From the PITT Substack:
We ask you to participate in an email campaign to the members of the executive committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Sample letter below but please feel free to personalize it with your own story. Send your letter(s) to the member of the AAP executive committee (email addresses list below) and/or to the rest of the committee (email addresses attached). We are hoping to have all letters in by today, May 6, but the more letters, the stronger the message so please send whenever you are able, even if you can’t today. Please cc [email protected] so a count of the letters sent can be tracked.
Thank you from the editors or PITT.
_____________________________________________________________________
Dear XXX,
As a pediatrician, I know you are concerned about the health and well-being of children. What you may not be familiar with is the groundbreaking study coming out of the U.K. – the Cass Review. This comprehensive and independent review of gender identity services for children and young people confirms that the AAP is behind the times, behind much of the rest of the world and not following the science when it comes to caring for gender dysphoric children.
Below are the key conclusions from the report https://cass.independent-review.uk/home/publications/final-report/
- “Exploration of identity is a completely natural process during childhood and adolescence and rarely requires clinical input.”
- “While a considerable amount of research has been published in this field, systematic evidence reviews demonstrated the poor quality of the published studies, meaning there is not a reliable evidence base upon which to make clinical decisions, or for children and their families to make informed choices.”
- “The rationale for early puberty suppression remains unclear, with weak evidence regarding the impact on gender dysphoria, mental or psychosocial health. The effect on cognitive and psychosexual development remains unknown.”
- “The use of masculinising / feminising hormones in those under the age of 18 also presents many unknowns, despite their longstanding use in the adult transgender population. The lack of long-term follow-up data on those commencing treatment at an earlier age means we have inadequate information about the range of outcomes for this group.”
- “Clinicians are unable to determine with any certainty which children and young people will go on to have an enduring trans identity.”
- “For most young people, a medical pathway will not be the best way to manage their gender-related distress. For those young people for whom a medical pathway is clinically indicated, it is not enough to provide this without also addressing wider mental health and/or psychosocially challenging problems.”
As a parent of gender dysphoric youth, I ask that you and the AAP follow the evidence and what most other countries are doing, which is to stop promoting the use of puberty blockers, hormonal and surgical interventions to treat gender dysphoria. Children deserve ethical, evidence-based treatment. I implore you to let the evidence lead your policies on this issue, not politics. Please read the Cass Review. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
XXX
Link to the Final Report of the Cass Review – https://cass.independent-review.uk/home/publications/final-report/
Email addresses:
Dr. Benjamin D. Hoffman: [email protected]
Dr. Susan Kressly: [email protected]
Dr. Sandy Chung: [email protected]
Dr. Margaret Fisher: [email protected]
Mark Del Monte, JD: [email protected]
CC: [email protected] (please cc this email so there can be an accurate count of emails.)
