“There is no other cosmetic operation where it is considered morally acceptable to destroy a human function. None,” he told me. “There is no cosmetic operation that I could propose in front of a room full of my colleagues where I could say, ‘Hey, listen, I’m going to improve this guy’s nose but take away his ability to smell.’ Or, ‘I’m going to improve the appearance of this boy’s ears but he’s going to be deaf.’ They’d say, ‘Sir, we’d like to see your credentials.’ But in the case of an adolescent girl, surrendering her capacity to breastfeed so that she can appear to be a boy, that’s
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