Plastic Surgeons' Group Does Not Endorse Kids Gender Surgeries
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) has quietly rejected the current consensus of medical groups in the United States on the issue of gender-transition care for minors.
According to City Journal, the ASPS became the first major medical association to break with other American medical associations when it stated in late July that it "has not endorsed any organization's practice recommendations for the treatment of adolescents with gender dysphoria."
The ASPS, which represents 11,000 members and more than 90% of the field in the U.S. and Canada, told the Journal that there is "considerable uncertainty as to the long-term efficacy for the use of chest and genital surgical interventions" and that "the existing evidence base is viewed as low quality/low certainty."
According to the Journal's report, the primary justification for gender-transition care for children in the United States has been that "all major U.S. medical associations" support it.
Critics have pointed to a lack of high-quality research and the absence of decades of honest debate among clinicians with diverse experiences and perspectives. The consensus is reportedly the result of a handful of "ideologically driven" physician-group members "who exploit their colleagues' trust."
The illusion of unanimity is maintained by silencing or distancing doctors with opposing viewpoints, the Journal reported.
Especially important to establishing this consensus on gender-transition care for minors was the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and the U.S. Endocrine Society. The United Kingdom's Cass Review found that these two medical groups cited each other's statements to forge the consensus, rather than conducting a scientific review of the evidence.