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Pro-affirmation advocates believe that everyone has an innate gender identity and that clinicians should support and affirm this identity, including providing gender-affirming care to minors.
Skeptics or critics argue that some of the treatments offered, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, can cause significant physical and mental harm, including sterility. They contend these interventions should be carefully limited and only used in cases where the child's life is at imminent risk—akin to administering aggressive treatments for terminal illnesses, where the suffering caused by treatment is justified by the potential to save a life.