Authored by Mimi Nguyen Ly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) on Feb. 20 made an official statement outlining its stance on “gender-affirming care” for minor children.
In its statement, the nonprofit association warned of “unknown and unknowable long-term risks” it says are inherent to “gender-affirming care” in minors, adding that the consequences of gender transition surgery are irreversible.
“Gender affirming” procedures include so-called puberty blockers, sex hormones, and surgery, such as castration, penectomy, and mastectomy, the group noted.
Founded in 1943, the non-partisan professional association represents doctors in all specialties nationwide and seeks to preserve the practice of private medicine. Over the years, the group has been a strong proponent of patient autonomy and freedom of discourse in medicine.
The AAPS warns that gender transition procedures are “generally irreversible and have a high probability of causing sterilization.”
The procedures also “commit a patient to a lifelong need for medical, surgical, and psychological care.”
Such procedures in minors are also medically and ethically contraindicated due to a lack of informed consent, the AAPS stated.
“Physicians and medical professionals should refuse to be mandated or coerced to participate in procedures to which they have ethical or scientific objections or which they believe would harm a patient.”
Biological Sex Can’t Be Changed: AAPS
The nonprofit association maintains that while medical, surgical, and other methods can be used to change the physical appearance of a person’s body, they cannot change a person’s biological sex.
Biological sex is determined at conception by genotype, and with the exception of rare circumstances that could result in ambiguous genitalia, biological sex is “indeed obvious” and is correctly identified at birth, the AAPS states.
Biological sex, or genotype, then determines the role of a person in reproduction. The group states: “Reproduction requires a male gamete (sperm), which can only be produced by a person of XY genotype, and a female gamete (egg), which can only be produced by a person of XX genotype. Primordial germ cells are present at birth.”
In recent months, some laws in the United States have attempted to curtail or outlaw gender-related procedures for minors, while other proposals would ensure access to gender-altering hormones and surgeries.
The governor of Mississippi said on Feb. 21 he will sign a ban on “gender-affirming care” passed in the state, joining governors in Utah and South Dakota. Meanwhile, judges have temporarily blocked similar laws in Arkansas and Alabama.
Gender Fluidity Is ‘Controversial’: AAPS
The group states: “The construct of gender fluidity in the current cultural discourse is controversial.”
“There has been an explosive increase in persons who identify with the construct of gender different from sex, at an age where identity is easily malleable and brain development is not fully concluded,” part of the official AAPS statement reads.
“Conflicting motivations have led to a growing industry dedicated to providing ‘gender-affirming’ procedures,” the statement reads.
Read more here…
Tyler Durden
Fri, 02/24/2023 – 12:20
