As Maine goes, so goes the nation
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Only one Democrat on the Judiciary Committee opposed the bill, which passed through the committee by a vote of 7-1 and is sponsored by Rep. Erin Sheehan D-Biddeford. The bill, L.D. 535, would allow minors aged 16 and 17 to receive cross-sex hormone therapy [sic] without the approval of their parents if they have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
“The goal of this proposal is to protect the lives of young trans people who will certainly be harmed in a delay of gender-affirming care,” Rep. Sheehan remarked.
One tofu snorter, five cowards:
The lone Republican who was present, Sen. Eric Brakey, R-Auburn, voted in support of the legislation. The other Republican on the 13-member committee left before the vote.
Next week, the Judiciary Committee is set to hear other bills concerning the LGBT movement, including a piece of legislation that would prevent teachers from referring to students with different pronouns without parental consent and one that would ban males who identify as girls from playing in girls’ sports.
All of which, I predict, will be defeated:
Maine’s state House of Representatives has 81 Democrats and 67 Republicans, as well as 2 Independents and one vacancy. Meanwhile, the state Senate is comprised of 22 Democrats and 13 Republicans.
Then there’s this, from the National Institute of Mental Health:
1. Adolescence is an important time for brain development.
Although the brain stops growing in size by early adolescence, the teen years are all about fine-tuning how the brain works. The brain finishes developing and maturing in the mid-to-late 20s. The part of the brain behind the forehead, called the prefrontal cortex, is one of the last parts to mature. This area is responsible for skills like planning, prioritizing, and making good decisions.
2. Brain development is related to social experiences during adolescence.
Changes to the areas of the brain responsible for social processes can lead teens to focus more on peer relationships and social experiences. The emphasis on peer relationships, along with ongoing prefrontal cortex development, might lead teens to take more risks because the social benefits outweigh the possible consequences of a decision. These risks could be negative or dangerous, or they could be positive, such as talking to a new classmate or joining a new club or sport.
But those same adolescents are deemed capable of making a decision on a permanent, life-long “treatment” that will sterilize them and prevent them from ever having children. Parents who think they know better than their children will have no say in the matter: “The children belong to all of us (Democrats)”.
