American Academy of Pediatrics Faces Calls to Rethink Pro-Trans Policies

AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, PhotoAlto/Michele Constantini/Getty Images
AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, PhotoAlto/Michele Constantini/Getty Images

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is facing calls from pediatricians who are asking the organization to rethink its support for sex change operations, hormone replacement therapy, and puberty blockers.

Five pediatricians have submitted a proposed resolution that hopes to make AAP reconsider their support for sex change operations, puberty blockers, and hormone replacement therapy.

The resolution is titled “In Support of a Rigorous Systematic Review of Evidence and Policy Update for Management of Pediatric Gender Dysphoria,” and calls for the APP to perform an in-depth review of the safety of medical and social transition for children.

The resolution also articulates some of the dangers of what has been referred to as “gender-affirming care,” pointing out that “puberty blockers followed by cross sex hormones compromise future fertility and sexual function, two fundamental human rights that should not be compromised except in exceptional circumstances”

It also contends that “no clear diagnostic criteria exist which can reliably identify which young people will persist in a transgender identification” and calls for “a rigorous systematic review of available evidence regarding the safety, efficacy, and risks of childhood social transition, puberty blockers, cross sex hormones and surgery.”

Should the resolution be adopted, the AAP would then “update the 2018 guidelines for the care of gender dysphoric youth, based on the results of this evidence review, and in consultation with a range of stakeholders, including mental health and medical clinicians, parents and patients, with diverse views and experiences.”

The resolution is supported by Genespect, which published an open letter reaffirming the importance of the resolution. Genespect is an organization that advocates “for an evidence-based approach to gender distress, and we would like health care professionals to take the time and care to evaluate the low-evidence base for the current affirmative approach.”

The organization, which includes parents of transgender children, medical personnel, and detransitioners, also highlighted the dangers of so-called “gender affirming” care in the letter. They noted that some treatments carry intense risks to children, “such as harms to bones and the cardiovascular system, effects on the brain and other organs, sexual difficulties, and a future inability to have kids.”

The open letter noted that many of the parents affiliated with Genspect have “observed such a sudden trans identification in their children, often emerging after an intense and obsessive period of consuming narrowly-focused social media content and watching their friends, one by one, announce a trans identity.”

Additionally, parents of children who identify as transgender have noted that “many of our children suffer from psychological comorbidities (including anxiety, ASD, ADHD, depression, trauma, eating disorders, and more – while many others are trying to understand their sexual orientation),” which many have contended “necessitates the need for differential diagnoses and appropriate therapeutic support, including exploratory therapy.”

According to a policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics currently endorses puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy, and surgery as legitimate treatments for children experiencing gender dysphoria.

The policy statement admitted that the safety of puberty blockers could not be assured and that children could be sterilized, remarking “Research on long-term risks, particularly in terms of bone metabolism and fertility, is currently limited and provides varied results.”

A post on the APP’s site also reaffirmed their support for such measures as treatments for children who identify as transgender. The post even stated that “The AAP has partnered with chapters and other entities to file amicus briefs in support of legal challenges” in states that have taken steps to prevent children from undergoing sex change operations or accessing puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy.

Breitbart News previously revealed that children’s hospitals across America, particularly those that offer sex change operations, puberty blockers, or hormone replacement therapy and appear to have a vested interest in the proliferation of transgenderism have sponsored pride parades throughout the country.

Breitbart News also found that a pharmaceutical company that is under investigation in the state of Texas for producing puberty blockers also sponsors an organization that seeks to secure high-profile media appearances for transgender children to normalize the phenomena.

AAP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Spencer Lindquist is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerLndqst and reach out at slindquist@breitbart.com

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