A conference hosted by the largest professional association of pediatricians in the United States kicked out a group of detransitioners who sought to share their perspectives with doctors, The Daily Wire has learned.
Detransitioners are individuals who attempted the impossible — to change their gender through hormonal or surgical transgender interventions — before stopping treatments and living as their biological sex. They are largely ignored in the mainstream media and dismissed by medical organizations. But many detransitioned individuals have taken their stories to social media and grown large followings as they spread awareness about the dangers of so-called &#8220;gender-affirming care.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
BREAKING: The <a href="https://twitter.com/AmerAcadPeds?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AmerAcadPeds</a> has kicked out a detrans group that included Chloe Cole, Abel Garcia, Soren Aldaco, and Nicolas Flowers from their annual conference. Why is the AAP preventing doctors from hearing these stories? <a href="https://t.co/GI0smBFF2C">pic.twitter.com/GI0smBFF2C</a>
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1840859283040453079?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2024</a></blockquote>
The American Academy of Pediatrics <a href="https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/25340/AAP-reaffirms-gender-affirming-care-policy?autologincheck=redirected">voted in 2023</a> to reaffirm its 2018 policy statement promoting so-called &#8220;gender-affirming care&#8221; and authorizing the development of guidance for pediatricians based on a &#8220;systematic review of the evidence.&#8221; AAP CEO Mark Del Monte promised at the time that AAP will continue to “ensure young people get the reproductive and gender-affirming care they need and are seen, heard and valued as they are.&#8221;
Members of the Alliance for Mental Health, a coalition of groups advocating for mental health over medical treatments for gender confusion, attended the American Academy of Pediatrics conference this weekend in Orlando, Florida. Detransitioners Chloe Cole, Abel Garcia, Soren Aldaco, and Nicholas Flowers were present, along with activists Erin Friday and January Littlejohn.
The group spent over $25,000 on a booth where they could easily access attendees, Friday shared with The Daily Wire. Their goal was to communicate with the doctors who were traveling from around the world to attend the conference. And they were successful, Garcia told The Daily Wire, until they were booted from the conference on Monday morning, their third day at the conference.
Video footage shared with The Daily Wire&#8217;s Matt Walsh shows a security guard claiming that one of the individuals had violated &#8220;the code of contact last year.&#8221; The guard tells them they need to &#8220;leave the event immediately&#8221; and return their name badges, giving them about five minutes to disassemble their booth.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
3/ Rather than speak for themselves, the AAP sent venue security to inform these mental health professionals, mothers, and detransitioners that they had 10 minutes to pack up their booth and exit the conference venue. <a href="https://t.co/ZatB9hLfpu">pic.twitter.com/ZatB9hLfpu</a>
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1840859291374522754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;They don&#8217;t want detransitioners here at the AAP,&#8221; Littlejohn can be seen telling the guard. &#8220;They want to pretend that they don&#8217;t exist. What&#8217;s really sad is, our information was really well received by the pediatricians here. We are very concerned about the mental health of people with gender dysphoria, and it&#8217;s really time that the AAP acknowledge the harm that&#8217;s occurring.&#8221;
The AAP did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Daily Wire explaining which individual was problematic enough to get them removed from the conference. Littlejohn believes they were removed because of their message: that the AAP should not be endorsing so-called &#8220;gender-affirming care,&#8221; transgender surgeries, hormones, and puberty blockers, for minors.
Garcia acted as the Spanish coordinator for the Alliance for Mental Health, he said on Monday, sharing that his job was to speak with Spanish attendees from countries including Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala. The doctors with whom their group spoke were &#8220;shocked&#8221; to discover what the AAP has condoned, Garcia said. These doctors reportedly shared that in their countries, adults were seeking gender transitions, but such procedures were not being pushed on children.
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6/ “We matter, our voices matter, and our health matters. We went through such a traumatic medical experiment, and yet we’re still constantly put into this turmoil…” said Nicolas Flowers, another detransitioner escorted from the event. <a href="https://twitter.com/nicolasblooms?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nicolasblooms</a> <a href="https://t.co/PnIXo3far0">pic.twitter.com/PnIXo3far0</a>
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1840859297250754646?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2024</a></blockquote>
&#8220;I believe our efforts were successful,&#8221; Garcia shared in a phone interview on Monday. &#8220;Our goal was to not get kicked out on the first day&#8230;being kicked out on the third day was the best option because that way we had the max amount of time to communicate with the attendees about protecting children and why the AAP supports mutilating children and &#8216;gender-affirming care.'&#8221;

Photo Sep 29 2024, 10 10 15 AMJanuary, Abel, Pam, Nicolas, Soren, Erin, Chloe (whole group)

Detransitioners Booted From American Academy of Pediatrics Conference

American Academy of Pediatrics

LGBTQ

Matt Walsh

Transgender

A group of nearly two dozen state attorneys general is warning the American Academy of Pediatrics that it may be breaking the law by continuing to recommend puberty blockers to children who are unhappy with their biological gender despite evidence the drugs cause harm.
On Tuesday, the 21 attorneys general, led by Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, sent a <a href="https://attorneygeneralofidaho-my.sharepoint.com/personal/isaac_considine_ag_idaho_gov/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fisaac%5Fconsidine%5Fag%5Fidaho%5Fgov%2FDocuments%2F00%20%2D%20PR%2F2024%2D09%2D24%20AAP%20Letter%2F2024%2D09%2D24%20AAP%27s%20Compliance%20with%20State%20Consumer%20Protection%20Laws%2Epdf&amp;parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fisaac%5Fconsidine%5Fag%5Fidaho%5Fgov%2FDocuments%2F00%20%2D%20PR%2F2024%2D09%2D24%20AAP%20Letter&amp;ga=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> warning the Academy that it may be violating a slew of state consumer protection laws.
The group put the Academy &#8220;on notice for possible violations of state consumer protection statutes over its evidence free standards on gender dysphoria care for minors,&#8221; the attorneys general <a href="https://www.ag.idaho.gov/newsroom/attorney-general-labrador-challenges-american-academy-of-pediatrics-to-disclose-gender-dysphoria-guidance-and-methodology/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement.
&#8220;Most concerning, AAP claims that the use of puberty blockers on children is safe and reversible,&#8221; the group wrote, calling that claim &#8220;misleading and deceptive.&#8221;
The Academy&#8217;s guidance is based &#8220;more on political pressure and agendas rather than medical efficacy and sound medical judgement,&#8221; the group wrote.
The attorneys general are demanding the Academy submit specific documentation for its ongoing recommendations of the powerful drugs for gender dysphoric children.
&#8220;Telling parents and children that puberty blockers are &#8216;reversible&#8217; at the very least conveys assurance that no permanent harm or change will occur,&#8221; the attorneys general wrote in their letter. &#8220;But that claim cannot be made in the face of the unstudied and &#8216;novel&#8217; use of puberty blockers to treat gender dysphoria.&#8221;
&#8220;We expect you will address this matter with the same seriousness that we are, and we look forward to receiving your response soon,&#8221; the group wrote.
The Academy represents 67,000 pediatricians across the country.
Puberty blockers can <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gender-dysphoria/in-depth/pubertal-blockers/art-20459075">affect</a> bone growth and density and cause sexual dysfunction, voice damage, and infertility, among other issues. Cross-sex hormones, often given to children after they take puberty blockers, which can be estrogen or testosterone can <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/transgender-young-people-in-u-s-have-nearly-doubled-recently-report-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cause</a> infertility, deadly blood clots, heart attacks, increased cancer risks of the breasts and ovaries, liver dysfunction, worsening psychological illness, and other serious conditions.
In Europe, several countries including England, Finland, and Sweden have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/puberty-blockers-ban-upheld-by-british-court">pumped</a> the brakes on transgender medical interventions for children, including both puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
The attorneys general cites the Cass review, the landmark <a href="https://cass.independent-review.uk/home/publications/final-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> commissioned by England’s National Health Service, which recommended halting the prescription of puberty blockers due to their effects on brain development and bone health.
In April, the Tavistock clinic, England’s only youth gender identity clinic, officially closed its doors after being dogged by controversy for years.
The clinic, the biggest in the world, <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/health/2024/03/inside-the-collapse-of-the-tavistock-centre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">referred</a> thousands of children for puberty blockers. In its last years, Tavistock began to see an increasing flood of young girls with gender-related distress asking for drugs despite having other mental issues like depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and histories of abuse.
In May, a British high court upheld Britain’s ban on puberty blockers.
At least 25 U.S. states have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nebraska-supreme-court-upholds-bans-on-abortion-transgender-surgeries-for-minors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed</a> restrictions on transgender surgeries and hormone treatments for minors.
The Cass review also warned that children who are referred to gender services come with high rates of abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse and parental substance abuse.

Hormonal pills after gender reassignment

‘Evidence Free’: Puberty Blocker Recommendation May Break Law, 21 AGs Warn Pediatrician Group

'Evidence Free': Puberty Blocker Recommendation May Break Law, 21 AGs Warn Pediatrician Group

Attorney General

Gender

Health

Health Care

When I enlisted in the Army in 2001, I recall the part of in-processing that had me lying naked on an exam table with only a big, white sheet covering my body, tented by my knees. I was told that the physician was going to walk in, lift the sheet to observe my genitalia, and walk out. That’s exactly what he did. The U.S. Army found that my anatomy was commensurate with what is defined as “female.” In other words, sex was defined by anatomy.
Fast forward about 20 years, and I attended the September 2022 Contraceptive Technology Virtual Conference in an attempt to stay informed in my role as the clinical consultant for the Title X Family Planning Program in Kansas.
As an experienced registered nurse and public health professional trained in the fundamental truths of anatomy and biology, I was surprised when conference speakers gave preemptive apologies for using the word “woman.” When they used the word “woman,” they explained it was only to mirror the older, less politically correct research they referenced. They even made it a point to say they were aware of the offense it may cause because it did not include members of the “trans” community.
Each time I heard this, I wondered: Why are medical professionals apologizing for using the lexicon firmly established in every sphere of life—social, cultural, academic, philosophical, scientific? I realized there was a social construct to “woman,” but that didn’t contradict basic anatomy and genetics, which are visually observable.
One presenter suggested we stop using the term “women’s clinic” and begin asking patients if they are comfortable with using anatomical terms like “vagina” or if they prefer made-up terms like “front-hole.”
This is the salient point of gender ideology — the truth is irrelevant. I would go one step further and say the truth is being undermined at the behest of proclaimed authorities of inclusion and diversity.
I know I am not alone, professionally. Where are all my fellow nurses, providers, and researchers who stand on eternal truth?
More recently, I have seen guides put forth by local breastfeeding coalitions on the implementation of vocabulary that is more “inclusive,” such as “chestfeeding” in lieu of breastfeeding. All of this is to assuage a small but ever-growing percentage of people who reject biological reality and want to be something other than their actual sex.
In 2017, I was 41 years old and at a pinnacle point in my career. I was Assistant Director of Clinical Operations in a local health department and the President of the Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN). I served both of these roles while finishing my RWJF Health Policy Fellowship and working on my master’s in public health.
In the eyes of today’s high-performing culture, I was successful, but my husband’s health propelled me to a role that could accommodate the needs of my family. His health issues were unexpected, so I needed to be working closer to home.
So, that same year, I transitioned into my current role as a <a href="https://www.nationalfamilyplanning.org/title-x_title-x-key-facts#:~:text=Everyone%20who%20accesses%20family%20planning,status%2C%20or%20any%20other%20characteristic." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Title X</a> Family Planning Clinical Consultant. But I am now at a point in my life where I can no longer reconcile my values and professional role in this program.
Title X, a federal grant program to provide sexual health and family planning services, is available for all adolescents without regard to age. With this program, minors are legally allowed to access contraception, for example, without a parent or guardian. That’s right, Title X providers must keep patient information confidential from parents.
Providing education and counseling on contraceptive methods and how to prevent exposure to sexually transmitted infections is one thing. This is factual information, and it’s very straightforward. However, the services go well beyond that. Affirming an adolescent’s identity that is inconsistent with their anatomy is a dangerous treachery of the highest order because confusion and lies are being affirmed.
It doesn’t just stop with “social transitioning” for minors. Surgical and other forms of medical transitioning lead to permanent health complications and a life-long patient status. All of this sells lies to our youth. No amount of surgery or hormones will ever make a male a female or vice versa.
When big organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists release guidance on providing “gender-affirming care,” they’re giving pseudoscience a stamp of legitimacy. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around it — and struggling. My job was to measure practice against nationally recognized “gold standards,” and those are changing before my eyes.
As caretakers for those struggling with dementia know, you never affirm the “worms they see crawling on the wall,” but you respond with compassion and reorient them to reality and the truth. Affirming lies only furthers their confusion and does more harm than good.
Treating people with dignity and respect because they are human beings is no longer sufficient in so-called health care. Validating and legitimizing gender identities that contradict basic anatomy and genetics are now ubiquitously suggested and, at times, outright demanded. How do they demand it? The medical establishment demands the world cede the established terms of male and female.
What happens in the medical establishment trickles down into mass culture, too. After I shared my thoughts on changing culture with a writing group, the leader suggested I look into the story of Riley Gaines. After all, the issue is the same, but it manifests differently in college sports versus health care.
Upon Googling Riley Gaines, I found Independent Women’s Forum (IWF) and knew I needed to tell them about my experience. IWF isn’t just documenting the stories of female athletes like Gaines, they are providing a platform for individuals to make their voices heard on a wide range of women’s issues.
Then I discovered IWF’s <a href="https://www.iwf.org/identity-crisis-stories/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Identity Crisis</a> documentary series where detransitioners Prisha Mosley, Isabelle Ayala, and Soren Aldaco completely exposed the dangerous sequelae of gender ideology. I was angry. I remember asking myself: Where are all the sane, ethical health professionals? Why aren’t these young ladies’ parents being told the truth?
Where does this insanity end? At best, it feels like an arrogant attempt to erase the experience of half the population. At worst, it serves girls and women up as an all-you-can-eat prey buffet for men who will claim to be women — not because they truly suffer from gender dysphoria, but because they are predators seeking access to female-only spaces.
Emboldened voices scream about the injustice of appropriation when it comes to racial and ethnic groups, but where is the outcry in defense of the appropriation of women, as if dresses and makeup are the sum of the female experience? To undermine women — those who gave birth to every group, every nation, indeed the world — through imitation is a great injustice.
Yes, men plant their seed, but women are the ones who labor to grow that new human life in their womb and give birth to a human baby. It is a beautiful and elegantly simple design that honors both men and women. The medical industry I’ve been a part of for several decades used to recognize this.
I will not play the pronoun game or any gender-neutralizing tactic to mock a perfect design. I will not apologize for using the word woman. I am a woman.
* * *
Ivonne Rivera-Newberry is a Title X Clinical Consultant for the Kansas Department of Health &amp; Environment and an experienced Registered Nurse with four decades of service to the healthcare industry.
The view expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Group of unknown doctors  use a computer tablet to check up some medical names records, while standing in a sunny hospital office. Physicians ready to examine and help patients. Medical help, insuranc

I’m A Registered Nurse And I’m Sounding The Alarm On Gender Ideology Deception In Medicine

gender ideology

Hospitals

Medical

Opinion

Readers Pass

transgender surgery

Women

Seven states and a pediatrician group are suing the Biden administration for encouraging doctors to &#8220;affirm&#8221; children&#8217;s new gender identities and push them toward medical interventions.
The seven states, Missouri, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Idaho, and Arkansas along with the American College Of Pediatricians filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The suit takes issue with a controversial rule the agency adopted in April that would force doctors and other health care workers to follow the &#8220;affirming&#8221; model and provide transgender medical interventions. The rule redefined “sex discrimination” in health care to include “gender identity” and “sexual orientation,” prompting backlash from critics.
The plaintiffs argue the rule established the &#8220;affirming&#8221; model an &#8220;unproven&#8221; new standard of care and violates the Affordable Care Act by requiring doctors to act against their sound medical judgment.
&#8220;Indeed, the rule requires doctors to provide and promote &#8216;social transitions,&#8217; use of pronouns inconsistent with biological sex, experimental use of puberty-blockers and cross-sex hormones for &#8216;gender-transition&#8217; purposes, and perform harmful, sterilizing procedures on adults and children to appear to be the opposite sex, even if state law restricts these procedures. Doctors are even required to inaccurately code their patient’s charts based on gender identity rather than biological sex,&#8221; the American College Of Pediatricians said in a press release.
The lawsuit asks a Missouri federal court to permanently block the HHS rule.
Since April, three other federal courts in Tennessee, Florida, and Texas have stopped the rule from going into effect, court documents from the suit <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/healthcare/3076588/seven-states-sue-biden-hhs-transgender-medicine-children/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>.
Dr. Jill Simons, executive director of the American College Of Pediatricians emphasized that doctors should &#8220;never be forced&#8221; to violate their sound medical judgment and perform &#8220;life-altering and sterilizing interventions.&#8221;
&#8220;Our doctors take an oath to do no harm, but the Biden administration’s rule forces them to violate this oath and perform procedures that are harmful and dangerous to our patients — vulnerable children. What the Biden Administration is calling for is wrong and unlawful,&#8221; Simons said in a statement.
In recent years, a wave of seemingly gender dysphoric children in both the U.S. and Europe have been approved for drugs and surgeries to make them appear as the opposite sex.
However, several European countries and U.S. states have pumped the brakes on these treatments.
At least 25 states have passed legislation banning or restricting transgender medical interventions for minors. In Florida, Ohio, and Montana, restrictions are held up in court.

Nurse holding hands with girl in hospital

Seven States Sue Biden HHS Over Transgender Medical Standard For Children

Children

Doctors

More than 100 health care professionals and groups have signed onto a declaration calling on major medical organizations to halt dangerous <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/transgender" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transgender</a> medical interventions for children.
The “Doctors Protecting Children Declaration” was <a href="https://doctorsprotectingchildren.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> by doctors, nurses, psychotherapists, scientists, researchers, and others, who announced the declaration at a Thursday press conference in Washington, D.C., The Daily Signal first <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/06/06/exclusive-doctors-urge-top-medical-orgs-stop-harming-kids-transgender-surgeries-hormones/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
“We are here defying the claims made by these medical organizations in the U.S. that those of us who are concerned are a minority, and that their protocols are consensus,” Dr. Jill Simmons, a pediatrician and the executive director for the American College of Pediatricians, <a href="https://catholicvote.org/doctors-protecting-children-coalition-declaration-against-trans-surgeries-children/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at the press conference. “They are not consensus, and we are speaking in a loud and unified voice: enough.”
The group said in their declaration that they have &#8220;serious concerns about the physical and mental health effects of the current protocols promoted for the care of children and adolescents in the United States who express discomfort with their biological sex.&#8221;
The declaration sounded the alarm on subjecting gender dysphoric children to medical interventions like transgender surgeries, cross-sex hormones, and puberty blockers, saying these treatments involve &#8220;serious long-term risks&#8221; including &#8220;sterility.&#8221;
&#8220;Evidence-based medical research now demonstrates there is little to no benefit from any or all suggested &#8216;gender affirming&#8217; interventions for adolescents experiencing Gender Dysphoria. Social &#8216;affirmation,&#8217; puberty blockers, masculinizing or feminizing hormones, and surgeries, individually or in combination, do not appear to improve long-term mental health of the adolescents, including suicide risk,&#8221; the group said.
<a href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9096" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onelink.to/dwapp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1716990157394000&amp;usg=AOvVaw33qQydjIo8bet419amChif">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP</a>
One issue is the lack of long-term followup studies on children who have undergone these treatments, the group noted. Another issue is the &#8220;immature, often impulsive, nature of the adolescent brain.&#8221;
&#8220;Most children and adolescents whose thoughts and feelings do not align with their biological sex will resolve those mental incongruencies after experiencing the normal developmental process of puberty,&#8221; the health care providers wrote.
Also, socially transitioning children, which can involve a child picking a new name and pronouns and changing their appearance, can lead to medical interventions later, warned the group, which includes several psychiatrists and counselors.
The group also took issue with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), saying its guidelines are &#8220;demonstrably flawed,&#8221; yet many gender clinics follow them.
Instead, psychotherapy for underlying mental health issues like autism, depression, anxiety, and trauma should be the &#8220;first line of treatment&#8221; for children experiencing discomfort with their biological sex, the group said.
The group noted that other countries including England, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland have all pumped the brakes on transgender medical interventions for children.
&#8220;Despite all the above evidence that gender affirming treatments are not only unhelpful, but are harmful, and despite the knowledge that the adolescent brain is immature, professional medical organizations in the United States continue to promote these interventions,&#8221; the group said. &#8220;Further, they state that legislation to protect children from harmful interventions is dangerous since it interferes with necessary medical care for children and adolescents.&#8221;
The declaration called on the main U.S. medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, the American Medical Association, and the American Psychological Association to &#8220;immediately stop&#8221; promoting social affirmation, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries for children and adolescents who experience distress over their biological sex.
&#8220;Instead, these organizations should recommend comprehensive evaluations and therapies aimed at identifying and addressing underlying psychological co-morbidities and neurodiversity that often predispose to and accompany gender dysphoria,&#8221; the group stated.
Several health care organizations signed onto the declaration as well, including the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, the Catholic Medical Association, Genspect, and the National Association of Catholic Nurses.

Rear view of doctors standing arms crossed

Over 100 Health Care Professionals, Groups Sign Declaration Calling For Halt To Child Transgender Medical Services

Social Issues

U.S.

Eight Rhode Island medical providers <a href="https://twitter.com/Nicoletta0602/status/1765861434208985487?t=r6zGyN1zzXz-qohTEQpyvw&amp;s=19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared</a> to testify on March 7th in support of a bill shielding gender doctors from lawsuits filed by out-of-state plaintiffs. Two doctors were obstetricians — ironic considering they support sterilizing children, which actively destroys their future patient pool. The bill was held for further study.
Senate Bill 2262, titled <a href="https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/02/proposed-law-would-make-rhode-island-sanctuary-state-for-abortion-and-gender-affirming-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Healthcare Provider Shield Act</a>, is more of a healthcare provider sword to brandish against vulnerable patients harmed by “gender-affirming care” because not only does it insulate gender doctors from out-of-state lawsuits, it creates a cause of action for doctors to sue their vulnerable patients back. As a result, patients are not only deterred from having their day in court, but can be punished for it too.
I <a href="https://twitter.com/Nicoletta0602/status/1766084976976490998?t=pVhIdO9xAAu_OZ6tEdpKgA&amp;s=19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> as a proxy for Dr. Michelle Cretella, the former Executive Director of the <a href="https://acpeds.org/press/pediatricians-respond-to-wpath-files-exposing-the-underbelly-of-the-gender-industry?inf_contact_key=8e168fa286a0f232347f4a1fb7d60c4dcc0558ed5d4c28cbfab114022b1ec50d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">American College of Pediatricians</a> and current Chair of its Sexuality Committee. Dr. Cretella is also a pediatrician consultant to detransition litigation attorneys. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is Dr. Cretella&#39;s testimony I delivered as a proxy which caused Lifespan pediatrician Dr. Emily Allen to identify Dr. Cretella as part of a &quot;hate group&quot; and make unsubstantiated &quot;disinformation&quot; allegations. 3/3 <a href="https://t.co/8SmyyMelnK">pic.twitter.com/8SmyyMelnK</a>
&mdash; Nicole Solas, Sued by the Teachers Union (@Nicoletta0602) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nicoletta0602/status/1766084976976490998?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Legislators may not always read written testimony emailed before hearings with a hasty 48-hour notice. Given the concerning number of ideological Rhode Island medical providers lobbying for legislation to suppress medical malpractice lawsuits likely to expose and repudiate the medical fraud of “gender-affirming care,” it was critical that legislators heard Dr. Cretella’s testimony in person.
Dr. Cretella opposed the bill and cited two Rhode Island detransition lawsuits filed last October along with the <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2024/03/12/leaks-us-gender-group-wpath/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WPATH files</a>. She stated:
<blockquote>And we can expect a surge of similar well-warranted malpractice lawsuits. Thanks to a whistle-blower in the World Professional Association of Transgender Health, the world learned this week that Dr. Joyce Asseler and her fellow WPATH health professionals knew that by an average age of 32 years, 27% of children transitioned young with puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones and surgeries express regret over “sacrificing their fertility.</blockquote>
In chilling closing remarks, Dr. Cretella warned legislators:
<blockquote>The physician inventor of lobotomy received the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1949 and the practice was not repudiated until 1967. The State of Rhode Island has no interest in protecting ‘gender experts’ who are the equivalent of yesterday’s expert lobotomists. Rhode Island has every interest in giving every harmed patient their day in court.</blockquote>
Dr. Emily B. Allen, a Lifespan pediatrician <a href="https://capitoltvri.cablecast.tv/show/318?site=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testifying</a> on behalf of the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, attacked Dr. Cretella’s organization stating it is “classified as a fringe LGBTQ hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). She added that Dr. Cretella’s testimony was: 
<blockquote>&#8230;riddled with disinformation, offensive and inflammatory language, omissions, and misrepresentations of research, and were not rooted in real science or evidence-based medicine. &#8230; It is scary to see other states impose civil and criminal penalties on pediatricians and other providers for practicing medicine in line with the best evidence and professional standards.</blockquote>
This is bold testimony in light of the recent National Health Service’s (NHS) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nhs-england-permanently-bans-puberty-blockers-from-being-prescribed-to-minors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ban</a> on prescribing puberty blockers to children outside of clinical research, which was most certainly “rooted in real science [and] evidence-based medicine” after a review of published evidence by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) showed there was “not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of PSH [i.e. “puberty blockers”] to make the treatment routinely available at this time.”
Dr. Allen is also an assistant <a href="https://vivo.brown.edu/display/eba1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">professor</a> at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University with no peer-reviewed publications and only non-peer-reviewed publications including &#8220;<a href="https://teenspeak.org/2017/06/15/10-ways-to-be-kind-to-your-vagina/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">10 Ways To Be Kind To Your Vagina</a>.&#8221; Her medical groups, Lifespan and the American Academy of Pediatrics, are two of several defendants in one Rhode Island <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgg2hEaqGzE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> filed by detransitioner <a href="https://www.iwf.org/identity-crisis-stories/isabelle-ayala/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Isabelle Ayala</a>—a lawsuit that may not have been filed if Rhode Island had already passed the Healthcare Provider Shield Act.
After the hearing, I asked Dr. Allen whether she read the <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56a45d683b0be33df885def6/t/65ea1c1ea42ff5250c88a2f5/1709841455308/WPATH+Report+and+Files%28N%29.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WPATH files</a> and what she knew about the Southern Poverty Law Center. Dr. Allen <a href="https://x.com/Nicoletta0602/status/1766084973298073905?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a> that the Southern Poverty Law Center was “the standard” even though she knew only “some about them.” Pediatricians citing political propaganda to discredit other physicians’ scientific arguments against “gender-affirming care” for kids should lose all credibility as physicians.
She refuted Dr. Cretella’s citation of the <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56a45d683b0be33df885def6/t/65ea1c1ea42ff5250c88a2f5/1709841455308/WPATH+Report+and+Files%28N%29.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">27% regret rate</a> of adults rendered infertile by childhood gender dysphoria treatments alleging it was based on “outdated definitions of gender dysphoria.” Dr. Cretella later responded to Dr. Allen’s refutation stating:
<blockquote>[Dr. Allen] just proved she didn’t read the report. The 27% regret rate cited by Dr. Asseler is specifically over ‘sacrificing fertility;’ it was so high because as children (ages 8-13), the gender-confused kids said they never wanted babies, but by an average age of 32, they realized they desperately wanted children but were made permanently sterile by their teens. The diagnosis of gender dysphoria is correct. The claim that any child is trapped in the wrong body or that their gender identity is innate and immutable is science fiction.</blockquote>
Dr. Allen then added that Dr. Cretella’s testimony contained:
<blockquote>&#8230;language that I know is really hurting the kids who may be listening &#8230; and the parents and the families who are trying to do what is right for their kids.</blockquote>
When I pressed Dr. Allen to substantiate her claims of “disinformation” in Dr. Cretella’s testimony, Dr. Allen said she stood by her testimony but would not speak on <a href="https://x.com/Nicoletta0602/status/1766084973298073905?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">camera</a> because it didn’t “feel genuine” to her. She emphasized again that the language in Dr. Cretella’s testimony was “very hurtful and really harmful for a lot of people, very inflammatory.” When I contended that Dr. Cretella’s testimony was scientific, Dr. Allen demurred, repeating that our conversation was not “genuine.” Dr. Allen offered to meet at a later date and provide written information but did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
Other medical provider witnesses echoed Dr. Allen’s emotional appeals supplanting scientific arguments to shield gender doctors from lawsuits. For example, Dr. William Dewitt, Medical Director of Open Door Health Clinic, <a href="https://capitoltvri.cablecast.tv/show/318?site=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">testified</a> to his clinic “being targeted on social media by individuals and groups motivated by fear and hatred.” Perhaps he is referring to my own <a href="https://twitter.com/Nicoletta0602/status/1760647786339385503?t=f_bmRGLGpZALj-S6DZ6AKg&amp;s=19" target="_blank" rel="noopener">post</a> on X questioning the age threshold in his clinic’s advertisement for “gender-affirming medical care for children and adolescents.” There is no hatred in asking for the ages of children starting “gender-affirming care” treatments, but Dr. Dewitt is right to note that there is fear, which is well-warranted given the alarming <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-data-shows-skyrocketing-gender-clinic-referrals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">number</a> of children whose lives have been destroyed by doctors claiming to help them.
* * *
Nicole Solas is a senior fellow at Independent Women’s Forum (iwf.org).
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

State House of Rhode Island

I Testified On Behalf Of A Pediatrician Defending Detransitioners. Here’s What Happened.

Rhode Island

A review of 60 studies of the mental health of transgender-identifying youth found that “there is no long-term evidence that current &#8216;gender affirming&#8217; medication and surgical protocols benefit their mental well-being,” according to a group representing pediatricians.
The American College of Pediatricians issued a position statement on Wednesday <a href="https://acpeds.org/position-statements/mental-health-in-adolescents-with-incongruence-of-gender-identity-and-biological-sex">opposing the gender transitioning of youth</a> based on the literature review. It comes just after a watchdog group filed a scientific integrity complaint against Department of Health and Human Services official Rachel Levine for claiming that “there is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hhs-says-it-has-only-two-pages-of-scientific-evidence-backing-its-support-for-gender-affirming-care" target="_blank" rel="noopener">no argument</a> among medical professionals regarding &#8220;the value and the importance of gender-affirming care.”
HHS provided only two pages to support the idea that the gender transitioning of children was “necessary.” Levine, a man who believes he is a woman, has often dodged the question by saying that “accredited medical professional groups agree that gender-affirming care is medically necessary.”
The American College of Pediatricians is a small group of pediatricians, many of them conservative, that formed in part due to dismay over the way that the much larger pediatrics group, the American Association of Pediatrics, passes activist statements that are then used as if they represent the views of all pediatricians, even though <a href="https://acpeds.org/about/faq" target="_blank" rel="noopener">only a handful were involved</a>.
Given the well-documented problems that often go hand-in-hand with being transgender, the sharp and sudden increase in the number of youth who question their gender should be something that raises alarm bells for physicians, the group said.
Its <a href="https://acpeds.org/position-statements/mental-health-in-adolescents-with-incongruence-of-gender-identity-and-biological-sex" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paper</a> said that intake surveys by a gender-affirming clinic in Europe found that “gender dysphoric adolescents are significantly more likely to show psychopathological abnormalities than their cisgender peers.” Such research is often portrayed as showing that society makes life too hard for transgender people. 
But children may be transgender as a result of other mental issues, rather than having mental issues because society is not accepting of their transition, the pediatricians’ paper said. For example, the paper states that autistic children are more likely to be transgender than non-autistic children. While one wouldn’t claim that transgenderism caused the children to become autistic, activists more readily cast depression, self-harm, and other ailments as the effect of not being able to transition, rather than being associated with underlying conditions that may lead children to be confused about their gender in the first place.
A study of 120,617 adolescents found that the majority of female-to-male transgenders made a suicide attempt, the highest rate of any group. Activists often tell parents that their choice is between supporting a gender transition or having a dead child, arguing that so-called &#8220;gender affirming care&#8221; is life-saving.
But what they do not say is that things don’t get better because a gender transition is affirmed, according to the data. Multiple studies found that transgender-identifying youth had social problems whether or not they transitioned, with one finding that “there was little evidence that psychosocial well-being varied in relation to gender transition status.”
Studies also found that many youth who question their gender eventually change their minds, whereas those who are affirmed are more likely to be relegated to a life of transgenderism, with its attendant mental problems. When a University of Toronto gender dysphoria clinic followed up on its patients years later, they found that 88% were “desisters,” or had changed their mind about being transgender — suggesting that if the clinic had performed gender surgery, the patients would have had severe regret.
When activists cite studies that state that affirmed transgenders do better than non-affirmed ones, a look at the actual available data show that the slight difference in suicidality between the two groups is far less notable than how unacceptably high the figure is for both groups. For example, in one study billed as promoting how essential it was to give puberty blockers to youth, 42% of those who received care still tried to kill themselves.
A study using Denmark’s national database, reviewing 6.6 million individuals over four decades, found that transgender people were 3.5 times more likely to kill themselves compared to normal people. If accommodating and supporting transgender people was a sufficient treatment, then that disparity shouldn’t exist since Denmark is “recognized by the European chapter of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans &amp; Intersex Association (ILGA-Europe) as the third best country in Europe for its protection of sexual and gender minority rights.”
The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare concluded that “the risk of hormonal interventions for gender dysphoric youth outweigh the potential benefits,” stating that there is insufficient evidence supporting that the treatments work, especially considering that the population of purportedly transgender youth has exploded in recent years and experts cannot explain why. (One reason, the pediatrics group suggests, is that in a developing brain, a “desire for excitement via novel behavior may entice adolescents to experiment with alternative gender roles.”)
The American College of Pediatricians concluded that the group &#8220;cannot condone the social affirmation, medical intervention, or surgical mutilation of children and adolescents identifying as transgender or gender nonconforming.  Rather, intensive psychotherapy for the individual and family to determine and hopefully treat the underlying etiology of their gender incongruence should be pursued.&#8221;
&#8220;More attention and support should be afforded to individuals seeking help in detransitioning after having made a decision during their formative adolescent years with life-long consequences, including possible sterility and loss of sexual function,&#8221; it said.

Doctor nurse followup data with medical examination document for patient health check in hospital or clinic.

Pediatricians Group Says Research Doesn’t Support ‘Gender Affirming’ Treatments

American Medical Association

A woman who was pumped with testosterone and underwent hormone therapy when she was a young teenager is suing both her doctors and the American Academy of Pediatrics, which her lawyers say has knowingly lied about the impact of the radical sex-change treatments it recommends, according to a <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Ayala-v-AAP-Complaint_stamped.pdf">copy of the lawsuit</a> obtained exclusively by The Daily Wire.
Isabelle Ayala, now a twenty-year-old woman, had just turned fourteen when she was committed to the hospital for suicidal thoughts, according to the lawsuit. It was during this hospital stay that she met with Dr. Jason Rafferty, who during his first brief meeting with Ayala determined that she “meets criteria to consider hormonal transition,” with the only stated obstacle being parental consent. The lawsuit states that Rafferty and other doctors sent Ayala down the &#8220;path of &#8216;gender-affirming&#8217; medicalization&#8221; rather than addressing the true roots of her mental health problems — six months into her testosterone treatments, Ayala tried to commit suicide.
The treatments, however, continued, until Ayala moved away from Rhode Island and decided to quit them &#8220;cold-turkey.&#8221; Now comfortable with her gender, she regrets what the doctors did to her, the lawsuit says.
&#8220;Isabelle is now twenty years old and longs for what could have been and to have her healthy, female body back,&#8221; it says. &#8220;The changes the testosterone have had on her body are a constant reminder that she needed an unbiased medical expert willing to evaluate her mental health and provide her the care she needed, rather than a group of ideologues set on promoting their own agenda and furthering a broader conspiracy at her expense.&#8221;
The lawsuit not only goes after the doctors who treated Ayala, but also the American Academy of Pediatrics, where Rafferty and his colleagues worked to publish a now-infamous <a href="https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2018/aap-policy-statement-urges-support-and-care-of-transgender-and-gender-diverse-children-and-adolescents/">policy statement</a> advocating for aggressive gender treatments for children. Lawyers for Ayala say the policy statement laid the groundwork for an &#8220;entirely new model of treatment&#8221; based on &#8220;outright fraudulent representations&#8221; of scientific proof.
&#8220;Defendants have doubled- and tripled-down on their commitment to the policy statement and its &#8216;affirmative model&#8217; of treatment, while continuing to promote and profit off it,&#8221; the lawsuit states, alleging that Ayala and other children are &#8220;victims of a conspiracy entered into and perpetuated to the present day by certain ideologically captured individuals in positions of power at the American Academy of Pediatrics.&#8221;
The American Academy of Pediatrics has been a staunch supporter of radical gender ideology, with Daily Wire commentator Matt Walsh saying it has been &#8220;ideologically captured&#8221; by leftist activists. Walsh wrote in August 2022 that the policy statement on how to care for &#8220;transgender and gender-diverse children and adolescents reads like a trans activism manifesto, not a medical guide.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
THREAD. The American Academy of Pediatrics is the largest association of pediatricians in the country. It is also ideologically captured. An activist group masquerading as a medical organization. Do a little digging and this fact becomes clear.
&mdash; Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1562454866622291970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Rafferty was the lead author for the policy statement, and the lawsuit argues he&#8217;s used it to launch his medical career.
&#8220;[Rafferty] has gone from a little-known resident during his time drafting the Gender Policy Statement to having a highly successful practice in pediatric gender care and considered a leading authority on the subject, all while operating under the imprimatur of the authority he falsely created,&#8221; it says.
Among the other doctors involved in treating Ayala at the Hasbro Children’s Hospital Gender Clinic in Rhode Island was Dr. Michelle Forcier, a proponent of so-called &#8220;gender affirming care&#8221; for children whose perspective was featured in Walsh&#8217;s &#8220;What Is A Woman?&#8221; documentary. Ayala told Forcier that she was &#8220;increasingly depressed and anxious&#8221; with the testosterone treatments, but she did nothing to intervene.
The lawsuit argues that Forcier has also boosted her career through advocacy for radical treatments, pointing to her appearing in the &#8220;What Is A Woman?&#8221; documentary. The lawsuit notes that Forcier &#8220;was prominently featured in one of the most viewed documentaries of all time in 2022 as a leading expert in pediatric gender care and puberty blockers.&#8221;
In the interview, Forcier denies the existence of reality when it comes to gender. Asked whether it&#8217;s possible to know the gender of a chicken laying an egg, Forcier stated that it&#8217;s only possible to assign that chicken a gender.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zdDB8wU73NA?si=71ZuxL7LDTTF5a4Y" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Both doctors Rafferty and Forcier were named in a <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12654975/Detransitioner-multiple-personality-gender-reassignment.html">Friday lawsuit filed by the same law firm</a>, Campbell Miller Payne PLLC.  That suit is on behalf of a woman with multiple personality disorder who says she was pressured by the doctors into undergoing aggressive testosterone treatments and is now dealing with the painful and permanent side effects.
Ayala is &#8220;an unfortunate victim of a collection of actors who prioritized politics and ideology over children’s safety, health, and well-being,&#8221; the lawsuit filed on her behalf states. She had suffered with her mental health ever since being a victim of sexual abuse, long before she began entertaining the idea of gender transition as a solution to her depression. The lawsuit says that Rafferty, Forcier, and other doctors failed to even consider other options to address her mental health before putting her on an aggressive hormone and testosterone regimen.
Ayala told her doctors that she was concerned about losing the ability to give birth, but they put her on the treatments anyway, without disclosing the potential harm the drugs administered could have on the reproductive system.
The lawsuit says that Ayala is worse off now than before she was treated by the doctors, and asks that they be held &#8220;accountable for their wrongful acts.&#8221;
&#8220;Isabelle has suffered from vaginal atrophy from the extensive use of testosterone; she deals with excess facial and body hair; she struggles with compromised bone structure; she is unsure whether her fertility has been irreversibly compromised; she still has mental health issues and deals with episodes of anxiety and depression, further compounded by a sense of regret; and she has since contracted an autoimmune disease that only the males in her family have a history of,&#8221; the lawsuit explains.
The lawsuit comes as the number of detransitioners who regret undergoing sex-change treatments spike in the United States. Nonprofit group Do No Harm published a &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/detransitioner-bill-of-rights-gives-states-blueprint-to-push-back-on-radical-gender-ideology">Detransitioner Bill Of Rights</a>&#8221; earlier this month, laying out a legislative blueprint for empowering victims to go after medical professionals who administered treatments and help with reversing the effects of gender transition surgeries.

Happy gay man holding rainbow flags and other supportive the LGBTQ+ flags on a pride event

EXCLUSIVE: American Academy of Pediatrics Named In Bombshell Detransitioner Lawsuit

Courts

The American Academy Of Pediatrics (AAP) has announced a review of &#8220;gender-affirming care&#8221; for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gender">gender</a> dysphoric children in a win for those who have long called for such a review.
The country&#8217;s leading pediatrician professional association said last week that it will conduct a &#8220;systematic review of the evidence&#8221; around transgender medical interventions for children.
Such interventions can include puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, double mastectomies to make girls appear more masculine, and sometimes even genital surgeries for older youth.
The AAP authorized the development of an &#8220;expanded set of guidance for pediatricians based on a systematic review of the evidence,&#8221; the group <a href="https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/news/25340/AAP-reaffirms-gender-affirming-care-policy?autologincheck=redirected" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in press release on Friday.
However, AAP leadership also reaffirmed their confidence in the current guidelines and said they remain in the best interests of children.
&#8220;The decision to authorize a systematic review reflects the board’s concerns about restrictions to access to health care with bans on gender-affirming care in more than 20 states,&#8221; the AAP said. &#8220;The AAP opposes any laws or regulations that discriminate against transgender and gender-diverse individuals, or that interfere in the doctor-patient relationship.&#8221;
The AAP&#8217;s <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/142/4/e20182162/37381/Ensuring-Comprehensive-Care-and-Support-for?autologincheck=redirected" target="_blank" rel="noopener">current guidelines</a> for pediatric transgender medical interventions include &#8220;social affirmation&#8221; of a child who identifies as the opposite gender, puberty blockers during puberty, cross-sex hormones from early adolescence onward, and &#8220;top&#8221; and &#8220;bottom&#8221; surgeries &#8220;typically&#8221; for adults but also for adolescents on a case-by-case basis.
Other surgeries such as &#8220;facial feminization&#8221; can be considered for adolescents as well, the AAP guidelines say.
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Puberty blockers are dubbed &#8220;reversible,&#8221; and cross-sex hormones as &#8220;partially reversible,&#8221; the AAP says.
However, both puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones come with serious health risks. Puberty blockers can <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gender-dysphoria/in-depth/pubertal-blockers/art-20459075">affect</a> bone growth and density and cause sexual dysfunction, voice damage, and infertility, among other issues. Cross-sex hormones can <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/transgender-young-people-in-u-s-have-nearly-doubled-recently-report-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cause</a> infertility, deadly blood clots, heart attacks, increased cancer risks of the breasts and ovaries, liver dysfunction, worsening psychological illness, and other serious conditions.
Hundreds of teen girls in the U.S., some as young as 12, <a href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/pediatrics/generalpediatrics/101252?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2022-10-17&amp;eun=g394940d0r&amp;utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%20Evening%202022-10-17&amp;utm_term=NL_Daily_DHE_dual-gmail-definition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have gotten</a> elective, gender-related double mastectomies to remove their healthy breasts over the last few years.
Meanwhile, it is more popular than ever for youth to adopt new gender identities. An estimated 300,000 minors aged 13 to 17 <a href="https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/transgender-estimate-press-release/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">identified</a> as transgender as of last year.
The AAP&#8217;s updated policy will reflect new data and research on transgender medical interventions. AAP&#8217;s board regularly reviews evidence and policies and will invite &#8220;other stakeholders&#8221; to share input on the new policy, the group said.
Advocates who oppose children being rushed through transgender medical interventions hailed the decision to review the policy.
&#8220;As it stands, there is no long-term quality evidence that substantiates the widespread use of puberty blockers. We do not know how this will affect children in the long term. Thankfully, last week’s decision by the AAP to acknowledge this galactic gap in the evidence will highlight how there is no evidence to support the recent surge towards ‘gender-affirmative care,'&#8221; wrote Stella O’Malley, a psychotherapist who works with young people.
O&#8217;Malley is the director of Genspect, a U.K.-based group that advocates for doctors to start with the least invasive approach for gender distress.
Last year, Genspect wrote an open letter calling on the AAP to update its gender care policy. The letter was <a href="https://genspect.org/an-open-letter-to-the-american-academy-of-pediatrics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> by doctors, psychologists, and even one former fellow of the AAP.
The AAP is a the largest professional association for pediatricians in the country with 67,000 members.

A girl holds the Transgender Pride flag during the pride

American Academy Of Pediatrics Announces Review Of ‘Gender Affirming Care’

American Academy Of Pediatrics Announces Review Of 'Gender Affirming Care'

A federal judge has ordered a prominent pediatric medical group to provide <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/florida">Florida</a> officials with documents explaining why it supports sex changes for children.
The demand of the American Academy of Pediatrics&#8217; (AAP) was prompted by its participation in a federal lawsuit against a new Sunshine State law that bars the use of Medicaid to cover sex change procedures. The group is one of 18 facing <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/01/26/florida-trans-treatment-lawsuit/">subpoenas</a> of documents and communications on guidelines and policies regarding youth medical transition from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA).
 Other groups involved in the lawsuit include the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, Pediatric Endocrine Society, Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, and Yale University.
At an hour-long hearing last week, U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols narrowed the Florida agency’s request for “any” relevant records to those “sufficient to show” the AAP&#8217;s total membership, how it establishes guidelines and policy positions for child sex change treatments, as well as any “official communication” with their entire membership concerning the matter.
 The AAP has until Feb. 2 to comply.
The order was the latest development in the case, brought by transgender rights groups with the backing of the medical groups and Yale. They are suing Florida, arguing its ban on Medicaid covering sex change treatments violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. 
The plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction against the Medicaid ban, but the request was <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/12/florida-medicaid-ban-transgender-treatments-00061500">denied</a> in October. Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that the ban did not violate constitutional rights, but instead would be determined by the Medicaid statute.
The AAP endorsed child sex change treatments in a 2018 <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/142/4/e20182162/37381/Ensuring-Comprehensive-Care-and-Support-for" target="_blank" rel="noopener">policy statement</a>, which was conceptualized, drafted, reviewed, revised, and approved by a <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/the-hijacking-of-pediatric-medicine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">single</a> committee member, Dr. Jason Rafferty.
Leor Sapir, a Manhattan Institute fellow, charged that the AAP and other prominent organizations that favor child sex changes, which they euphemistically call &#8220;gender-affirming care,&#8221; lack evidence to back up their position and are at odds with a growing international consensus.
“On the issue of medical treatment for youth gender dysphoria in particular, American medical organizations have demonstrated a preference for ideologically driven conclusions over cautious review of the available research,” Sapir said.
 According to Sapir, the AAP’s central conclusion is based on flawed logic and interpretations.
“Rafferty’s central claim in that article is that ‘watchful waiting,’ a therapeutic approach in which clinicians delay social and medical transition as long as possible in order to exhaust all efforts to help youth in distress feel comfortable in their bodies, is a form of ‘conversion therapy,’” said Sapir. The citations used to defend this claim had nothing to do with gender self-identification and were all based on the discredited practice of trying to get gay and lesbian adults to “convert” to heterosexuality.
Rafferty argued that clinicians should always “affirm” the gender self-declarations of their pediatric patients. In 2020, Dr. James Cantor of the Toronto Sexuality Centre published a thorough <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31838960/">fact-check</a> of Rafferty’s article in another journal. The fact-check revealed that the AAP policy contained “egregious omissions and misrepresentations of the available research on youth gender dysphoria,” said Sapir.
Florida is one of 10 states that does not allow state-sponsored insurance to cover elective sex change treatments. The state of Florida conducted a systematic review of the evidence in support of &#8220;gender-affirming&#8221; care and abandoned the practice after finding the costs far outweigh any purported benefits. Last November, Florida<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/florida-medical-boards-vote-to-ban-medical-transition-for-minors" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> passed a rule</a> that prohibits minors from receiving puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender-related surgeries.

Light spot on gavel hammer and hourglass,Malaysia

Pediatric Medical Body Subpoenaed To Provide Florida With Documentation On Child Sex Change Policies

Florida

Puberty blockers

The American Academy of Pediatrics updated a clinical <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/doi/10.1542/peds.2022-060416/190310/Exploitation-Labor-and-Sex-Trafficking-of-Children?autologincheck=redirected">report</a> last week about assisting pediatricians with identifying children and teens subjected to human trafficking.
The Council on Child Abuse and Neglect and Council on Immigrant Child and Family Health published the “Exploitation, Labor and Sex Trafficking of Children and Adolescents: Health Care Needs of Patients” report which lists potential “red flags” while discussing screening tools and providing detailed information for evaluation and aftercare.
Jordan Greenbaum, MD, lead author of the report, said in a <a href="https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2022/american-academy-of-pediatrics-issues-clinical-report-update-on-exploitation-labor-and-sex-trafficking/">news release</a> that COVID-related lockdowns and travel restrictions increased children’s vulnerability to exploitation and traffickers amid many families experiencing income loss.
“What is especially challenging for healthcare professionals is that individuals experiencing trafficking or exploitation may not perceive themselves as being exploited or may be reluctant to disclose their situation to medical staff,” Dr. Greenbaum said. “This makes it difficult to recognize children and adolescents in need.”
Such red flags physicians should look for include a guardian who is not a relative or a parent refusing to let a child speak accompanying the child. Others may show signs of inflicted injury, malnutrition, and a history of abortions.
Dr. Greenbaum said the American Academy of Pediatrics, which covers some 67,000 members, advises that all pediatric care providers and staff adopt a trauma-informed, culturally responsive approach without judgment or pressure in working with this vulnerable population.
“Physicians can play a vital role in offering critical services to vulnerable and exploited children and adolescents,” Dr. Greenbaum said. “An important first step is to develop trusting, respectful relationships with patients who need to feel safe and supported.”
Nearly 5 million children worldwide experienced forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation in 2021, according to the news release.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) reported by <a href="https://healthnews.com/news/new-study-assists-pediatricians-with-identifying-trafficked-children/">Health News</a> more than 27.5 million people were forced into labor, with the majority happening in the Asia and Pacific region and the Arab States. Of the millions forced into labor, 12% included children, with over half placed into sex trafficking.
Health News reported U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) officials said traffickers use technological advancements, which expose victims to severe dangers — many of whom are children runaways from low-income families that have created a bond with their aggressor after being persuaded with money, food, clothes, and attention.
Health News further noted an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 victims trafficked into the United States annually, while the number of people prosecuted in the U.S. for human trafficking has increased by 84% (729 to 1,343) from 2011 to 2020.

A child sits in the hallway of a house, 30 August 2005. THE AGE Picture by JOHN

New Study Details How Pediatricians Can Identify Trafficked Children

Child Abuse

Crime

Human Trafficking

Medical organizations in the U.S. that endorse the &#8220;gender affirming&#8221; model of care lack evidence to substantiate the medical treatment of trans-identified minors.
Activists often point to the authority of medical institutions that support &#8220;gender-affirming&#8221; care for minors to dismiss any and all criticism. A close inspection in the form of a new <a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/how-to-respond-to-medical-authorities-claiming-gender-affirming-care-is-safe?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social#notes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resource guide</a> by Manhattan Institute fellow <a href="https://twitter.com/LeorSapir" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Leor Sapir</a> found that the most prominent organizations in favor of &#8220;gender-affirming&#8221; care lack evidence to back up their position and depart from a growing international consensus.
&#8220;While it is understandable that doctors and their patients should want to follow guidelines issued by professional medical groups, it is important to recognize that these groups don’t always get the science right,&#8221; said Sapir.
“Gender-affirming” care discourages medical professionals from questioning a minor’s self-reported transgender identity or exploring possible underlying factors that may be causing their dysphoria. The standard protocol for gender affirmation is administering puberty blockers, followed by cross-sex hormones, and then surgery, if desired. Proponents generally argue that parental approval should not be a requirement and reject medical “gatekeeping.”
The three most influential medical organizations to have released guidelines recommending “gender-affirming&#8221; care for minors are the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Endocrine Society (ES), and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). The American Medical Association, as well as other organizations, have made public statements supporting the “affirming” model without citing evidence, or have deferred to one or more of these three, Sapir noted.
&#8220;On the issue of medical treatment for youth gender dysphoria in particular, American medical organizations have demonstrated a preference for ideologically driven conclusions over cautious review of the available research,&#8221; Sapir said.
According to Sapir, the AAP&#8217;s central conclusion is negated by its citations and flawed logic. The AAP’s position is based on a 2018 <a href="https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/142/4/e20182162/37381/Ensuring-Comprehensive-Care-and-Support-for?autologincheck=redirected?nfToken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000" target="_blank" rel="noopener">policy statement</a>, authored by Dr. Jason Rafferty and published in Pediatrics.
&#8220;Rafferty’s central claim in that article is that &#8216;watchful waiting,&#8217; a therapeutic approach in which clinicians delay social and medical transition as long as possible in order to exhaust all efforts to help youth in distress feel comfortable in their bodies, is a form of &#8216;conversion therapy,’” said Sapir. The citations used to defend this claim had nothing to do with gender self-identification and were all based on the discredited practice of trying to get gay and lesbian adults to &#8220;convert&#8221; to heterosexuality.
Rafferty argued that clinicians should always “affirm” the gender self-declarations of their pediatric patients. In 2020, Dr. James Cantor of the Toronto Sexuality Centre published a thorough <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31838960/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fact-check</a> of Rafferty’s article in another journal. The fact-check revealed that the AAP policy contained &#8220;egregious omissions and misrepresentations of the available research on youth gender dysphoria,&#8221; said Sapir.
In 2017, the Endocrine Society published <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/102/11/3869/4157558" target="_blank" rel="noopener">guidelines</a> that invalidate their own strength of evidence by rating the guidelines as being &#8220;weak recommendations&#8221; and citing the quality of evidence for hormonal interventions for minors as being “low” or “very low.”
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) recently published the 8th edition of their <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644?scroll=top&amp;needAccess=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Standards of Care</a>, notably removing their <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leading-transgender-health-association-releases-new-guidelines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">minimum age recommendations</a> for minors to receive medical interventions, their guidance on ethics, and adding a chapter on &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leading-transgender-health-association-seeks-to-include-eunuch-as-gender-identity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eunuchs</a>&#8221; that has alarmed medical professionals.
&#8220;WPATH is an explicitly ideological organization that now includes &#8216;eunuch&#8217; as a valid &#8216;gender identity&#8217; that children can supposedly know they have at a very early age,&#8221; Sapir said.
Their guidance for adolescents seeking hormones are based largely on a single study from the Netherlands, often referred to as the “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1743609515336171" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dutch study</a>,” and related, the Dutch protocol. Aside from its &#8220;biased methodology&#8221; and &#8220;unimpressive results,” which have been the subject of widespread <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0092623X.2022.2046221?tab=permissions&amp;scroll=top" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticism</a>, it does not apply to the vast majority of teenagers in the West seeking hormonal interventions today.
The Dutch study and its &#8220;protocol&#8221; selects candidates who must fulfill certain criteria to be eligible. Data shows the majority of youth seeking hormonal interventions in recent years are adolescent girls with no prior history of dysphoria and <a href="https://cass.independent-review.uk/publications/interim-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">very high rates</a> of mental health comorbidities, that would automatically disqualify them from the Dutch protocol, rendering the WPATH&#8217;s application of it practically worthless.
Additional <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/researcher-debunks-claim-trans-youths-mental-health-improves-with-gender-affirming-care" target="_blank" rel="noopener">studies</a> cited by the WPATH &#8220;all suffer from methodological shortcomings, most commonly lack of adequate controls for confounding factors like psychotherapy and very short follow-up times,&#8221; said Sapir.
None of these U.S.-based organizations have done systematic reviews of the evidence, while arguably more progressive European countries like <a href="https://segm.org/segm-summary-sweden-prioritizes-therapy-curbs-hormones-for-gender-dysphoric-youth" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sweden</a>, <a href="https://genderreport.ca/finland-strict-guidelines-for-treating-gender-dysphoria/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Finland</a>, and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/englands-national-health-service-abandons-gender-affirming-model-of-care" target="_blank" rel="noopener">England</a> have. After reviewing the evidence for the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in treating pediatric gender dysphoria, health authorities in all three countries have decided to abandon the &#8220;gender-affirming&#8221; model, finding the costs outweigh the benefits.
&#8220;The main purpose of systematic reviews is to prevent cherry-picking of studies to produce desirable conclusions,&#8221; said Sapir. &#8220;Neither the AAP, nor the ES, nor WPATH have conducted systematic reviews of the research. Indeed, in its latest Standards of Care WPATH asserts that such a review is &#8216;not possible.’”
The U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) proposed <a href="https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/specialised-commissioning/gender-dysphoria-services/user_uploads/b1937-ii-specialist-service-for-children-and-young-people-with-gender-dysphoria-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new guidelines</a> last week <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/englands-national-health-service-abandons-gender-affirming-model-of-care" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recognizing</a> that children and adolescents identifying as transgender may be experiencing a “transient phase” and warning that doctors should not encourage them to change their names and pronouns, as “social transition” is not a “<a href="https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/specialised-commissioning/gender-dysphoria-services/user_uploads/b1937-ii-interim-service-specification-for-specialist-gender-dysphoria-services-for-children-and-young-people-22.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">neutral act</a>” and could have “significant effects” in terms of “psychological functioning.” Additionally, they have banned the use of puberty blockers in patients under 18, making exceptions only in certain cases for strict clinical trials.
Spain&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/spains-medical-societies-revolt-against-proposed-transgender-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener">medical societies</a> have also recently vocalized their concerns and objections to a proposed Trans Law that would allow minors to self-declare as transgender and be granted access to medical interventions.
&#8220;With so many contemporary &#8216;affirming care&#8217; methods and practices resting on poorly conducted or inapplicable studies, medical authorities like the AAP and the ES, and ideological organizations like WPATH, are gambling not only with their credibility, but the mental and physical health of children,&#8221; said Sapir.
Recently a popular article in Psychology Today by activist researcher Dr. Jack Turban claiming to show mental health benefits from “gender-affirming” care was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leading-gender-affirming-psychiatrists-popular-article-updated-after-fact-check-reveals-misleading-claims" target="_blank" rel="noopener">updated</a> by the publisher after a thorough <a href="https://www.realityslaststand.com/p/the-distortions-in-jack-turbans-psychology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fact-check</a> found that it <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/researcher-debunks-claim-trans-youths-mental-health-improves-with-gender-affirming-care" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contained</a> distortions and misleading information. Turban&#8217;s article is still <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/matt-walsh/death-threats-proud-boys-and-homophobic-bigots-matt-walshs-anti-trans-rally-drew-crowd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cited</a> widely among trans activists to support medically transitioning gender dysphoric minors, even though the evidence is lacking.
&#8220;Parents, scientists and researchers, attorneys general and lawmakers are justified in their hesitance to lean into the surge in transgender identification,&#8221; said Sapir. &#8220;They must not be reluctant to call for a pause in transitioning, and demand better research and more debate.&#8221;

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U.S. Medical Groups Get The Science Wrong On Pediatric ‘Gender Affirming’ Care

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