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Christian Physicians Join the Emerging Transgender Debate

Written by Richard Ostling

Suddenly transgender rights is the hot “culture wars” topic. Religious folks with traditional convictions about such matters have been largely silent, or else many newswriters haven’t yet figured how to locate them in order to report the other side of this crucial debate.

Thus, there’s useful sourcing in the strongly-worded “Transgender Identification Ethics Statement” issued by the Christian Medical and Dental Associations.

This group is made up of 16,000-plus professionals who affirm “the divine inspiration and final authority of the Bible as the Word of God.” CMDA had Big 10 origins at the University of Illinois and Northwestern and went national in 1941. It’s one of many such U.S. fellowships for vocational and academic specialists. Most of these were launched by Evangelical-type Protestants but have long since welcomed Catholic and Orthodox participants.

The transgender statement, approved at a CMDA conference April 21 but publicized only recently, urges doctors to treat these patients with understanding and grace. On the other hand, CMDA champions professionals’ right to freedom of conscience, asserting that it is not “unjust discrimination” if a physician in conscience declines treatment that is considered “harmful or is not medically indicated.”

On the religious aspect, CMDA contrasts the Old and New Testament belief that “God created humanity as male and female” with current “confusion of gender identity.” “Gender complementarity and fixity are both good and a part of the natural order,” it says. The “objective biological fact” is that sex “is determined genetically at conception” and is “not a social construct arbitrarily assigned at birth or changed at will.”

The statement focuses on transgender persons whose psychological “gender identity” is the opposite of biology and genetic makeup – the current public issue – and distinguishes this syndrome from medical treatment of rare abnormalities in which the sexual phenotype and chromosomes conflict (e.g. ambiguous genitalia, androgen insensitivity syndrome, congenital adrenal hyperplasia).

That is, “the purpose of medicine is to heal the sick, not to collaborate with psychosocial disorders. Whereas treatment of anatomically anomalous sexual phenotypes is restorative, interventions to alter normal sexual anatomy to conform to transgender desires are disruptive to health.”

CMDA leaders think physicians should be aware of evidence that persons who identify as transgender, use cross-sex hormones, or undergo sex reassignment surgery, generally suffer more depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, and risky sexual behaviors. The organization is especially critical of doctors who prescribe hormones for a biologically healthy child in order to block normal growth and fertility. On sex-change surgery, CMDA says the medical evidence on outcomes is incomplete but there are potential dangers there as well. In addition, “transgender designations may conceal biological sex differences relevant to medical risk factors.”

Such professional concerns, which have received little media notice thus far, provide good fodder for interviews with transgender advocates, physicians included.

Meanwhile, CMDA is involved in another developing story, the federal lawsuit filed July 19 by the Alliance Defending Freedom against Vermont’s Board of Medical Practice and its Office of Professional Regulation. The suit charges that these agencies interpret “Act 39,” the state’s 2013 suicide law, to require death-by-doctor counseling, in violation of medical ethics and conscience rights.


Resources:

– CMDA media office in Bristol, Tenn.: 423-844-1000.

– Transgender affirmation from the Human Rights Campaign.

– The former chief of psychiatry (and a Catholic) explains why the Johns Hopkins University hospital halted sex-change surgery.


This article was originally posted at GetReligion.org




Illinois Lawmakers Pass Legislation to Coerce Speech

SB 1564 undermines the freedom
of conscience 
and invites intimidation and
legal action against pro-life healthcare providers.

Last year, State Senator Daniel Biss (D-Skokie) introduced SB 1564 to radically alter the Illinois Healthcare Right of Conscience Act.  This proposal was passed by the Illinois Senate on April 22, 2015 by a vote of 34-19. It then moved to the Illinois House where it was picked up by State Representative Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston).

Late in the afternoon of May 25th, the Illinois House debated and passed this ominous new mandate by a vote of 61-54.  (See roll call below.)  The bill now heads to the office of the governor.

SB 1564 would force doctors, nurses, pharmacists to distribute information to help a patients find objectionable medical services such as abortion, sterilization, and certain end-of-life care.

Take ACTION:  Click HERE to send a message to Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner to ask him to please uphold religious freedom and conscience rights for medical personnel in Illinois.  Ask him to veto SB 1564 and the tyranny it represents.

Emails are noticed, but we also need a flood of calls to the Governor’s office: (217) 782-0244 or (312) 814-2121.  Once you’ve taken action, please pray that he will understand how coercive this legislation is.

You may want to point out that according to the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, 95 percent of physicians in a national poll agreed, “I would rather stop practicing medicine altogether then be forced to violate my conscience.”

It is important to know that SB 1564 will also negatively affect crisis pregnancy centers that provide health care services by requiring that these life centers give referrals to Planned Parenthood or other venues that promote abortion.

IFI is deeply grateful to those lawmakers who spoke out during debate today, including:  State Representatives Peter Breen (R-Lombard), Jeanne Ives (R-Wheaton), Barbara Wheeler (R-Cyrstal Lake), Tom Morrision (R-Palatine), C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville), Sheri Jesiel (R-Antioch), and Margo McDermed (R-Frankfort).

(Click HERE to learn more about the problems of SB 1564.)

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