Here is Renee Gardner writing at The Federalist — lobotomy is a great parallel:
We can learn a lot by looking back at history. Here I revisit the rise and fall of the lobotomy and compare it to today’s enthusiasm for altering children’s bodies to match their gender identities.
Back in 1987, Dr. Valenstein reminded attendees at a science conference to remember the history of the lobotomy. He warned that “all the major factors that shaped its development are still with us today.”
…desperate patients and their families still are willing to risk unproven therapies when nothing else helps. Ambitious doctors can persuade some of the media to report untested cures with anecdotal ‘research.’.…It could happen again.
I believe it is happening again—not with lobotomies, but pediatric medical transition. The treatment of “transgender” children is gaining significant momentum, despite the lack of research and regardless of the significant risks involved.
We can learn a lot by looking back at history. Here I revisit the rise and fall of the lobotomy and compare it to today’s enthusiasm for altering children’s bodies to match their gender identities.
A Short History of the Lobotomy in the United States
In the United States, the lobotomy pioneer and leading practitioner was Dr. Walter Freeman, a neurologist based in Washington DC. His story is featured in the hour-long 2008 PBS documentary, “The Lobotomist,” which I will quote throughout this article. Here is the full transcript.
In the spring 1936, Freeman came across a study conducted by Egas Moniz, a Portuguese neurologist, who took small corings from the brains of 20 patients with anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. Moniz claimed the procedure eliminated symptoms in a third of them.
Freeman built on Moniz’s work. He thought disrupting the connections in the brain’s frontal lobes would bring patients relief from intense mental anguish. Freeman didn’t have a license to perform surgery, so he hired neurosurgeon James Watts.
Read more: The Federalist
Image credit: www. thefederalist.com.
