You’d think that a medical society would focus fully on medicine. But as I just saw at the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s annual meeting, you’d be wrong.
On Oct. 18, I attended that meeting as a delegate, with the goal of getting the society to adopt my resolution opposing transgender drugs and procedures for children. While 27 states have protected children to varying degrees, Pennsylvania continues to allow teenagers and pre-teens to undergo invasive and irreversible treatments, even as a growing body of research shows how dangerous they are to children’s physical and mental health. Doctors, who take an oath to “do no harm,” have a medical and ethical obligation to protect these uniquely vulnerable young patients.
While the evidence is clear, I knew I faced an uphill battle, since much of organized medicine has been ideologically captured by the activist community. Even so, I was astounded at what I saw. Not only did my state’s medical society reject my pro-patient resolution out of hand, but it rallied behind a slew of blatantly political resolutions that are well outside physicians’ scope of expertise.
Consider what happened to my resolution. First, it went to a committee that gathers testimony, refines proposals, and ultimately makes a recommendation to the delegates on any action the society should or shouldn’t take. My resolution was met with multiple testimonies in opposition, accusing me of everything from a “conflict of interest” to working for a “hate group.” When the committee finished its review, it recommended that delegates reject my resolution.
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