America’s largest organization of pediatricians refused to support a statement encouraging girls participation in youth sports because it wasn’t inclusive of “trans girls,” according to emails exclusively obtained through a public records request by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
In a series of emails written during July 2022, members of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Health and Wellness, a group within the organization that provides expertise and education on LGBT issues, refused to back a statement titled “It’s time to level the playing field for girls” over concerns it could be prevent gender confused males from participating in girls sports.
“While the recommendations alone are nice, it’s how it is framed that is concerning — ‘It’s time to level the playing field for girls’ has the capacity to be used against the AAP by those who support cisgender girls participation only in sports and it makes no mention of trans girls,” wrote Renee Jarrett, manager of the AAP Section on LGBT Health and Wellness.
Kathryn Melland Lowe, a pediatrician and co-author of the AAP’s transgender policy, said she wanted clearer language on what was meant by the term “girls.”
“Given the current battles throughout the country in regards to trans girls being able to play sports, I think this could definitely be used against trans youth as it is written,” wrote Lowe. “I would prefer if there was some language in those recommendations making it clear what is meant by ‘girls.’ ”
The DCNF was unable to directly reach Jarrett and Lowe. The AAP did not respond to a request for comment on behalf of Jarret and Lowe.
Happy #WomensEqualityDay! 102 years ago, the 19th Amendment passed giving women the right to vote & opening new paths to gender equality. We’re committed to ensuring opportunity equity for girls & #Root4Her to ensure the physical, emotional & social health of all youth. pic.twitter.com/NgR2ZI8atC
— GENYOUthNow (@GENYOUthNow) August 26, 2022
The statement in question was spearheaded by GENYOUth, a national nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of children, which has a program called “Root4Her” that aims to address barriers keeping girls from participating in youth sports and develops the self-confidence of young women.
Advocating for males participation in female athletics is out of step with the AAP’s historical recognition of needed separation of the sexes in competitive sports due to biological differences between male and female athletes.
In 1975, shortly after the adoption of Title IX, the AAP noted in the Journal of Pediatrics that postpubescent females should not compete against males in contact sports due to “the grave risk of serious injury the grave risk of serious injury due to their lesser muscle mass per unit of body weight.”
The long-held safety concerns over males and females competing together in athletics have been recently validated as female athletes participating in competitive sports have sustained serious injuries at the hand of male opponents.
For example, in North Carolina a female high school volleyball player, Payton McNabb, suffered a serious head injury in September 2022 when she was hit by a ball spiked by a male player during a volleyball match. A female student athlete in Massachusetts had her teeth knocked out during a field hockey match when she was struck by a ball hit by a male player.
Florida pediatricians join other advocates calling on the Florida Legislature to oppose banning transgender girls from playing sports with other girls. https://t.co/Ksc4UDYbCu
— American Academy of Pediatrics (@AmerAcadPeds) April 22, 2021
In recent years the AAP has strongly advocated for male participation in female athletics, filing multiple amicus briefs combating legislation aimed at banning men from women’s sports.
In April 2023, the AAP filed a brief challenging West Virginia’s “Save Women’s Sports Act,” a law which banned men from participating in women’s sports. The brief suggested the “health and well-being” of gender-confused males could be threatened if they were denied access to female sports.
“This ban can lead to severe adverse consequences for the health and well-being of transgender female students. Forcing a transgender female student to participate on a sports team identifying as a cisgender male can exacerbate the harmful effects of gender dysphoria and goes against the medical consensus to treat gender dysphoria by supporting the transgender individual in living her life according to her gender identity,” the brief states.
“Alternatively, if they refuse to identify as a cisgender male, transgender female students can be forced to forgo student athletics entirely, depriving them of the myriad benefits—including social, physical, and mental-health benefits—that participation in sports can provide. Either way, the effect of the West Virginia statute is deleterious to the health and well-being of transgender female students.”
May Mailman, director of Independent Women’s Law Center, criticized the AAP for risking the “safety, privacy, and dignity” of girls in a statement provided to the DCNF.
“The AAP’s mission is to attain optimal physical, mental, and social health for children, which for girls is clearly linked to girls’ sports,” wrote Mailman. “Instead of helping girls improve their health, the AAP has decided to risk their safety, privacy, and dignity, all while letting boys (many of whom are abused) fall victim to the idea that boys can become girls. This further devastates trust in the medical community.”
Emails reveal that members of the AAP LGBT Wellness and Health section were concerned that supporting the “It’s time to level the playing field for girls” statement could have negative political implications for “transgender girls.”
Jeff Hudson, an AAP leader who played a critical role in strong-arming the World Professional Association of Transgender Health into removing lower age limits for sex-change surgery, was “very hesitant” to support the statement for “purely political” reasons.
“My thinking is purely political here-the existing headline reads like it was put out by Heritage Foundation or ADF. I am very hesitant to add the AAP logo as is because it will undoubtedly be used against AAP Chapters. And in this instance, even with the equity and inclusion bullet point, all state legislators and anti-transgender activists are going to see is ‘Its Time To Level The Playing Field For Girls’ and that’s a core component of their argument,” wrote Hudson.
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative think tank located in Washington D.C. and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is a Christian law firm committed to protecting religious freedom and free speech.
Jason Rafferty, the lead author of the AAP’s transgender policy, agreed that looking at sports through a “binary lens” could have negative impact on policy efforts.
“I am strongly against supporting this statement. I don’t know what the intent of it is and I think we want to assume it is positive based on the other organizations that have signed on, etc., but anything right now looking at sports through a binary lens is going to come back and bite us with policy efforts,” wrote Rafferty.
“Nevermind an argument of ‘leveling the playing field’ as we currently wait on a supreme ruling on affirmative action. I actually don’t think this could be phrased a more controversial, without being explicitly controversial, way,” he added.
The AAP, Hudson, and Rafferty did not respond to requests for comment.
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