A medical advocacy group called “Do No Harm” has announced a new educational initiative called “Protecting Minors from Gender Ideology” to combat the pernicious effects of transgender ideology in medicine and law and to educate policymakers and the public. According to the group’s January 26 press release, its efforts will focus on “the disastrous consequences of the unproven and often harmful practice known as ‘gender-affirming care,’” which is “based on the premise that children and adolescents know best whether their feelings of discomfort with their bodies should be the grounds for ‘treatment’ with risky and experimental drugs and surgeries.”
Do No Harm will focus on the so-called “affirmative model,” in which clinicians and medical professionals default to simply accepting gender dysphoria in children as evidence of a need for “transition” — socially, chemically (through puberty blockers), or surgically (through double mastectomies, castration, and other surgeries). The “affirmative model” has come under fire in recent years, being rejected by medical professionals in Finland, Sweden, and most recently a report by the U.K.’s National Health Service, triggering a class-action lawsuit from what is assumed will be over 1,000 families over the damage done to their children.
“The movement to promote ‘gender affirming care’ is profoundly dangerous and driven by ideology rather than evidence,” said Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, MD, chairman of Do No Harm. “At their core, medical professionals who support these efforts are violating the Hippocratic oath directive to ‘do no harm’ by ignoring key consequences of this type of ‘care,’ including the fact that underlying mental health concerns are usually not addressed … The procedures themselves can lead to physical impairment, including a lack of bone strength and brain maturation, and the loss of fertility. ‘Gender transitioning’ prior to maturation can lead to sexual dysfunction, including atrophy and necrosis of genital tissue, chronic pain, incontinence, and the inability to orgasm.”
