Prominent transgender medical activists are up in arms over the American Society of Plastic Surgeons’ recommendation that children under 19 not have body parts surgically removed to treat gender confusion.
The ASPS left no uncertainty on its position on gender surgery for minors in its February 3 policy statement, which recommends “surgeons delay gender-related breast/chest, genital, and facial surgery until a patient is at least 19 years old.”
A group of only seven individuals, who identified themselves as “Concerned members of the ASPS Gender Surgery Task Force,” signed an open letter to the ASPS demanding the organization provide clarifying information about the gender surgery statement, including its authors’ names, how it was developed, and if the board considered the “areas of emerging consensus” being reached by the task force.
“Clarification of the process used in developing this position statement is necessary to ensure transparency, accountability, and confidence in ASPS governance,” the letter reads.
Signatories of the letter include leaders of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH), a leading force pushing transgender procedures for minors. That includes WPATH president Asa Radix, MD, President-Elect Loren Schechter, MD, and board of directors member Scott Leibowitz, MD, who expected the “Gender Surgery Task Force” to “inform future ASPS statements or policy positions,” according to the letter.
“Let’s be clear: this is not a serious response from unbiased plastic surgeons,” Dr. Kurt Miceli, Medical Director at Do No Harm, told The Daily Wire. “This is a malicious attempt by WPATH activists to sow mistrust in ASPS’s meticulous and well-supported position statement on pediatric sex-rejecting procedures.”
“Their objections amount to little more than procedural complaints and never grapple with the substance of ASPS’s new position statement. This coordinated pushback should be recognized for what it is: unfounded and politically driven,” Miceli added.
The Daily Wire first reviewed the letter after it was obtained by Do No Harm. The ASPS told The Daily Wire the letter is based on a “series of misunderstandings.”
“It is important to note that the letter is based on a series of misunderstandings, which ASPS is in the process of clarifying for its members,” the group said.
WPATH is an activist medical organization that promotes discredited science that is heavily reliant on medical consensus, rather than scientific evidence.
When deciding what would be included in its clinical guidance, WPATH members created consensus among its members by anonymously voting if they agreed or disagreed with proposed clinical recommendation statements, according to its website.
The open letter described how a similar process was being used by the “Gender Surgery Task Force” to find areas of “emerging consensus,” noting the task force was “actively working towards a summary intended to inform Board-level deliberation regarding any Society position or policy statement.”
Both the Cass Review and the Department of Health and Human Services report on the treatment of gender dysphoria note that pediatric gender medicine guidelines rely heavily on medical consensus amongst like-minded professionals, rather than strong evidence.
“Many internationally influential guidelines, including those from WPATH, the Endocrine Society, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, have been criticized for substantial methodological shortcomings and inadequately managed conflicts of interest, resulting in recommendations not reliably supported by rigorous evidence,” the HHS report says.
“This pattern of circular referencing and mutual endorsement among these guidelines further compromises their credibility and has likely perpetuated a perceived consensus in pediatric gender medicine that belies the actual paucity of high-quality evidence,” the report reads.
The ASPS statement cited several comprehensive evidence reviews, including the HHS report, showing a departure from the consensus model adopted by many medical organizations.
WPATH did not immediately respond to The Daily Wire’s request for comment.
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