The American College of Pediatricians (“ACP”) is a small, stalwart group standing up against the leftist behemoth that is the American Academy of Pediatrics (“AAP”). It’s a classic David versus Goliath situation, and the Washington Post strongly supports Goliath. The WaPo’s problem is that, as in ancient times, David is the righteous one.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, founded in 1930, boasts 67,000 members. It is America’s largest and most prominent pediatric association. According to the approving Wikipedia article, while it does have sensible stances (i.e., kids should be in the classroom and marijuana is bad for them), it also sides with Democrats on the most contentious public policy issues:

Image: Pediatrician by DC Studio.

Abortion: Supports it for adolescents.

Masks: Not practical for children under 11 unless they can be made not to touch their faces.

Guns: Says guns are used in teen homicides (i.e., legal adults, 18 and 19, in gangs), and wants background checks, assault weapons bans, and a pediatrician discussing gun safety with parents and children. As an aside, a long time ago, a pediatrician seeing my children tried to shame me about guns. He failed.

Gender-based body mutilation (aka “gender-affirming care”): The AAP is enthusiastically for it. I have written extensively about its 2018 policy statement (starting about halfway down the linked page, in Section III). In that same post, I noted that, at least as of January 15, 2023, I could not find a single publication on the AAP site that offers scientific proof for the validity of its recommended practice approach. Rep. Dan Crenshaw just made the same point:

This is a radical new movement that is performing permanent physiological changes to children with no evidence of any benefits. pic.twitter.com/BV9at1G7At

— Rep. Dan Crenshaw (@RepDanCrenshaw) June 14, 2023

Everything is bootstrapping on the assumption that so-called transgenderism is real and must be encouraged in children.

And what about the American College of Pediatricians (“ACP”), which has fewer than 1,000 members? Well, according to the Washington Post, because the ACP refuses to get with the AAP’s program, it’s got nothing medically beneficial to offer but exists only because it “gained outside political influence in recent years, primarily by using conservative media as a megaphone in its quest to position the group as a reputable source of information.” (You can practically hear the snide “it’s disreputable” hiding behind that convoluted, judgmental sentence.)

So, what are this group’s sins according to the WaPo? It opposes mutilating children and aborting babies:

The organization has successfully lobbied since 2021 for laws in more than a half-dozen states that ban gender-affirming care for transgender youths, with its representatives testifying before state legislatures against the guidelines recommended by mainstream medical groups, according to its records. It gained further national prominence this year as one of the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit to limit access to mifepristone, a key abortion drug.

You’ll be shocked to learn that the pediatric medical establishment, which is all-in on gender mutilation and abortion, views the ACP “with skepticism.” That’s because

...the group has presented statistics and talking points to state legislators, public school officials and the American public as settled science while internal documents emphasize how religion and morality influence its positions. 

Think about that sentence for a moment. First, there is no such thing as settled science. The news daily reminds us that we don’t know bubkis about most things, whether it's COVID treatments, hot flashes, healthy foods, or anything else. We have good guesses. We don’t have certainty. Second, and more disturbing, is the disdain for morality in medicine.

I don’t want to go around calling anyone a Nazi, but it’s worth noting that the eugenics movement that started amongst American progressives in the early 20th century and culminated in Dr. Mengele’s laboratory at Auschwitz was predicated on pure science minus such weak concepts as moral decency. Moreover, religion is the fount of morality. Without religion, you simply have paganism, which was (and, given Climate Change doctrine, is) an endlessly shifting system of rules, all intended to placate irrational gods, an effort that, not coincidentally, always further empowers the ruling class.

The WaPo is also outraged that the ACP promotes “conversion therapy,” which the WaPo says is a “discredited practice intended to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ people.” As a wit noted on Twitter, the entire gender identity shtick is one giant “conversion therapy.” You may be born that way if you’re gay, but you’ve got to work for your “gender identity.”

The WaPo article is long (and boring). The gist is that the AAP is right, and anyone who uses scientific evidence and morality to talk about what’s good for children in a way that counters the AAP is a radical right-wing wacko trying to destroy abortion and LGBTQ++ rights.

Remember when your mother, trying to ween you away from stupidly following trends, asked sarcastically, “If everyone jumped off a cliff, would you do that too?” Well, the WaPo’s answer is “yes.”

As an antidote, here is Dr. Miriam Grossman with some common sense:

Listen to Dr. Miriam Grossman's (@Miriam_Grossman) powerful testimony at today's Congressional hearing. She expertly counters the assertions made by Dr. Meredithe McNamara, whom you might recall from the Florida Boards of Medicine Workshop in 2022. pic.twitter.com/QR3M2WDkOo

— Jeremy Shaw, MD (@JeremyShawMD) June 14, 2023