Three of the nation’s leading medical associations asked President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate and prosecute journalists and parents who are concerned with hospitals and physicians who provide transgender surgeries to minors.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, and Children’s Hospital Association sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland urging him to “take swift action to investigate and prosecute” those who allegedly threaten or target hospitals and physicians who provide transgender surgery to minors.
“We cannot stand by as threats of violence against our members and their patients proliferate with little consequence,” American Academy of Pediatrics president Moira Szilagyi said. “We call on the Department of Justice to investigate these attacks and social media platforms to reduce the spread of the misinformation enabling them.”
The letter noted that children’s hospitals and their staff have faced “increased threats via social media,” along with “harassing emails, phone calls, and protestors at health care sites.”
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland explains to reporters that he will not take questions after he delivered a statement at the U.S. Department of Justice August 11, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“These coordinated attacks threaten federally protected rights to health care for patients and their families,” the letter read.
The letter comes after online activists, including Twitter accounts like Libs of TikTok, have raised awareness about children’s hospitals providing transgender surgeries for minors.
In August, Libs of TikTok reported that Children’s National Hospital staff performs transgender surgeries on minors, including children younger than 16.
The medical associations also called on big tech social media giants “to do more to prevent this practice on digital platforms.”
“We stand with the physicians, nurses, mental health specialists, and other health care professionals providing evidence-based health care, including gender-affirming care, to children and adolescents,” the letter added.
Although Dr. Morissa Ladinsky, a University of Alabama pediatrics professor who provides “gender-affirming care” to trans children, claims pediatricians do not perform genital surgery on children, she admitted that mastectomies are included in the list of operations for transgender children.
Other transgender health care given to children includes hormone therapy or puberty blockers.
Investigative reporter Christopher Rufo noted that the medical associations’ letter is part of the “Left’s playbook,” and cited last year’s example of the National School Boards Association’s letter to the DOJ asking them to investigate parents who were opposed to critical race theory.
“This is now the Left’s playbook: last year, the National School Board Association, Department of Justice, and F.B.I. worked together to label parents who opposed critical race theory’ domestic terrorists,’” Rufo tweeted. “They want to stifle dissent, suppress speech, and criminalize opposition.”
This is now the Left’s playbook: last year, the National School Board Association, Department of Justice, and F.B.I. worked together to label parents who opposed critical race theory “domestic terrorists.” They want to stifle dissent, suppress speech, and criminalize opposition.
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) October 3, 2022
