That's why I'm refraining from voicing my opinion on whether or not it's a good idea to alter one's body at all - it doesn't apply here, and no one is asking me.

I am judging from the perspective of a therapist with quite a lot of experience in childhood interventions of all types. Unlike the speakers in this video, who feel obliged to state that they aren't doctors and don't really know what risks might be introduced with this intervention, I am not commenting on something about which I have no experience. There are risks, not just from altering the endocrine system of a body, but also from failing to respect how a person's values, interests, and needs change immensely through the lifespan.

My perspective changed a lot after seeing how difficult it is for so many parents to set boundaries, and to face momentary discomfort for something that's far better in the long run. They want their child to be less anxious, but they don't set aside time for the earlier bedtime routine and the physical exercises we show them. They really want their autistic child to learn to talk, but turning off YouTube to do the sometimes tedious work of connecting with that child on his level is uncomfortable for everyone, so on it goes. They'll turn to pharmaceuticals for help, and sometimes it will help. Their doctors will be quite willing to prescribe them, since doctors don't really know how to advise people on the day to day work of living.

What I'm saying is I've seen our systems fail kids again and again, and I see this as no different. When school days got longer and recess got shorter and everyone got their own screens suddenly everyone had ADHD, and there's a pill for that. Then they put girls in boy scouts, made most male role models coed, started calling masculinity toxic and told girls we really only have value if we pursue careers instead of motherhood. Now more people are becoming trans and what do ya know - there's a pill for that too.

My deep and abiding mistrust here isn't about trans people, it's about altering development through medical intervention when so much can be done to support one another without invasive treatments.

I can think of two analogies to help us understand one another. Cochlear implants are an invasive medical intervention that even I would argue should be done when a child is young so they might grow up being able to hear. I don't see making a child trans in that light, but I could try to see how your friends might see it that way. So here's the other: what if Christian families started giving a hormonal treatment to their children, which made them more likely to have a transcendental experience and to believe in God? Maybe it would be part of a confirmation ceremony, so only if the child "chooses" it, of course. Would you support that? Personally, I would not. Even if there seemed to be no adverse effects, and if I believed they'd have happier lives by this medical conversion to Christianity, I would consider this wrong. That's just not how any of this works.