Boston’s Children’s Hospital bills itself as the hospital for children. Dr. Norman Spack, a pediatric specialist there, has launched a clinic for transgendered kids, some as young as 7. He offers counseling and drugs to delay the onset of puberty by stopping the natural flood of hormones that would make it difficult to have a sex alteration later in life, allowing patients more time to decide whether they want to make the change. He also offers hormone therapy, which changes the way teenagers grow and develop, including causing permanent infertility in both sexes, which many patients say is worth the trade-off for not feeling suicidal.
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