As a physician, I see how gender-affirming care benefits youth

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Dr. Patricia Seymour is a family doctor and the parent of a transgender child.

Our child came out to us as transgender after their 15th birthday.

It’s a personal moment I’ll never forget.

I cried and held them, feeling intense sadness that they, or anybody, could be living in a body that was causing them such distress.

Outwardly, I let our child know that we supported and loved them no matter what, but through those early months, I experienced a cascade of emotions based in fear and uncertainty. Even as a family doctor practising in B.C., I knew nothing about gender dysphoria or what “transition” meant. I held many common misconceptions: I wondered if this was just a phase; I thought they were too young to know.

In fact, our child had started to express dysphoria around age 12, but my husband and I brushed it aside as normal teen angst.

Many youth in this situation suffer in silence, sometimes for years – often with severe mental-health impacts. A 2019 survey by Trans PULSE Canada found that 40 per cent of respondents aged 14 to 24 considered suicide in the past year, while 10 per cent attempted it.

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Giving youth access to gender-affirming care (GAC), on the other hand, results in much better outcomes. A 2022 U.S. survey of almost 100,000 youth (16 and older) found that 79 per cent reported feeling “a lot more satisfied” with life following transition, while only 2 per cent reported feeling “a lot less satisfied.”

That’s why I have been so disturbed to see the developments in Alberta. In October, 2024, the Alberta government moved to restrict the ability of transgender minors to access gender-affirming care. This restricts a doctor’s ability to provide expertise and clinical guidance to patients, exposing all parties to significant distress.

The legislation prompted a lawsuit, which remains before the courts, and the judge granted an injunction in June, 2025, to pause the implementation of the legislation.

But then, on Tuesday, the Alberta government announced it would invoke the notwithstanding clause, shielding the legislation (and other laws affecting participation in sport and pronoun and name usage in schools) from the court’s purview.

This is a regressive, fear-based step driven by powerful people who are not informed, or, worse, are misinformed about how GAC is provided across Canada.

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As our child started to transition socially and come out as who they are – with new pronouns and their chosen name – my husband and I witnessed their increasing self-confidence and outright joy at being able to live and be accepted as their authentic self.

Accessing gender-affirming care on Vancouver Island was challenging. We had to travel for hormone assessment and treatment, incurring out-of-pocket expenses and lost income; other parents struggled to access care because of cost and long wait times.

In 2017, after consulting Trans Care BC, a group that connects trans people with clinicians, I decided to upgrade my skills and training to provide gender-affirming care to youth and adults in my community.

Working with youth seeking GAC and their families is one of the most rewarding and joyful parts of my practice. Many have waited years for care and have spent countless hours researching treatment options. The majority are well-informed, thoughtful and mature beyond their years.

If a patient has complex mental health issues, I ensure they have careful psychiatric assessments and continuous support. Each time I prescribe a puberty blocker I refer the child to a pediatric endocrinologist for monitoring (to track bone density, for example).

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My own experience prescribing puberty blockers has demonstrated enormous psycho-social benefits in youth who feel a quiet desperation watching their bodies change in ways they can’t control. The onset of puberty is often when a youth starts to feel severe dysphoria. A puberty blocker provides them with a pause to consider next steps, with minimal risks and no effects on fertility, and is 100-per-cent reversible.

I continue to follow patients until they and their families feel ready to proceed with hormones, a process that can take two years or more.

I’ve had several patients decide to pause or stop hormones for various reasons, but none has regretted their decision to transition.

As I do not practise in Alberta, the legislation will not affect my professional autonomy. But it’s a reminder to those who have advocated for decades to reduce barriers to GAC that we cannot let our guard down.

My family had the freedom to access GAC, in consultation with medical experts, and it changed our lives for the better. My child graduated at the top of their high-school class and completed engineering at university. They have a fulfilling job in the industry and a loving partner. They are thriving.

What more could a parent want?