WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday accused the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics of lying about the correct course of treatment for transgender Americans.
“The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics peddled the lie that chemical and surgical sex-rejecting procedures could be good for children,” Kennedy said in a news release. “They betrayed their oath to first do no harm, and their so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people. That is not medicine — it’s malpractice.”
The AAP reaffirmed in 2023 its support for gender-affirming medical care for transgender children on Thursday, even as the treatments face a growing push for bans and restrictions from Republican lawmakers across the U.S.
While surgery is supported by both the AMA and AAP, both organizations emphasize a more comprehensive treatment approach, including social, legal, and mental health support, and medical interventions.
The Health and Human Services Department, under Kennedy, claimed that “unnecessary procedures and long-term health risks such as infertility are the byproduct of the overmedicalization of children.”
The “Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: Review of Evidence and Best Practices” was published by the department Wednesday.
The AAP, according to former AAP head Dr. Moira Szilagyi, uses “a holistic, collaborative, compassionate approach to care with no end goal or agenda.”