by Renee McGuinness
The recent release of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) internal documents reveals that gender-affirming care “will go down as one of the worst medical scandals in history”, according Michael Shellenberger, who is a writer, journalist, and CBR Chair of Politics, Censorship, and Free Speech at University of Austin.
The WPATH Files, a collection of leaked screenshots from WPATH’s internal messaging forum and a 90-minute video containing a discussion between WPATH leaders and practitioners, compiled and analyzed by journalist Mia Hughes of Environmental Progress and released on March 4, 2024, is subtitled, “pseudoscientific surgical and hormonal experiments on children, adolescents, and adults.”
Shellenberger is the founder of Environmental Progress, a non-profit whose mission is affordable energy, a healthy planet, and thriving urban areas.
In the two-page executive summary of the 241-page report, Environmental Progress affirms that WPATH, in contrast to its reputation as the global leader of transgender healthcare; 1) is not scientific; 2) is not advocating for ethical healthcare; 3) advocates for arbitrary medical practices, including hormonal and surgical experiments on minors and adults; 4) WPATH doctors are knowingly violating informed consent; 5) practitioners lack consideration for long-term outcomes for patients; 6) patients with severe mental health issues are being allowed to consent to transgender treatments without first addressing the underlying issues; 7) surgeons are creating non-binary body types that do not exist in nature; 8) “autonomy” – a term used to protect persons from medical experimentation against their will, is being used by WPATH as a reason to provide patients with whatever treatment they request.
The majority of Vermont legislators relied upon the expert testimony of Dr. Erica Gibson, Division Chief of Adolescent Medicine at UVM Children’s Hospital who runs the UVMMC Transgender Youth Program and is a member of the Executive Board of the Vermont Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics; the testimony of Jessa Barnard, Executive Director of the Vermont Medical Society; and Lucy Leriche of Planned Parenthood of NNE to inform their vote on legislation that shields gender-affirming practitioners from liability under Act 14 (H.89, 2023) and binds Vermonters with higher health insurance premiums by requiring health insurance companies to cover some of the costs of transgender care under Act 15 (S.37, 2023), including patients who move here from other states to receive Vermont benefits.
During the February 7, 2023 House Judiciary vote on H.89 to shield gender-affirming care practitioners from legal challenges against them, Representative LaLonde proclaimed (@26:55) Vermont to be a “safe harbor” for LGBTQ+ youth to get advice and gender-affirming care, when in reality, our elected officials have put minors and vulnerable adults at risk of serious harm based on consensus rather than scientific data, while dismissing Vermont Family Alliance testimony that provided early evidence of questionable practices and outcomes experienced at the UK Tavistock Clinic.
Vermont Family Alliance continues to work to preserve and defend the critical role of parents and legal guardians in their children’s upbringing, free from state interference, and will advocate for a repeal of Acts 14 and 15 based upon the evidence of medical harm found in The WPATH Files.
Author is a Vermont Family Alliance policy analyst.