TY - JOUR T1 - Flawed reasoning on two dilemmas: a commentary on Baron and Dierckxsens (2021) JF - Journal of Medical Ethics JO - J Med Ethics DO - 10.1136/medethics-2021-107647 SP - medethics-2021-107647 AU - Florence Ashley Y1 - 2021/08/26 UR - http://jme.bmj.com/content/early/2021/08/26/medethics-2021-107647.abstract N2 - A recent paper by Teresa Baron and Geoffrey Dierckxsens (2021) argues that puberty blockers and hormone therapy should be disallowed before adulthood on prudential and consent-related grounds. This response contends that their argument fails because it is predicated on unsupported premises and misinterpretations of the available evidence. There is no evidence that a large proportion of pubertal and postpubertal youths later discontinue medical transition. Meaningful assent is a viable and commonly accepted alternative to meaningful consent in paediatric bioethics. And finally, the primary purpose of transition-related interventions is to actualise youths’ gendered self-image, not treat an underlying mental illness. ER -