioned against overstating claims, and criticizedthe reflex to medicate instead of treating underlying issues. Both speakersstressed the absence of long-term, high-quality data supporting blockers andcross-sex hormones in minors, and warned about irreversible infertilityafter prolonged use.

The legal terrain: rights and risks

State laws vary widely. In several jurisdictions, parentswho resist medicalization can face school hostility or child-protectivescrutiny; elsewhere, legislatures and regulators are curbing pediatrictransition and investigating deceptive billing. The upshot, the panel said, isto know your state, document everything, and get competent,independence-minded counsel and clinicians before a crisis.

Detransitioners: the truth tellers

Though not McDonald’s patients, detransitioners he and Elston have interviewed are among the movement’s most powerful voices. Theirstories—sterility, disfigurement, unresolved mental-health needs—put humanfaces on policy and puncture the idea that medicalization reliably “saveslives.” Their testimony, the panel argued, is shifting public opinion andpolicy.

What parents can do

The townhall closed with practical steps. Remove childrenfrom schools that promote secrecy and social transitions. Delay or tightlysupervise smartphones and social media. If distress arises, seek therapists whoexplore reality and comorbidities rather than default to affirmation. Learnyour state’s laws and your rights before the first meeting with a counselor,school, or clinic. And above all, assert parental authority: you areyour child’s protector and first advocate.

This was not a polite nod to consensus. It was a blunt,often uncomfortable tour through the institutions, incentives, and ideasthat—according to the panel—are driving a pediatric mental-health and medicalcrisis. Whether you agree with every claim or not, the townhall’s core plea issimple: stop outsourcing judgment, ask hard questions, and protect childrenfrom irreversible decisions made in moments of pain.