Doctor Groups Push DOJ to Probe 'Disinformation' on Meds, Surgeries for Trans-Identifying Youths

Three influential American medical groups are urging the U.S. Department of Justice to “investigate and prosecute all organizations, individuals, and entities” that share information deemed to be false about transgender medical treatments for minors. The Oct. 3 letter, sent to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, represents the latest salvo in a fierce national debate. In the letter, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Medical Association, and the Children’s Hospital Association are insisting that "disinformation" must be blocked and people who spread it should be prosecuted, adding that their words foment threats, intimidation, and violence against medical professionals. Detractors interpret the letter as an attempt to squelch opposition to the lucrative medical procedures and to shift the focus away from rising concerns over the safety, effectiveness, and ethics of such interventions. They note the letter comes just days in advance of the AAP's convention in Anaheim, California, where critics of the treatments plan a "First Do No Harm" unity rally on Oct. 8. Won't Be Silenced In response to the letter, Scott Newgent, a biological woman who deeply regrets medically transitioning to appear male at age 42 after giving birth to two children, said in a text to The Epoch Times: "This was made to silence me and others like me." Newgent refuses to stop his advocacy, saying that he, too, has been subjected to threats for vociferously opposing medical gender transition for minors. Newgent's medical transition inflicted lifelong complications and he is passionate about “saving kids” from similar consequences. Newgent's advocacy group, TreVoices.org, declares: “Medical transition is no place for a child!” Newgent plans to participate in the Anaheim protest this weekend and in “The Rally to End Child Mutilation,” set for Oct. 21 at the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville. There, lawmakers have been expressing dismay over Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s after a video surfaced in which one of its doctors described transgender surgery for children as a "big moneymaker." Conservative commentator Matt Walsh was first to draw attention to the video. Feud Over 'Gender-Affirming Care' People on both sides of the debate agree on one thing: Increasing numbers of young people are being diagnosed with “gender dysphoria,” a strong, persistent conflict between a person’s biological sex and self-perception of gender. The trend's origins and the best ways to help young sufferers are hotly contested, along with virtually every other facet of this topic. Opponents accuse "gender-affirming" proponents of fast-tracking minors along a course of puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and body-altering surgery, denouncing the process as “child abuse.” Supporters call the procedures "medically necessary" for the patients' overall wellbeing. Some supporters of the "gender-affirming" model opine that questioning minors' uncertainty about their gender smacks of "conversion therapy," a process that aims to switch someone's same-sex attraction to that of the opposite sex. People like Newgent counter that many youths who "transition" are actually same-sex-attracted, rather than transgender. A number of gay-rights advocacy groups oppose the "gender-affirming" treatments. Lawmakers nationwide are responding to public outcry over the procedures in various ways. Last week, California became a “sanctuary state,” welcoming people to travel there from states that have banned or restricted the treatments for minors. On Oct. 17, a battle over the nation's first law banning the procedures for minors goes to trial in an Arkansas federal court. Medical Groups Allege 'Campaign of Disinformation' Proponents of the “gender-affirming care” model include the trio of groups that wrote to Garland urging “swift action” against a rising tide of “coordinated attacks” against medical professionals who provide the controversial medical interventions. Some medical professionals and patients involved with other types of medical care have be