As a medical organization the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOP) firmly believes that healthcare is an extremely personal experience that should remain between an individual and his/her/their physician and should be guided by evidence and science. The two decisions out of Washington DC this Wednesday go further to prove our fears of branches of government inserting themselves into our exam rooms, and LGBTQIA+ youth, especially our transgender and gender diverse youth, are going to be the ones to pay the price.
The 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in the United States v. Skrmetti which upholds Tennessee’s ban on evidence-based gender affirming care for minors will place not only Tennessee’s transgender youth in danger but also opens the door to further discrimination and harm to transgender and gender diverse youth on a national scale. While this case does not affect those states in which minors can still currently receive this lifesaving care, it has now set a precedent for the 20+ states that have same or similar laws that are also currently under appeal, effectively paving a path to enactment once it reaches the Supreme Court. Families will have to choose between moving their entire lives to one of the states where this care can continue or having a child be denied the ability to live their authentic life, which will cause irreparable harm to a population of youth who are already experiencing depression and suicidality at a rate of 4 times that of their peers. For families without the resources to make such a move, this choice will have been made for them by the stroke of a pen in Washington DC.
This news was followed shortly thereafter by a statement that the administration was going to halt its funding and cooperation with the Trevor Project; specifically, its support of the LGBTQIA+ component of the national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This comes at a time when it is estimated that an LGBTQIA+ youth attempts suicide in the US every 45 seconds. Within this statement they further erased the transgender community by referring to only the “LGB+” population, singling out the population who is known to have a 2 to 2.5 times higher risk of experiencing mental health crises and suicidality when compared to their gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer peers, let alone the heterosexual population. This is a blatant attempt to alienate and ignore the needs of our transgender youth and will do nothing but harm.
We, the executive committee of the ACOP, want to assert our stance that gender affirming care is not just safe and effective but also the evidence-based, life-saving standard of care to treat youth experiencing gender dysphoria and we will continue to support our members who provide this care. In this time, we also want our LGBTQIA+ patients to know that you are safe in our clinics and our wards. We pledge our dedication to provide our osteopathic model of whole-person care to you, including your mental health. Finally, to our LGBTQIA+ members, you will ALWAYS have a home and find a supportive family in the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians.
The ACOP Executive Committee
