This Will Go In One Ear And Out The Other.

It is really great that the APA stands up for us but I believe that the Republican legislators will not listen to it because it points out their lies.

APA Policy Statement on Affirming Evidence-Based Inclusive Care for Transgender, Gender Diverse, and Nonbinary Individuals, Addressing Misinformation, and the Role of Psychological Practice and Science

Approved by APA Council of Representatives, February 2024

This policy statement affirms APA’s support for unobstructed access to healthcare and evidence-based clinical care for transgender, gender-diverse, and nonbinary children, adolescents, and adults. 

Furthermore, this policy statement addresses the spread of misleading and unfounded narratives that mischaracterize gender dysphoria and affirming care, likely resulting in further stigmatization, marginalization, and lack of access to psychological and medical supports for transgender, gender-diverse, and nonbinary individuals.

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Policy Statement:

WHEREAS gender diversity is present throughout the lifespan and has been present throughout history (Gill-Peterson, 2018; Hunt, 2016; Stryker, 2017); and

WHEREAS gender-based bias and mistreatment (e.g., discrimination, violence, non-affirmation, or rejection in response to gender diversity) pose significant harm, including risk of suicide, to the well-being of children, adolescents, adults, and families. (Delozier et al., 2020; Kosciw et al., 2022; Puckett et al., 2023; Trevor Project, 2023); and 

WHEREAS transgender, gender diverse, and nonbinary individuals experiencing systemic discrimination and mistreatment targeting their gender identity or expression, may also face racial, ethnic,

socioeconomic, religious, and other forms of discrimination, translated into greater discrimination and psychological distress than their counterparts (Castro-Ramirez et al., 2021; Hendricks & Testa, 2012; Lefevor et al., 2019; Lytle et al., 2016; Turban et al., 2020; van der Miesen et al., 2020 ); and

WHEREAS gender-related distress is a complex and nuanced psychological experience, informed by a rapidly evolving basis in new scientific findings and advances, which often requires specialized understanding and expertise (APA, 2015; Coleman et al., 2022); and

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THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the American Psychological Association (APA) steadfastly supports evidence-based clinical care for all children, adolescents, and adults inclusive of gender identity and expression; and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the APA upholds the rights of all individuals to unbiased health insurance coverage, rejecting discrimination based on gender identity and advocating for the inclusion of gender-affirming care, including psychological care; and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the APA underscores the necessity for access to comprehensive, gender-affirming healthcare for transgender, gender-diverse, and nonbinary children, adolescents, and adults; and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the APA underscores the importance of an accurate understanding of evidence-based care— highlighting the continuous need for research and expansion of the scientific foundation to further ensure full access to competent and reliable healthcare—s as essential to promoting inclusivity; protecting the rights of transgender, gender-diverse, and nonbinary individuals; and ensuring that they receive the necessary support and full healthcare attention, inclusive of psychological and medical care, in a compassionate and affirming manner; and

This will not make one iota of difference to the Republicans, they have their own pocket association that they quote all the time the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds). The Southern Poverty Law Center write this about ACPeds,

The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) is a fringe anti-LGBTQ hate group that masquerades as the premier U.S. association of pediatricians to push anti-LGBTQ junk science, primarily via far-right conservative media and filing amicus briefs in cases related to gay adoption and marriage equality.

In There Own Words

“Your public library may have a drag queen story hour where books like I am Jazz are read to children by trans activists eager to groom the next generation of victims.”— Andre Van Mol, co-chair of ACPeds’ Committee on Adolescent Sexuality, “Reinforcing Children’s Sexual Identity: A Review of Ellie Klipp’s ‘I Don’t Have to Choose,’ Aug. 27, 2019

“The transgender movement is an opening for a totalitarian government.” — Michelle Cretella, ACPeds executive director, speaking at Illinois Family Institute Worldview Conference, Oct. 2019

“Transgenderism is a belief system that increasingly looks like a cultish religion – a modern day Gnosticism denying physical reality for deceived perceptions – being forced on the public by the state in violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment.” — Andre Van Mol, co-chair of ACPeds’ Committee on Adolescent Sexuality, in “Transgenderism: A State-Sponsored Religion?” Jan. 24, 2018

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Background

Though it sounds official, ACPeds is not the leading organization for U.S. pediatricians; That designation goes to the 67,000-member American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). ACPeds was founded in 2002 when a small number of socially conservative AAP members broke away from AAP after it endorsed adoption by same-sex couples. ACPeds subsequently issued its own report stating that gay parenting puts children’s health and development at high risk.

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While ACPeds may sound sufficiently marginalized within the medical and mental health professional communities, that hasn’t stopped the far-right from using its debunked pseudo-science to back anti-LGBTQ agendas.

And that is why the SPLC labeled the American College of Pediatricians an Extremist Group and that is why the APA policy statement will not change the Republican minds.

The ACPeds is the organization the Republicans believes and not the APA, nor the AMA, nor the NASW, and not the The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).