Many left-leaning people are currently insisting that we should trust medical organizations to lead the way on public health issues. I disagree. Many of these organizations have been captured by activists and have lost their scientific moorings. An example the AAP’s position on transgender issues, as reported by Helen Joyce: “The American Academy of Pediatrics sidelines formal proposal to revise Pediatric Medical Transition policy for the 4th consecutive year: Unfortunately, it seems that U.S. medical organizations have allowed politics to overshadow their commitment to evidence-based medicine.” Here an excerpt:
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has, once again, overlooked a formal proposal—its fifth iteration for the fourth year running—intended to amend its stance on pediatric medical transitions. This proposal, known as Resolution #37, was co-authored by 24 pediatricians who are also AAP members. It called for the AAP to align its policy with findings from systematic evidence reviews, universally considered the gold standard of evidence-based medicine.
Resolution #37, titled “Align the AAP Treatment Recommendations for Gender Incongruence and Gender Dysphoria with Findings from Systematic Reviews of Evidence,” was submitted on April 1, 2023. The resolution sought a comprehensive review and update of the AAP’s current policy on gender-affirming care for trans-identified youth, as stated in the 2018 AAP position paper titled “Ensuring Comprehensive Care and Support for Transgender and Gender Diverse Children and Adolescents.” The existing policy endorses the view that immediate affirmation through psychosocial and medical interventions is the only appropriate approach for youth experiencing gender dysphoria, a stance that Resolution #37 argues requires reevaluation.
Despite assurances from the AAP in February 2023 that policy statements undergo a review every five years, and thus an update of the 2018 statement is already underway, Resolution #37 states that the AAP is proceeding with the update without conducting a systematic review of the evidence. No AAP committees working on these policy updates plan to perform such a review, and there’s no indication that a systematic review related to treatments for gender dysphoria is even being considered.
