Leaked files from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) have exposed significant ethical concerns within the so-called medical practice known as “gender affirming care.”
Made public by Environmental Progress, the leaked documents reveal a pattern of ethical violations and lack of adherence to evidence-based medical practices by clinicians.
WPATH, a prominent authority in gender medicine, has massive influence on global standards in transgender healthcare.
“The WPATH Files show that what is called ‘gender medicine’ is neither science nor medicine,” said journalist Michael Shellenberger of Environmental Progress.
“The experiments are not randomized, double-blind, or controlled. It’s not medicine since the first rule is to do no harm. And that requires informed consent.”
The leaked files indicate that members of WPATH often engage in improvised treatments without meeting the rigorous standards expected in medical care.
Particularly alarming is the revelation that children and adolescents undergoing “gender-affirming care” may not fully comprehend the lifelong implications of such treatments.
Discussions within WPATH demonstrate a disregard for the long-term well-being of patients, including minors, who are undergoing life-altering medical interventions like puberty blockers and surgeries.
One leaked video clip shows one WPATH panel member acknowledging that many young adults who received so-called gender affirming care later experience “reproductive regret.”
“Like – regret. It’s there, and I don’t think that surprises any of us,” he says.
Impossible for mentally ill to give informed consent
The same member in another clip concedes that it’s impossible for vulnerable individuals with severe mental health conditions to give informed consent to things like puberty blockers or hormone therapy.
“Most of the kids are no where in any kind of a brain space to really, really, talk about it in a serious kind of way — and that’s always bothered me,” he says.
The documents emerge against the background of a recent study indicating that administering puberty blockers to “trans kids” may reduce their IQ, among other adverse effects, such as causing sterility.
Another study revealed that transgender women who take “gender-affirming” hormones face a 95% higher risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular conditions.
In response to the leaks, WPATH president Marci Bowers said her team is a “science and consensus-based organization.”
Bowers was also revealed to have told colleagues the “fertility question has no research.”
Bowers, a transgender surgeon, is also found claiming in a video that any age limit on when individuals should be able to receive medical treatment is “arbitrary.”
On September 15th, 2022, WPATH faced disarray with its latest guidelines update. Initially setting minimum ages for various treatments—14 for cross-sex hormones, 15 for breast removal, and 17 for the removal of testicles, within hours the organization made a “correction,” removing these age restrictions.
