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The American Academy of Pediatrics Orders A Scientific Review of Current Gender-Care Practices

But will it be an honest review? Leor Sapir has written an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal asking some important questions. Along with his usually brilliant observations.

The piece is behind the normal WSJ paywall, so here are the highlights.

According to Sapir, the AAP is essentially a trade union. Given its vested interests as a trade union, which understandably prioritizes its members, i.e. the same doctors who have performed gender-affirming care, will this be an impartial review? Or will this be an example of confirmation bias, and/or simple CYA?

The AAP has consistently advocated for the safety and effectiveness of sex-trait modification, influencing various stakeholders from insurance companies to the Biden administration.

The AAP and prominent members have consistently assured policy makers and judges that sex-trait modification is safe and effective and based on strong science. Insurance companies have based their coverage decisions on these claims. Democrats have used them to cast opponents as bigots. The Biden administration regularly cites the AAP in its efforts to guarantee minors unfettered access to hormonal drugs and life-altering surgery. Parents have accepted AAP claims and agreed to allow doctors to disrupt their children’s natural puberty, flood their bodies with synthetic hormones, and amputate their healthy breasts. 

Yet existing systematic reviews from European health authorities have found weak evidence supporting the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

Given these findings, Sapir suggests the AAP should advise extreme caution in using these interventions for youth gender dysphoria, as other countries have done, while its own review is ongoing. (Reviews typically take 12 to 18 months)

Unlike narrative literature reviews, systematic reviews follow a transparent, reproducible methodology on the same body of research. Anyone who uses the same methodology should arrive at more or less the same result. The existing systematic reviews on the benefits and risks of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, conducted by health authorities in three European countries, all found “very low” quality evidence for these interventions. 

Given the finding of every existing systematic review to date that the evidence for “gender-affirming care” is exceptionally weak, the AAP should immediately recommend extreme caution in the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries in treating youth gender dysphoria. This is a no-brainer; health authorities in the U.K., Norway, Sweden, Finland and France have done it. “There is not enough evidence to support the safety, clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness to make the treatment routinely available at this time,” said the statement from England’s National Health Service.

Source: Wall Street Journal [emphasis mine]

We’ll be watching.

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Protect Children

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The Church’s Task: Truth-Filled Love

Certain parts of the Western Church are grappling with the issue of gender identity. Even though labels are tricky, let’s call them the ‘progressive’ wing of the Church. After settling a lengthy same-sex ‘marriage’ debate, transgenderism is being accepted with relative ease and speed by the leaders of the same denominations. Many rank and file members, including whole congregations, have registered their disagreement by voting with their feet.

In the last two years over 6000 United Methodists Churches left the UMC denomination because of ‘progressive’ teachings and practices about same-sex unions and transgenderism.

There is of course a real difference between the two issues. Should a more orthodox Faith beckon, a same-sex union between two consenting adults can be undone. This is not the case with transgender individuals. Surgical alterations are irrevocable. Some functions of the original body are lost forever.

Alarmingly, Trans-Activists champion the idea of urging children to unearth their ‘genuine’ identities well before adolescence, affirming a path toward puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgery, if that’s what the adolescent explorer really, really really, wants.

You just read an unmitigated lie from this children’s book.

But while we can’t objectively measure feelings for the same sex, we can know a person’s biology. Except for a very, very few “intersex” cases, you’re born either male or female.

In fact, there are few things in life more empirically verifiable than mammalian dimorphism. Like all mammals we were born male or female. If someone thinks differently, it’s in their head, not in what doctors see. To alter the body of a questioning gender non-conforming person is to address the wrong part of their humanity.

Detransitioners courageously inform us that their treatments haven’t worked. Which stands to reason because Gender Dysphoria is not a physical disability, but a psychological condition.

The Church faces a pastoral challenge: how to reconcile subjective emotions with objective truths. Transgenderism goes against the whole council of Scripture and all of Church history, until about 15 days ago (slight exaggeration). In the name of love and acceptance, feelings are allowed to override facts in Church decisions.

But the Church’s role is to provide spiritual guidance not just validation.

Some transgender activists within the Church audaciously claim Jesus himself was transgender since he was born of a virgin. Other’s think Paul’s words in Galatians 3:28 support transgenderism: “In Christ there is neither male nor female” they claim.

Some denominations have even ordained gender confused priests.

First ‘Gender-Queer’ Priest in the Church of England

Which begs an obvious question.

How can someone unsure of their most basic created identity lead the Christian faithful? How?

All should be welcome to attend our Church services, and grow from that experience, but not all are welcome to become leaders.

The Church’s principles, while clear, are challenging to implement. While Christians are called to show compassion with an understanding heart, since all of us fall short of God’s intent for us, it doesn’t equate to endorsing actions that contradict biblical teachings. Gender dysphoria, like other challenges such as alcoholism or depression, requires understanding and support, not mere acceptance. We should embrace without affirming.

The pursuit of truth is paramount. Without it, love remains hollow. Addressing this issue with integrity might not win the Church any popularity contests today, but future generations might laud its commitment to unvarnished truths during these tumultuous times.

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Camille Kiefel, Detransitioner

More and more are coming out. They made a big mistake. Camille Kiefel has her say in a recent Newsweek article: I Thought I Was Nonbinary. Now I Help Detransitioners.

While growing up, I struggled with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). I was 6 years old when I got diagnosed. Many are finding that ADHD and autism are common with detransitioners.

As well as struggling with ADHD, in 6th grade, I found out that my best friend was raped by her brother. That’s when things started to change for me. I started to present more masculine after that by wearing “boys” clothes and identifying with male anime characters. I was trying to hide my body—my breasts in particular—by wearing baggy clothing.

My dad was also trying to protect me, and he was scared about me growing up. He’d tell me how men his age talked about girls my age sexually, so I became very nervous. My generalized anxiety disorder started around that period of my life.

I thought that removing my breasts or reducing the size of them would have helped me. After I talked to my doctor about it, he connected me with somebody through their medical system. Then, that person connected me with two mental health professionals, one of whom saw me for 50 minutes and the other for 40. These were both Zoom calls during COVID and I told them everything.

I’m speaking out about this because I’ll have to live with my body being mutilated for the rest of my life and I don’t want this to happen to others. I want doctors to know that they need to look for underlying health issues

Read the whole thing.

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