Dilemma with a transgender patient

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o_mlly said:
Charity and love are identities. To love another is to will them good.
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There are different kinds of love. I do not love my neighbors in the same way I love my immediate family. Lincoln said, “With malice toward none, with charity for all,” and I don’t think he meant we should afford the people at the homeless shelter the same kind of charity we afford a spouse.

The dynamic between a nurse and a patient is very different from that between a husband and a wife or two sisters. etc. Love, and charity, which is also love, true, but with a wider scope, never seeks to inflict distress. Not to call a critically ill person by the name he or she prefers would inflict great distress, and it would be totally unnecessary. In fact, it would strike me as mean and petty.
 
o_mlly said:
If the genitals are normal then gender is determined according to Catholic teaching. The physical body determines gender. God made them male and female.
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I asked what would you have a doctor do if a baby is born with both male and female genitals. It happens, and one set must be removed. The brain and hormones provide an objective answer.

No answer?

Not everyone is Catholic. The time will never come when everyone will be. We need to respect others’ beliefs as well.
 
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ConstantLearner said:
What do you call a baby born with both sets of genitals?
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Hermaphroditism is different than transgerders. People sometimes confuse being transgender and being intersex. Intersex people have reproductive anatomy or genes that don’t fit typical definitions of male or female, which is often discovered at birth. Transgender, meanwhile, has to do with your internal knowledge of your gender identity which is the opposite of their birth gender determination.
 
Of course it’s different, but which set of genitals would you remove? That’s the question.
 
ConstantLearner said:
I do not love my neighbors in the same way I love my immediate family.
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Why not?
ConstantLearner said:
Love, and charity, which is also love, true, but with a wider scope, never seeks to inflict distress.
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Never? Read the gospels. Love of the Truth sometimes requires us to cause distress in others. We are commanded to love the Truth first.

There are two different situations to reflect on this issue. The first is the OP’s subjective situation – what is the correct attitude when in the presence of an afflicted (wounded) person. This requires a pastoral response. See:
https://www.catholic.com/audio/cal/8030
If I am introduced to a transgender person or a same-sex couple, do I address them how them way they want to be addressed or do I correct them?

The second, like this thread, is an objective conversation – what is the truth about this issue. This requires a theological response. See:
 
o_mlly said:
The thread is on transgenders. Start a new thread to ask your different question.
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It’s okay to say you don’t have an answer. None of us has all the answers to everything.
 
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You need to put “love” in context. This thread is about how a nurse should address a critically ill patient who cannot respond.

She should address her by the name the patient prefers. Everyone has that right. To not do so would inflict unnecessary distress and be cruel and petty. It would be an offense against G-d. the nursing profession, and ethics. The hospital could be sued. She is performing nursing duties, not evangelizing.

The gospels have no relevance for me since I am Jewish.
 
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ConstantLearner said:
You need to put “love” in context. Thread is about how a nurse should address a critically ill patient who cannot respond.

She should address her by the name the patient prefers. Everyone has that right. She is performing nursing duties, not evangelizing.
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Unfortunately, my answer to the OP was deleted at the initiation of a “wannabe moderator.” My post agrees in general with your idea.
 
o_mlly said:
As suggested, start a new thread an I’ll consider your question. A knee-jerk reply is not my style.
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As I said, none of us has the answer to everything. That’s fine. Without knowing more, I couldn’t answer the question. My point was that things are not as cut-and-dried as you seem to want them to be.
 
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ConstantLearner said:
My point was that things are not as cut-and-dried as you seem to want them to be.
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What I want or don’t want is beyond your knowing. Catholic moral theology regarding transgenders is specific (cut and dried). Show me the error(s).
 
o_mlly said:
A person’s sex identity is not determined by one’s subjective beliefs, desires or feelings. It is a function of his or her nature .
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Who’s to say that feelings and desires aren’t part of one’s nature?
 
o_mlly said:
What I want or don’t want is beyond your knowing. Catholic moral theology regarding transgenders is specific (cut and dried). Show me the error(s).
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You’ve stated your position on this thread, and I read well.

As I’ve said, not everyone is Catholic.
 
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