Mick Hartley

Perhaps the most extraordinary of gender identity cons is the success of the new definition of "conversion therapy": allowing troubled young kids – supposedly "trans" kids, though there's no such thing – to actually go through a normal puberty. Activists insist that instant affirmation of a new gender identity, followed by social transition, and then medical transition, is the only proper treatment, and any hint of discussion, or wait-and-see, is conversion therapy and must be banned. 

In fact, of course, the situation is precisely the opposite.  It's "gender-affirming care" that's conversion therapy: medical interference in the normal pubertal devlopment of teens, very often teens who'd grow up to be gay. It could hardly be clearer. "Transing away the gay". It's Orwellian "black is white, up is down" stuff, yet across America, state by state, legislators are passing laws banning anything other than instant gender affirmation, and basking in their "progressive" credentials. 

Here's Jay T. Allen, a retired doctor in Maine:

The current practice in gender clinics throughout the United States is “gender affirming care”. It is endorsed by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and by all the major medical associations within the United States including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Endocrine Society, and the AMA.

If you take your child to a gender clinic, your child’s gender identity will be “affirmed” as the initial step in “gender affirming care”. If you ask about alternative therapies, you will likely to be told that there are no alternatives. Gender ideologues will argue that delaying “gender transition” is a form of conversion therapy. If you ask specifically about supportive psychotherapy or “watchful waiting” you will be told that it’s a form of conversion therapy (because it delays gender transition) and that it is both harmful and unethical. The AAP guidelines specifically singled out “watchful waiting” as “outdated” and a form of conversion therapy. An article in the Journal of Medical Ethics stated that any treatment that delays gender transition (which would include watchful waiting) is also conversion therapy.

What is most frustrating is that American medical associations, hospitals, and gender clinics are quick to condemn conversion therapy but (because of their embrace of gender ideology) fail to even recognize, let alone condemn, “gender affirming care” as conversion therapy. In the years to come, “gender affirming care” will stand as one of the most egregious examples of harm committed by those who have sworn an oath to “First, do no harm.” …

For 61 to 98 percent of teens and pre-teens with gender dysphoria, their dysphoria will resolve without intervention as they progress through puberty. However, under “gender affirming care”, nearly 100 percent will continue to have gender dysphoria. In “gender affirming care”, the new gender identity is confirmed immediately without question. Social transition, the first step in “gender affirming care”, also includes asking the patient to pick out a new name and new pronouns, and adopting clothing consistent with the chosen gender identity. Gender advocates defend social transition as a benign, fully reversible intervention, however, one author states that, “Although social transition is often described as a neutral intervention with little, if any, long-term consequences, several studies support the hypothesis that it can concretize gender dysphoria.” Dr. Kenneth Zucker also writes that social transition dramatically increases the rate of gender dysphoria persistence and that this persistence “might be characterized as iatrogenic”.

In other words, “gender affirming care” changes the developmental trajectory of 61 to 98 percent of treated patients, causing an iatrogenic increase in rate of persistence of gender dysphoria, and subsequently progression along the transition pathway. This is consistent with conversion therapy….

“Gender affirming care” is inhumane. “Gender affirming care” takes someone who is physically healthy and turns them into lifelong patients who will require daily medication and periodic surgeries. They also develop chronic health problems including chronic pain, decreased bone density, recurrent infections, depression, anxiety, persistently high risk of post-transition suicide, and infertility (among others).

“Gender affirming surgery” for females is contrary to human rights. “Gender affirming surgery” is one of the most severe forms of female genital mutilation. The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. This practice is outlawed in the United States and most other countries. And yet, female genital mutilation in the name of “transgender care”, is not only legal, but also highly encouraged by Federal Officials (including within the department of Health and Human Services) and by all major American medical associations.

Conversion therapy is often administered coercively The mantra of “gender affirming” professionals and clinics, is the phrase “Would you rather have a dead daughter or a living son?” or “Would you rather have a dead son or a living daughter?” These “affirm or suicide” statements are not supported by the evidence. This mantra is, by its very nature, coercive. Dr. Erica Li, a pediatrician in Washington state, has called this “emotional blackmail [of the parents].” The top expert on pediatric gender medicine in Finland has called this purposeful disinformation and has said that spreading it is irresponsible.

Another tactic used by gender activists within the medical field and by Child Protective Services is the threat of removing the child from the home, sometimes with tragic consequences. In some jurisdictions there is also the threat of parents being arrested for speaking out against gender ideology or fighting the gender transition of their child.

In summary, “gender affirming care” relies heavily on coercion, including emotional blackmail, threat of removal of children from the home, and threat of arrest. Based on the above, “gender affirming care” is consistent with conversion therapy….