Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine
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The Society For Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) is an activist non-profit organisation and group that opposes standard medical care for gender dysphoria. The group has been accused of spreading misinformation about gender dysphoria and gender-affirming care. It is not recognized as a scientific organization.[1][2][3][4][5]
Activities
SEGM member William Malone told The Christian Post in 2019 that "No child is born in the wrong body, but for a variety of reasons some children and adolescents become convinced that they were".[1] He has also argued that "early social gender transition may cement a young person's transgender identity, and lead minors on the path to eventual medicalization".[6]
In March 2020, SEGM was cited in an Idaho bill barring transgender people from changing their sex on their birth certificate. A SEGM spokesperson said they never expressed support for the bill.[1] The legislation stated SEGM "has declared that the conflation of sex and gender in health care is alarming, subjects hundreds of thousands of individuals to the risk of unintended medical harm, and will greatly impede medical research" without providing evidence for the claims. The ACLU condemned the state for their actions.[7]
SEGM made a submission in defense of the state of Arizona's ban on Medicaid coverage for transgender healthcare. In it they advance the Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria (ROGD) hypothesis which suggests gender dysphoria is caused by social media and social contagion. ROGD has been condemned as a non-scientific concept by the majority of the worlds' major psychological bodies.[8][9] Lambda Legal and Cooley LLP filed an amicus brief opposing the ban on behalf of LGBT advocacy organizations such as PFLAG, the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance, and the TransActive Gender Project. The Pediatric Endocrine Society and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health also files amicus briefs opposed the ban.[10]
In Texas, Attorney General Paxton cited SEGM's statement that "childhood-onset gender dysphoria has been shown to have a high rate of natural resolution, with 61-98% of children reidentifying with their biological sex during puberty" in a bill that would restrict gender-affirming care for transgender youth. However, the statistic is cited from a paper which showed a strong association between the intensity of a child's dysphoria and its persistence.[2][4]
In April 2022, the Florida Department of Health wrote a memo which misrepresented the scientific consensus to stop minors in the state from socially or medically transitioning and cited Malone.[11] The Florida Phoenix described the Florida Board of Medicine, which has 15 members appointed by the Governor and approved by the senate, as "stacked with anti-trans doctors, some of whom are affiliated with anti-trans fringe movements such as Genspect and the Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine".[12] The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services stated "gender-affirming care for minors, when medically appropriate and necessary, improves their physical and mental health. Attempts to restrict, challenge, or falsely characterize this potentially lifesaving care as abuse is dangerous."[11]
Affiliations
Stella O'Malley, a clinical advisor to SEGM, founded Genspect in June 2021, alongside six other SEGM advisors. Namely Julia Mason, Avi Ring, Sasha Ayad, Roberto D'Angelo, Marcus Evans and Lisa Marchiano. Trans Safety Network reported that SEGM created a crowdfund wherein three anonymous donations account for $58,500 out of $78,981 raised.[8]
The Yale School of Medicine issued a report which stated "The core members of SEGM frequently serve together on the boards of other organizations that oppose gender-affirming treatment and, like SEGM, feature biased and unscientific content. These include Genspect, Gender Identity Challenge (GENID), Gender Health Query, Rethink Identity Medicine Ethics, Sex Matters, Gender Exploratory Therapy Team, Gender Dysphoria Working Group, and the Institute for Comprehensive Gender Dysphoria Research."[13]
Reception
The Yale School of Medicine issued a report in response to the attacks on transgender healthcare in Arizona and Texas which described SEGM as a small group of anti-trans activists "without apparent ties to mainstream scientific of professional organizations" whose "medical claims are not grounded in reputable science and are full of errors of omission and inclusion" and help lawmakers criminalize transgender care.[2][11]
In March 2022, SEGM funded a paper titled "Reconsidering Informed Consent for Trans-Identified Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults"[14] which appeared in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy. In June, the journal published a response which compared SEGM to the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), a prominent conversion therapy advocation organization which focused on sexual orientation change efforts, as they both provide "scientific experts" to testify against LGBT rights.[15]
References
- ^ a b c Stahl, Aviva (April 16, 2021). "The Science Behind Those Anti-Trans Healthcare Bills Is Bullsh*t, According To Experts". BuzzFeedNews. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ a b c Ring, Trudy (2022-05-05). "'Science' Behind Texas/Alabama Anti-Trans Policy Is 'Full of Errors'". The Advocate. Archived from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
- ^ "Report targets Florida over transgender treatment plan". CBS Miami. July 15, 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ a b Grant, Kara (2022-03-08). "Texas Children's Hospital Puts Gender-Affirming Care on Pause". Medpage Today. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ "Questioning America's approach to transgender health care". The Economist. 28 July 2022. Archived from the original on 4 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ Tanner, Lindsey (May 3, 2022). "Early transgender identity in children tends to last years, study suggests". ABC10. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ Tracy, Matt (2020-04-01). "Idaho Bans Trans Girls' Sports, Bars Birth Certificate Changes – Gay City News". Gay City News. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ a b Moore, Mallory. "SEGM uncovered: large anonymous payments funding dodgy science". transsafety.network. Archived from the original on 2022-06-07. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
- ^ "ROGD Statement". Coalition for the Advancement & Application of Psychological Science. Archived from the original on August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
- ^ Rochman, Joseph Hayes (April 2022). "9th Circuit Panel Affirms Arizona District Court's Denial of a Preliminary Injunction Against the State's Categorical Medicaid Exclusion for Gender Confirmation Surgeries". LGBT Law Notes.
- ^ a b c Greenspan, Sam (2022-08-03). "How Florida Twisted Science to Deny Healthcare to Trans Kids". Vice News. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
- ^ Baitinger, Brooke (3 August 2022). "Showdown: LGBTQ+ rights vs. state ban on transition-related medical care for trans kids". Florida Phoenix. Archived from the original on 23 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- ^ "Biased Science in Texas & Alabama". medicine.yale.edu. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
- ^ Levine, Stephen B.; Abbruzzese, E.; Mason, Julia W. (2022-10-03). "Reconsidering Informed Consent for Trans-Identified Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults". Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 48 (7): 706–727. doi:10.1080/0092623X.2022.2046221. ISSN 0092-623X.
- ^ Drescher, Jack (2022-06-01). "Informed Consent or Scare Tactics? A Response to Levine et al.'s "Reconsidering Informed Consent for Trans-Identified Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults"". Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy: 1–9. doi:10.1080/0092623X.2022.2080780. ISSN 0092-623X. PMID 35642738. S2CID 249235587.