In its updated statement, Gender Dysphoria in Children, the American College of Pediatricians (College) calls for an end to the normalization of gender dysphoria (GD) in children because it has led to the ongoing experimentation upon, and sterilization of, confused children. Children with GD believe that they are something other than their biological sex. For children experiencing GD before the age of puberty, the confusion resolves over 80 percent of the time by late adolescence. There is a suppressed debate among professionals regarding the new treatment “standard” for childhood GD. This media-popularized standard involves the use of medicines that block puberty followed by life-long use of toxic cross-sex hormones-a combination that results in the sterilization of minors and other significant health risks. A review of current medical literature finds this approach to be rooted in an unscientific gender ideology that violates the long-standing medical ethics principle of “First do no harm.”
Mandates by public institutions to force the acceptance of GD as a normal variant of child development and require social accommodation, toxic hormone therapy and surgical removal of healthy body parts, are misguided and dangerous. The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, the Christian Medical Association, and the Catholic Medical Association share the College’s concern over this approach. Together our groups represent over 20,000 physicians and health professionals. Opposition also exists among liberal-leaning healthcare professionals who have created an online community known as Youth Trans Critical Professionals. However, those who dare to speak out in support of “First do no harm” often encounter significant public and private harassment, and many have lost or will lose their jobs.
Dr. Michelle Cretella, President of the College states, “We live at a time in which social agendas often bias the results of research and lead to the development of false medical standards. Those who honorably speak out against this are chastised. Young children are being permanently sterilized and surgically maimed under the guise of treating a condition that would otherwise resolve in over 80% of them. This is criminal.”
The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) is a national organization of pediatricians and other healthcare professionals dedicated to the health and well-being of children. Formed in 2002, the College is committed to fulfilling its mission by producing sound policy, based upon the best available research, to assist parents and to influence society in the endeavor of childrearing.
