Like small, beautiful flowers opening in a duststorm

In a new interview on RÚV, two doctors from the trans team for children and adolescents at Landspítali (the National University Hospital) — Björn Hjálmarsson, child psychiatrist, and Ragnar Bjarnason, pediatric endocrinologist — step forward to respond to the heated debate that has raged around trans children in recent weeks.

Their message is clear: being trans is not a mental illness, and there is no epidemic underway — only a reality that is finally coming into view as attitudes and laws improve. Trans children have always existed. Care here in Iceland is cautious and professional, and no child undergoes gender-affirming procedures.

Amid all the storm, the doctors remind us of what matters most: the children themselves, who are like small, beautiful flowers opening up despite the storm around them.

We encourage everyone to listen and to read.