Parents warned not to fall for docs' gender-identity thesis

The nation's largest association of pediatricians has released a dangerous and misleading policy statement about transgender intervention, according to a cultural issues writer.

The recently released statement by the Illinois-based American Academy of Pediatrics supports chemical and surgical intervention for transgender teens. "Ensuring Comprehensive Care and Support for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children and Adolescents" was authored by Dr. Jason Rafferty – who argues that "sex typically refers to anatomy while gender goes beyond biology," and that "gender identity is more an inner sense of being male, female or somewhere in between – regardless of physical anatomy."

Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute contends school officials and parents may be easily misled by the AAP's report. "Anytime you have a big organization come out and issue a statement, it affirms this ideology," she laments. "In the public's eyes it says Oh – well, if the AAP says that, then it must be true."

She says the American College of Pediatricians, a much more conservative organization, broke away from the AAP and its liberal ideology.

"The left will dismiss the American College of Pediatricians as a right-wing fringe group. They're not," Higgins emphasizes. "They were all members of the AAP; I think they're still members of the AAP – they just decided the AAP no longer works for the health of children." [Editor's note: The AAP motto is "Dedicated to the Health of All Children."]

In fact, Dr. Michelle Cretella, executive director of the American College of Pediatricians, calls it a "foundational lie" being perpetrated by the AAP and Rafferty that individuals have a "sex" and something else called "gender."

In an article for the Illinois Family Institute, Higgins points out that fewer than 60 members of the 67,000-member AAP created and voted for the new policy. Most of the other members did not even see it, she says, let alone vote on it.