In case you weren’t already having enough trouble sleeping, let’s take a look at some new events on the transgender front, this time coming to us from our neighbors to the north. In Canada, the idea of “transgender kids” is nothing new and parents have been dealing with some troubling situations for a while now. But this year, the courts are stepping in to take the side of these children against the judgment and wishes of their parents in a big way. A report from Salem’s Albert Mohler asks if we’re seeing the end of parental rights.

A father in British Columbia grew concerned over his 13-year-old daughter’s desire to be a boy. Counselors at school had apparently suggested that the girl (called “Maxine” in this article) start taking testosterone so she could begin to develop a more masculine appearance. The father “expressed concerns” (the mother was apparently okay with it, though why they weren’t both simply horrified is a mystery), but the government stepped in. And now the Supreme Court of Briitish Columbia has issued a ruling in favor of the child and imposing restrictions on the parents.

Jeremiah Keenan, reporter for the Federalist, documented a decision last Wednesday in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. The court ordered that a 14-year-old girl receive testosterone injections without parental consent. The court also declared that if either of her parents referred to her using female pronouns or addressed her by her birth name, the parents could be charged with family violence. Evidently, the girl’s school counselor encouraged her to identify as a boy as early as the seventh grade. When Maxine—the name used in the Federalist article—turned 13, Dr. Brenden Hursh and his colleagues at the British Columbia Children’s Hospital decided that she, “Should begin taking testosterone injections in order to develop a more masculine appearance.” Keenan reported that while the mother accepted the idea of hormone injections, the girl’s father was “concerned about the permanent ramifications of cross-sex hormones.” Further: “Suspecting that his daughter’s mental health issues might be more of the cause than the effect of her gender dysphoria. He ultimately decided that it would be better for her to wait until she was older before she embarked on any irreversible course of treatment.”

This isn’t some local magistrate or school official we’re talking about here. It’s the Supreme Court of the Provence. They’re not only allowing foreign hormones to be pumped into a thirteen-year-old girl but telling her parents that if they don’t start referring to her using masculine pronouns they will be charged with a crime. How have we come to such a turn of events? As far as I’m concerned, adults can do whatever they want with their bodies if they’re willing to live with and take responsibility for the consequences. But we’re talking about children here.

Of course, part of the blame can be cast equally to the parents and the school. The fact that the mother was going along with the plan and the father was at least willing to entertain the idea after Maxine got a little older shows that the kid was off to a rocky start. There’s so much transgender obsession showing up in the news and spreading through schools that she could easily have been led down this path through both peer and familial influence. But the school counselor was actively encouraging the child to consider this in seventh grade. The kid was barely past puberty at that point and doubtless going through all of the confusion and maturation issues everyone faces at that age.

This isn’t quite as bad as the parents who allow their prepubescent children to take drugs to ward off the onset of puberty, but it’s still pretty bad. What happens when a few years go by and Maxine realizes shes miserable and made a horrible mistake? By that point, they’ll be looking at years of exhaustive therapy and medical intervention to bring her back to some semblance of normality… if they’re lucky.

Think this can’t happen in the United States? I’ve got news for you. It’s already starting. All that’s missing is a court case that sides with the activists. We are crashing toward a cultural abyss with all of this hysteria and, at least to date, nobody is stepping in to defend basic science and protect these children. Buckle up, campers. You’ve lived to see interesting times and it’s going to be a bumpy ride.