As the debate heats up over the impact of the transgender movement on children, two bold doctors are speaking up about what they see as bullying tactics aimed at silencing critics – and the truth
Dr. Quentin Van Meter, a pediatric endocrinologist and president of the American College of Pediatricians, and Dr. Andre Van Mol, a family doctor, are just two of the subjects in “Generation Indoctrination,” a new podcast from Christian Post reporter Brandon Showalter.
Both have unique insight into this arena.
In an interview, Van Meter passionately expressed his concern over the handling of those who choose to question the current affirmation-only approach for kids who identify as transgender, revealing a mass silencing.
“I think the first weapon that they use is that, ‘If you don’t believe what we say, then you are bigoted and hateful,’” he said on the “Generation Indoctrination Podcast.”
He continued, “That’s the starting point, and it’s a sort of an unspoken truth because, if anybody does really come outside the box and say, ‘Whoa, wait a minute, this isn’t right,’ they are immediately attacked in any way possible.”
Listen to the episode:
Van Meter shared his belief that medical societies and institutions have so swiftly signed on board the affirmation-only bandwagon because of fear. Those who choose to speak out — or want to tell the truth — often fear retribution.
“Their division heads will say, ‘I’m sorry … you’re not speaking for this university. This is your personal opinion, and this is bigoted and hateful, and we’ll have none of it. And if you don’t retract what you wrote, we’re going to have to reconsider whether or not you’ll … achieve tenure and whether or not you can publish in journals because you’re representing us,’” he explained.
Van Meter said this is a major problem for “physicians at large.”
Meanwhile, he said, parents are being indoctrinated into the fold as well, and are being given few options outside of the affirmation-only paradigm.
“The kind of intimidation that’s thrown at parents — ‘Do you want a live son or a dead daughter?’ ‘Do you want to be planning a transition or a funeral?’” Van Meter said. “It’s incredible that people are hearing this from their healthcare and mental health professionals.”
Van Mol echoed these sentiments and explained the risks he believes are at play when a child is fast-tracked onto an affirmation-only pathway. The worst-case scenario, he said, is suicide.
“Transition-affirmation, gender-affirming therapy is not proven to improve mental health or to reduce suicide, and the best studies have the worst results,” he said.
Supporters of so-called “gender-affirming” care have said it helps save kids who identify as transgender from negative mental health outcomes and suicide, though Van Mol disagrees.
He also highlighted the monies purportedly being made off surgeries and treatments — something particularly disturbing in light of the fact many young people reportedly outgrow transgender identity.
“We have decades of literature showing very strong support for the idea that gender dysphoric youth will overwhelmingly desist,” he said. “But now you medicalize it?”
Van Mol said this approach not only permanently confuses the child and makes desisting less likely, but it also makes that person “profitable for the rest of their life” — another disturbing purported element of the movement.
Listen to Van Mol, Van Meter, and other experts speak on these issues in episode two of “Generation Indoctrination.”
This story originally appeared on Faithwire.com.
