It seems inconsistent to me that conservatives are up in arms about the lack of parental autonomy when it comes to public education, but seem perfectly willing to take parental responsibility away when it comes to this issue. That is the problem I have with all of these "no transitioning until maturity" laws. It is nanny state stuff.
What happened to the principle that kids are the responsibility of the parents, and only the parents? Why must we pass more laws telling people what they cannot do?
In most cases the problem is not the parents. The problem is that in many states the kids have the right to make their own medical decisions at age 13. Social media has enlightened every teenager as to his or her "rights" in this regard, and the federal funding (CHIPS) is there to provide the money for whatever they want, from psychotropics to puberty blockers and beyond. So the big problem is that parents have been taken out of the picture, and the medical establishment (therapists, pediatricians, psychiatrists, etc.) is pushing intervention without parental consent. That is the real "dirty little secret" to all of this.
I say let's just make the age of maturity 21 years, with parents having liability for anything they allow to happen to a minor under their care. I think that would solve a lot of problems in this country, from guns to cultural decay, etc.
The society is just too complex for an 18-year old to navigate responsibly.