人兽性交

ACPeds opposes adoption by 人兽性交 couples, links homosexuality to pedophilia, endorses so-called reparative or sexual orientation conversion therapy for homosexual youth, believes transgender people have a mental illness and has called transgender health care for youth child abuse.

In its own words

鈥淵our public library may have a drag queen story hour where books like听I am Jazz听are read to children by trans activists eager to groom the next generation of victims.鈥濃�斕�Andre Van Mol, co-chair of ACPeds鈥� Committee on Adolescent Sexuality, 鈥淩einforcing Children鈥檚 Sexual Identity: A Review of Ellie Klipp鈥檚 鈥業 Don鈥檛 Have to Choose,鈥� Aug. 27, 2019

鈥淭he transgender movement is an opening for a totalitarian government.鈥� 鈥斕�Michelle Cretella, ACPeds executive director, speaking at Illinois Family Institute Worldview Conference, Oct. 2019

鈥淭ransgenderism is a belief system that increasingly looks like a cultish religion 鈥� a modern day Gnosticism denying physical reality for deceived perceptions 鈥� being forced on the public by the state in violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment.鈥� 鈥斕�Andre Van Mol, co-chair of ACPeds鈥� Committee on Adolescent Sexuality, in听鈥溾�� Jan. 24, 2018

鈥淗omosexual men and women are reported to be promiscuous, with serial sex partners, even within what are loosely-termed 鈥渃ommitted relationships. Individuals who practice a homosexual lifestyle are more likely than heterosexuals to experience mental illness,^听substance abuse, suicidal tendencies and shortened life spans.鈥�
鈥斺�淗omosexual Parenting: Is It Time for A Change?鈥� updated July 2017, available on ACPeds website

鈥淒riving in this morning I began to wonder. Why isn鈥檛 the movement of LGBT not the PLGBT movement: 鈥楶鈥� for pedophile? ...In one sense, it could be argued that the LGBT movement is only tangentially associated with pedophilia. I see that argument, but the pushers of the movement, the activists, I think have pedophilia intrinsically woven into their agenda. It is they who need to be spoken to and against.鈥�
鈥擝log听听on ACPeds website, July 15, 2015

"I truly believe that when we are practicing a sexual act that goes against our natural design, it鈥檚 going to be very harmful to us emotionally, physically and, in the situation with AIDS, even infectious consequences will occur.鈥�
鈥擣ormer ACPeds President Den Trumbull on听,鈥� May 2015

鈥淸T]here is sound evidence that children exposed to the homosexual lifestyle may be at increased risk for emotional, mental, and even physical harm.鈥�
鈥斺�淗omosexual Parenting: Is It Time For Change?鈥� ACPeds听, January 22, 2004

鈥淔or unwanted sexual attractions, therapy to restore heterosexual attraction has proven effective and harmless.鈥�
鈥擣acts About Youth听, 2010

鈥淕ay, lesbian, and bisexual students are not born that way. The most recent, extensive, and scientifically sound research finds that the primary factor in the development of homosexuality is environmental not genetic.鈥�
鈥擣acts About Youth听, 2010

鈥淪chool officials are being increasingly pressured by pro-homosexual organizations to integrate homosexual education into school curricula. These organizations recommend promoting homosexuality as a normal, immutable trait that should be validated during childhood, as early as kindergarten. These organizations also condemn all efforts to provide treatment to gender confused students, advocating instead the creation of student groups that affirm homosexual attractions and behaviors.鈥�
鈥擣acts About Youth听, 2010

鈥淚n dealing with adolescents experiencing same-sex attraction, it is essential to understand there is no scientific evidence that an individual is born 鈥榞ay鈥� or 鈥榯ransgender.鈥欌��
鈥擜CPEds听to 14,800 school superintendents, March 31, 2010

鈥淐onditioning children into believing a lifetime of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex is normal and healthful is child abuse.鈥�
鈥斺�淕ender Ideology Harms Children,鈥澨�, March 2016

鈥淲e at the American College of Pediatricians, and also I have many colleagues on the left, also insist that those solutions be rooted in reality, and transgender ideology is not. Sex is hard-wired from before birth, and it cannot change. And that's why we had actually called this child abuse, because by feeding children and families these lies, children are having their normal psychological development interrupted鈥� Our job as parents and physicians is to help children embrace their healthy bodies. And when this is done, once they get past puberty into late adolescence, as many as 95 percent will come to embrace their bodies and identify with their biological sex.鈥�
鈥擬ichelle Cretella, former president of ACPeds, 鈥�,鈥� July 24, 2017
(Cretella became ACPeds鈥� first executive director in 2018)

Background

Though it sounds official, ACPeds听is not the leading organization for U.S. pediatricians; That designation goes to the听听(AAP). ACPeds was founded in 2002 when a small number of socially conservative AAP members broke away from AAP after it听. ACPeds subsequently issued its own report stating that gay parenting puts children鈥檚 health and development at high risk.

ACPeds supports 鈥渞eparative鈥� or sexual orientation conversion therapy (also known as 鈥渆x-gay鈥� therapy) for 人兽性交 juveniles, advances the听debunked theory听that being 人兽性交 can be 鈥渃ured鈥� through therapy and has听. ACPeds has also called being transgender a mental illness, and opposes families鈥� support of their transgender children, calling such support 鈥渃hild abuse.鈥� Though membership is believed to be just a few hundred, ACPeds spreads its falsehoods by acting as a go-to authority for far-right media outlets such as Breitbart and the Daily Caller, and right-wing Christian publications and websites.

In 2002, AAP听released a policy statement in support of second-parent adoptions by same-sex parents. Its听, 鈥淧ediatricians should support the legal adoption of children by co-parents or second parents because it provides permanency and stability to children of gay and lesbian parents.鈥� In response,听of the AAP鈥檚 60,000 members broke off, forming ACPeds.

ACPeds鈥� founder, Dr. Joseph Zanga,听听as a 鈥淛udeo-Christian, traditional values鈥� organization, 鈥渙pen to pediatric medical professionals of all religions who hold true to the group鈥檚 core beliefs: that life begins at conception; and that the traditional family unit, headed by an opposite-sex couple, poses far fewer risk factors in the adoption and raising of children.鈥�

ACPeds claims more than听, though its former president, Dr. Michelle Cretella (), wouldn鈥檛 answer a direct question about its membership numbers in 2016. In 2012, ACPeds was听estimated to have no more than 200 members. AAP听.

Yet ACPeds has continued to be a far-right media favorite and prominent voice in anti-LGBT circles. On the July 24, 2017 episode of 鈥淭ucker Carlson Tonight鈥� on Fox News, then-ACPeds president Cretella听听on 鈥渢ransgender ideology.鈥� 鈥淪ex is hard-wired from before birth, and it cannot change,鈥� Cretella said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 why we have actually called this child abuse, because by feeding children and families these lies, children are having their normal psychological development interrupted 鈥� This is child abuse. It鈥檚 not health care.鈥�

She also made misleading and false claims about hormone treatments for transgender children and adolescents in the 2017 appearance, claiming that 95% of transgender children will eventually 鈥渆mbrace鈥� their 鈥渂iological sex鈥� as long as they are forced to reject their trans identity.

The so-called听听(whose numbers range from 80-95%) has been promoted for years by anti-trans groups and individuals, and听听of 45 gender nonconforming children that conflated children who exhibited gender nonconforming behaviors with children who insisted they are a different gender; that is, transgender children. Most of the children who desisted were never transgender to begin with.

ACPeds responded to AAP鈥檚 endorsement of adoption by gay couples with its own policy statement in January 2004 (re-posted in July听2017), titled 鈥溾�� Among its false claims: 鈥渞esearch has demonstrated considerable risks to children exposed to the homosexual lifestyle. Violence between same-sex partners is two to three times more common than among married heterosexual couples;鈥� 鈥淸h]omosexual men and women are reported to be promiscuous, with serial sex partners, even within what are loosely-termed 鈥榗ommitted relationships;鈥欌�� and to excuse its bunk science, 鈥淸a]lthough some would claim that these dysfunctions are a result of societal pressures in America, the same dysfunctions exist at inordinately high levels among homosexuals in cultures where the practice is more widely accepted.鈥�

The statement concludes, 鈥淕iven the current body of evidence, the American College of Pediatricians believes it is inappropriate, potentially hazardous to children, and dangerously irresponsible to change the age-old prohibition on same-sex parenting, whether by adoption, foster care, or reproductive manipulation.鈥�

In 2008, AAP, along with 12 other leading national organizations including the American Psychological Association and the National Association of Social Workers, released a pamphlet titled 鈥�.鈥� Distributed to school administrators nationwide, the pamphlet declared, 鈥淭he idea that homosexuality is a mental disorder or that the emergence of same-sex attraction and orientation among some adolescents is in any way abnormal or mentally unhealthy has no support among any mainstream health and mental health professional organizations.鈥� It also warned against efforts to change sexual orientation through reparative or conversion therapy, stating, 鈥渟uch efforts have serious potential to harm young people because they present the view that the sexual orientation of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth is a mental illness or disorder, and they often frame the inability to change one鈥檚 sexual orientation as a personal and moral failure,鈥� and clearly specifying that 鈥渉omosexuality is not a mental disorder and thus is not something that needs to or can be 鈥榗ured.鈥欌��

In response, ACPeds听听the reparative therapy organization the听National for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality听(NARTH, now the NARTH Institute, which was folded into the Alliance for Therapeutic Choice) to attack 鈥淔acts About Sexual Orientation and Youth,鈥� calling it 鈥�,鈥� and published an online rebuttal called 鈥溾�� in 2010.

鈥淔acts About Youth鈥� contains a slew of false assertions,听鈥淸h]omosexual attraction of young students is usually temporary (if not encouraged) and may be unwanted,鈥� 鈥淸t]he homosexual lifestyle carries grave health risks, especially for males,鈥� and 鈥淸f]or unwanted sexual attractions, therapy to restore heterosexual attraction has proven effective and harmless.鈥�

鈥淔acts About Youth鈥� also includes a听听called 鈥淗ealth Risks of the Homosexual Lifestyle鈥� which links 人兽性交 people to disease and uses a legitimate Canadian study conducted in 1996 to claim that being 人兽性交 shortens lifespans. The authors of that study blasted anti-人兽性交 groups for distorting their data, stating that 鈥溾�� it appears that our research is being used by select groups in US and Finland to suggest that gay and bisexual men live an unhealthy lifestyle that is destructive to themselves and to others. These homophobic groups appear more interested in restricting the human rights鈥� of 人兽性交 people 鈥渞ather than promoting their health and wellbeing.鈥�

The aim of their research, the paper鈥檚 writers stated, 鈥渨as to assist health planners with the means of estimating the impact of HIV infection on groups, like gay and bisexual men, not necessarily captured by vital statistics data and not to hinder the rights of these groups worldwide.鈥� The writers听听that they do not condone the use of their work in a manner that restricts political and human rights of gay and bisexual men or any other group.

On March 31, 2010 ACPeds sent a letter to听听across the country听听and directing school administrators to its 鈥淔acts About Youth鈥� website.

One of the names on the masthead of the ACPeds letter endorsing sexual orientation conversion therapy was George Rekers. Rekers was a听听who vocally advocated 鈥渃uring鈥� homosexuality. Just two weeks after the ACPeds letter was distributed, Reker was caught returning from a European vacation with听.

The genuine leading pediatrics association, the AAP,听saying ACPeds鈥� Facts About Youth 鈥渃ampaign does not acknowledge the scientific and medical evidence regarding sexual orientation, sexual identity, sexual health, or effective health education.鈥�

Indeed, several medical sources cited prominently by ACPeds to support 鈥淔acts About Youth鈥� immediately rebutted ACPeds鈥� assertions. Dr. Francis S. Collins, the director of the National Institute of Health,听, 鈥淭he American College of Pediatricians pulled language out of context from a book I wrote in 2006 to support an ideology that can cause unnecessary anguish and encourage prejudice. The information they present is misleading and incorrect, and it is particularly troubling that they are distributing it in a way that will confuse school children and their parents.鈥�

Dr. Gary Remafedi, a University of Minnesota researcher also听听by ACPeds to support 鈥淔acts About Youth,鈥澨�听to the misrepresentation of his research,听.

Dr. Remafedi wrote to ACPeds, 鈥渢his episode is especially troubling and egregious because it is led by colleagues within my own profession, who certainly have the ability, education, and experience to access, review, and accurately summarize the Pediatric scientific literature.鈥� He continued, 鈥淚mplicating me in this chicanery is doubly damaging to my professional reputation and career by holding me accountable for misstatements and by associating me with a cause that most ethical Pediatricians will recognize as misguided and hurtful to an entire class of children and families.鈥�

Therapist Warren Throckmorton, who specializes in sexual orientation issues, was听听ACPeds. 鈥淭he [ACPeds] letter and [Facts About Youth] website are just disingenuous,鈥� Throckmorton听. 鈥淭hey say they鈥檙e impartial and not motivated by political or religious concerns, but if you look at who they鈥檙e affiliated with and how they鈥檙e using the research, that鈥檚 just obviously not true.鈥�

While ACPeds may sound sufficiently marginalized within the medical and mental health professional communities, that hasn鈥檛 stopped the far-right from using its debunked pseudo-science to back anti-人兽性交 agendas.

In a听debate听between the听Family Research Council鈥檚听Tony Perkins听and the Southern Poverty Law Center鈥檚 Mark Potok on the November 30, 2010 edition of MSNBC鈥檚 鈥淗ardball with Chris Matthews,鈥� Perkins said, 鈥淚f you look at the American College of Pediatricians, they say the research is overwhelming that homosexuality poses a danger to children.鈥�

Evangelical anti-人兽性交 extremist and pseudo-historian听David Barton听cited ACPeds听听in August 2011, falsely calling it 鈥渢he leading pediatric association in America,鈥� to claim schools are using 鈥渋ndoctrination鈥� to make students 人兽性交. 鈥淚f you鈥檒l just let this develop naturally, they鈥檒l end up being heterosexual unless you force them to be homosexual,鈥� Barton paraphrased ACPeds.

In June 2013, the conservative听听quoted then-president of ACPeds Den Trumbull鈥檚 continued endorsement of reparative therapy for 人兽性交 teens: 鈥溾�楽pontaneous and assisted change is possible,鈥� and if a teen鈥檚 sexual-orientation confusion is not encouraged or validated, in the vast majority of cases, he or she 鈥榳ill return to heterosexual orientation,鈥� said Dr. Trumbull, who has a pediatrics practice in Alabama.鈥�

In May 2015, Trumbull听听program, where he disparaged preventative methods of arresting the spread of HIV, saying, 鈥測et the push is more to find a vaccine, to use condoms, to 鈥� but I truly believe that when we are practicing a sexual act that goes against our natural design, it鈥檚 going to be very harmful to us emotionally, physically and, in the situation with AIDS, even infectious consequences will occur.鈥�

Later in 2015, then-president of ACPeds, Dr. Michelle Cretella, decried the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision to legalize same-sex marriage,听听鈥渁 tragic day for America鈥檚 children,鈥� which was听.

ACPeds also听听in court cases and files amicus briefs听often filled with pseudoscientific claims and research. For example, it听filed an amicus brief听with the Alabama Supreme Court on November 6, 2015, urging the state court to defy the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 earlier decision legalizing same-sex marriage in the United States. The听听cited discredited anti-人兽性交 research while attacking legitimate research by professional organizations like the American Psychological Association.

In March 2016 (updated in September 2017), ACPeds published an听anti-transgender position statement听titled 鈥溙�,鈥澨�听that gender dysphoria 鈥渋s a recognized mental disorder鈥� in the American Psychiatric Association鈥檚听听(DSM-5). The statement called it 鈥渁busive鈥� to support gender dysphoric children, and using twisted statistics alleged that 鈥渁s many as 98% of gender confused boys and 88% of gender confused girls eventually accept their biological sex after naturally passing through puberty.鈥�

Far-right conservative media outlets and commentators including听, the听, the听听and听听parroted ACPeds' false claim that being transgender is a mental illness and 鈥済ender ideology鈥� is child abuse.

Meanwhile, the legitimate leading association of pediatricians, the American Academy of Pediatricians, joined the Human Rights Campaign along with other leading mental health and educational organizations in April 2016 to听听opposing 鈥渘eedless and mean-spirited legislation鈥� targeting transgender students.

Still, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry听听鈥渢he American Pediatrics鈥� (he got ACPeds鈥� name wrong), stating 鈥渢ransgender identity is a mental illness鈥� on the Family Research Council鈥檚 鈥溾�� radio program in May 2016.

The magazine听Psychology Today鈥檚 website听in May 2017, quoting Dr. Scott Leibowitz, medical director of the THRIVE program at Nationwide Children鈥檚 Hospital and chair of the sexual orientation and gender identity issues committee for the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Dr. Leibowitz said of ACPeds, 鈥淚t can hardly be a credible medical organization when it consistently chooses to ignore science and the growing evidence base that clearly demonstrates the benefits of affirmative care with LGBT youth across all ages.鈥�

Dr. Jack Turban, the author of the听Psychology Today听article, concluded, 鈥淚 urge news organizations and individuals to stop propagating these false claims from the ACP. The health of LGBT youth depends on it.鈥�

Yet ACPeds continues to be a far-right media favorite and prominent voice in anti-人兽性交 circles. On the July 24, 2017 episode of 鈥淭ucker Carlson Tonight鈥� on Fox News, ACPeds then-president Cretella听听on 鈥渢ransgender ideology.鈥� 鈥淪ex is hard-wired from before birth, and it cannot change,鈥� Cretella said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 why we have actually called this child abuse, because by feeding children and families these lies, children are having their normal psychological development interrupted 鈥� This is child abuse. It鈥檚 not health care.鈥�

Additionally, Cretella听was the keynote speaker听at the reparative therapy organization NARTH Institute鈥檚 training institute in October 2017, and听presented an anti-transgender session听at the Minnesota Catholic Conference in December 2017. Cretella served as a board member (2010-2015) for NARTH (National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality), which changed its name to NARTH Institute in 2014.

In an anti-trans听Daily Signal听听posted in July 2017, Cretella claimed that medial professionals are 鈥渦sing the myth that people are born transgender to justify engaging in massive, uncontrolled, and unconsented experimentation on children鈥� who, she further claimed, 鈥渉ave a psychological condition that would otherwise resolve after puberty in the vast majority of cases.鈥�

The Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine听听of Cretella鈥檚 July 2017 Daily Signal听claims, noting that her post is 鈥渓ittered with correlation without causation references.鈥� One cannot claim to be an unbiased medical professional writing for the greater good, SAHM states, 鈥渨hen one鈥檚 entire article is predicated upon gender dysphoria as a choice.鈥�

Nevertheless, ACPeds continues to falsely claim that gender-affirming care for transgender children somehow 鈥渉arms鈥� children, and also falsely claims that the medical establishment is forcing transgender children to undergo transition surgeries.

In reality, gender-affirming care for youth involves following developmentally appropriate established guidelines put out by the听, the听听and听听to ensure the safety and well-being transgender youth and adults.

The rise of anti-trans sentiment among anti-人兽性交 groups has fueled a cottage industry of anti-trans research that in turn is promoted by anti-人兽性交 groups, including ACPeds, which has become a go-to for expertise in anti-trans pseudoscience.

One such study ACPeds has promoted is one published in August 2018 that makes unfounded claims about so-called 鈥渞apid onset gender dysphoria,鈥� which posits that gender dysphoria seemingly appears abruptly during or after puberty as a result of peer pressure or 鈥渟ocial contagion.鈥� That is, youth are 鈥減ressured鈥� into being trans and can therefore 鈥渃hange鈥� into not being trans.

The study, by Brown University researcher Lisa Littman, appeared in August 2018 in the听听journal PLOS ONE that dealt with what she called 鈥渞apid onset gender dysphoria鈥� (ROGD), which is promoted on anti-trans message boards.

Littman鈥檚 dubious data collection focused on a questionnaire to parents who frequented anti-trans websites and did not involve any trans-identified youth or controls. Also, she did not account for how using anti-trans subjects might skew her data, nor did she question the parents鈥� claims. Her study鈥檚 flawed methodology and conclusions were听, and Brown University听听via news distribution the same month it was published.

PLOS ONE conducted a post-publication reassessment of the piece, and in March 2019听听to it that ostensibly address the concerns that were raised.

Regardless, anti-人兽性交 media circulated the study widely, and ACPeds鈥� Cretella touted the study听听(sponsored by anti-人兽性交 hate group Family Research Council). The ACPeds website also promotes anti-trans parenting sites as 鈥渞esources,鈥� including Kelsey Coalition and Parents of ROGD Kids. The Kelsey Coalition, which听听about permanent staff, incorporation or tax status, solicits anonymous anti-trans personal testimonies from parents and advocates against protections from conversion therapy for trans youth.

The ROGD Parents site, like Kelsey Coalition, offers little information about who they are and claims that transgender youth are merely 鈥渃onfused鈥� and have been somehow talked into being trans and wanting to transition because of social media and peers. The site also attempts to link gender dysphoria to several things including borderline personality disorder, autism, Munchausen Syndrome, and being bullied for 鈥渂eing too butch.鈥�

The ACPeds site also warns parents to 鈥淎void 鈥楪ender therapists,鈥� 鈥楪ender-Affirming鈥� therapists, 鈥楲GBT-affirming鈥� therapists, and 鈥楪ender clinics鈥欌�� because, according to ACPeds, 鈥淭hese are all titles of therapists who seek to validate and affirm your child鈥檚 gender disturbance as normal.鈥�

In September 2018, Joseph Zanga, an ACPeds founder and past president (also a past president of AAP),听听in the听Bulletin听of the Muscogee County Medical Society (Columbus, Georgia) that ACPeds promoted on its website.

Zanga seems to claim that children are forced to be transgender by their parents: 鈥淏ut children鈥檚 brains are plastic and can be molded by experience, by parents dressing them as the opposite sex, calling them an opposite sex name, and insisting that all others do the same.鈥� Children thus become, Zanga continued, 鈥渢he sex others create for them,鈥� and claims that children are 鈥渋ncapable of making those decisions.鈥� In the op-ed, Zanga referenced the desistance myth, claiming that the 鈥渃ondition鈥� usually 鈥渃ures itself鈥� by late adolescence.

In March 2019, ACPeds executive director Cretella and anti-trans activist Walt Heyer听听to address members of Congress about the alleged dangers of the Federal Equality Act, which would include sexual orientation and gender identity in the Civil Rights Act. Heyer claims to have been previously trans but says he was misdiagnosed. Heyer听, which claims that the majority of people who transition end up regretting their decision.

After the Capitol Hill meetings, Cretella听听with FRC president Tony Perkins following the introduction of the Equality Act. In those interviews, she discussed meeting with members of Congress and their staffs and referred to being transgender as being in a cult. 鈥淭ransgender belief is in the mind,鈥� she said the interviews. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a cult that is telling us that children are born with the belief that they are trapped in the wrong body, and it鈥檚 simply not true.鈥�

In July of 2019, ACPeds, the 听Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, the Catholic Medical Association and the Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity (which supports conversion therapy), sent a letter to U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams asking him not to support affirming care for gender dysphoric children. They also asked Adams to issue a warning with regard to medical intervention for gender dysphoric children. The letter claims that health professionals who don鈥檛 engage in affirmative care for gender dysphoric children are at risk for discrimination and marginalization.

In October 2019, Cretella spoke at anti-人兽性交 hate group Illinois Family Institute鈥檚 Worldview Conference. Her talk was titled 鈥淭ransgender Ideology: Child Abuse and the Erasure of Human Rights.鈥� In that talk, she claimed that 鈥渨e are actually manufacturing transgender children in this country and around the world鈥� and pushed a conspiracy theory that the transgender movement 鈥渋s an opening for a totalitarian government.鈥�

During that conference, she also referred to intersex people as 鈥渉aving birth defects鈥� (听is not considered a defect); touted Littman鈥檚 study; and repeated several anti-trans conspiracy theories, including that social media is making children transgender. She claimed falsely that New York City fines people $250,000 for not using someone鈥檚 preferred gender pronouns. 听

ACPeds president Quentin van Meter, who is based in Atlanta, was quoted in a听听from Georgia state Rep. Ginny Ehrhart (R-Marietta) regarding her sponsorship of an anti-trans bill that would criminalize gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth. In the release, Van Meter said children need to be protected from 鈥渕edical experimentation based on wishful social theory.鈥� He added: 鈥淭hese children are suffering from a psychological condition without biologic [sic] basis.鈥�

Van Meter, who is popular on the anti-人兽性交 circuit, touts the discredited practice of conversion therapy in addition to anti-trans pseudoscience. The Ohio Department of Health听听in a civil rights lawsuit against the state, which is refusing to change the sex on birth certificates of four transgender people. Such a move could put them in danger of being outed as trans.

In addition, Van Meter testified to the Alabama state legislature in early 2020 in favor of legislation that would criminalize gender-affirming healthcare for children. He went on Tony Perkins鈥� radio show March 5 to discuss his testimony and gender dysphoria. Van Meter referred to the latter as 鈥済ender confusion,鈥� a right-wing term used to denigrate transgender people. Van Meter claimed that 鈥済ender confusion鈥� is 鈥渟ort of a cult phenomenon鈥� influenced by 鈥渋nternet access and hysteria.鈥�

听