In Canada you must be 18 in order to vote. It is like that in most countries.

You can join the military before you turn 18, but you have to have parental permission. In some places, such as British Columbia, a parent’s consent is required to obtain a driver’s licence if you haven’t reached your 18th birthday. 

Your parents can’t help you when it comes to the legal age for drinking alcohol. That’s at least 18, depending on your province. The same thing goes for buying cigarettes. Or marijuana.

The idea is that, as a society, we have determined that a certain level of maturity is required to be able to make important decisions. We don’t let children purchase firearms, nor do we let them choose our leaders. 

So can someone explain to me why a British Columbia doctor would consider gender reassignment surgery on a 17-year-old girl who has decided she should become male? What medical ethics allow a physician to perform a double mastectomy on a minor without parental consent?

Maybe I don’t understand these things, but if you aren’t considered old enough to vote, drink, smoke, drive or join the military, are you old enough to decide you want to have your breasts permanently sliced off? 

And why would a doctor just go along with such a request?

I await your response.