Twenty-five is not a neurobiologically determined age of maturity for gender-affirming medical decision-making

This manuscript critiques recent appeals to neurobiology that have been used to argue for the restriction of gender-affirming care to those above age 25. This viewpoint aims to place evidence regarding the continuing development of the human brain throughout the lifespan in its fuller context neurodevelopmentally and in terms of functional decision-making. We argue that the literature does not provide a basis on which adolescents and young adults should be disempowered from their own medical decision-making. Instead, the evidence points to the capacity of young people to make medical decisions in careful collaboration with care providers.