U.S. Dept. Health and Human Services advances culture of life through conscience protections

Sec. Azar

On the day of the annual March for Life, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Alex Azar released a statement on the importance of protecting life in recognition of this being his first March as Secretary of HHS:

Presidential Proclamation on Religious Freedom Day

Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 15, 2019
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM DAY, 2019
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BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

     On Religious Freedom Day, we celebrate our Nation's long‑standing commitment to freedom of conscience and the freedom to profess one's own faith.  The right to religious freedom is innate to the dignity of every human person and is foundational to the pursuit of truth.

   

U.S. House votes to overturn pro-life policies

On Jan. 3, the House passed H.R. 21, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 by a vote of 241 - 190. 234 Democratic Members and 7 Republican Members (Fitzpatrick, Hurd, Katko, King (NY), Stefanik, Upton, Walden) voted in support of the bill. 190 Republicans voted against the bill. 2 Members did not vote.

Essay 12: Can transgender activism silence science?

Drastic? "The Trump administration is
considering narrowly defining gender
as a biological, immutable condition
determined by genitalia at birth...."
Photo by Kira auf der Heide on Unsplash

The New York Times recently published apparently leaked information about plans at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to adjust a 2016 transgender mandate. The adjustment involves reverting to the original Congressional statutory meaning of "sex discrimination" as discrimination based on biological sex.

When transgender ideology drives research

Even researchers who support transgenderism in adults experience attacks when raising researched concerns about children transitioning from one sex to another.

Dr. Debra Soh

In a Los Angeles Times commentary entitled, "Are gender feminists and transgender activists undermining science?," sexologist and Playboy.com contributor Dr. Debra Soh writes,

"Currently available research literature — including four studies published in the last nine years — suggests that 61% to 88% of gender dysphoric children will desist and grow up to be gay adults. (Or, in my case, a straight adult). They won't continue to identify as the opposite sex in adulthood. In one study of 139 gender dysphoric boys, 122 (88%) of the boys desisted. While transitioning can be beneficial for transgender adults, it therefore doesn't make sense to treat trans children in the same way.
"Nevertheless, transgender activists and their allies have branded desistance as a "myth," and those who suggest otherwise are called bigots or, dismissively, trolls.
"Distortion of science hinders progress. When gender feminists start refuting basic biology, people stop listening, and the larger point about equality is lost.
"But ignoring the science around desistance has serious consequences; it means some transgender children will needlessly undergo biomedical interventions, such as hormone treatments.
"…[I]t's never a good idea to dismiss scientific nuances in the name of a compelling argument or an honorable cause. We must allow science to speak for itself."[1]

Dr. Soh eventually left academia because it was no longer a place to pursue and proclaim truth. In a video interview, she noted,

"As to my decision to leave academia, In the last two years I had noticed that things were starting to go a bit weird, in terms of the climate."[2]

Her concern increased when media reports kept heralding the supposedly wonderful benefits to children of transitioning from one sex to another, despite the fact that scientific research finds otherwise. Dr. Soh explains,

"Research shows that the majority of kids that are gender dysphoric actually outgrow their feelings. So it makes sense for them to wait—not to transition at a young age. So I wanted to write a mainstream piece about this.
"And there's been a very long history between transgender activists and sex researchers—a very ugly history of activists going after sex researchers if they don't like what someone's study says or what they say publicly.
"So I thought about it for a long time. I wrote the piece and I sat on it for probably about six months. I wasn't sure if I wanted to put it out.
"I asked a bunch of colleagues and my mentors, and they all said, 'You know what, the science is solid, but you know what's going to happen if you do put this out.
"And at the time, I wanted to stay in academia, and I said, 'Shall I wait until I get tenure?' And everyone told me, 'Even if you have tenure, nowadays it's not a good protector. You can still lose your job.'
"So I decided, actually, that I couldn't stay quiet. And I thought, 'I'm not going to stay in an environment where I can't speak the truth and I can't even pursue questions that are meaningful anymore because I have to worry about who's going to get mad, and then I'm going to lose my money—my funding—and I'm going to lose my job.
"So that piece went out. It's called, 'Why Transgender Kids Should Wait to Transition.'[3]"And then I haven't looked back since."[4]

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[1] Debra W. Soh, "Are gender feminists and transgender activists undermining science?" Los Angeles Times, February 10, 2017. Accessed online October 24, 2018 at http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-soh-trans-feminism-anti-science-20170210-story.html.

[2] The Rubin Report interview with Debra Soh, "Sex Research, Asian Discrimination, and #MeToo (Debra Soh Full Interview), August 10, 2018. Accessed online October 24, 2018 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkhDZMwR9eQ.

[3] Debra Soh, Ph.D., "Why Transgender Kids Should Wait to Transition," Pacific Standard, September 1, 2015, accessed online October 24, 2018 at https://psmag.com/social-justice/why-transgender-kids-should-wait-to-transition. Also reprinted at Wall Street Journal, September 4, 2015 at https://www.wsj.com/articles/notable-quotable-transgender-children-1441406728, accessed October 24, 2018.

[4] The Rubin Report interview with Debra Soh, "Sex Research, Asian Discrimination, and #MeToo (Debra Soh Full Interview), August 10, 2018. Accessed online October 24, 2018 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkhDZMwR9eQ.