Leaked documents reveal medical scandal behind intl guidelines on 'gender-affirming healthcare'
The following quote may be attributed to ADF International Director of Advocacy Robert Clarke regarding documents released Monday concerning the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) that reveal “widespread medical malpractice on children and vulnerable adults”:
“No child is ever born in the wrong body. Children depend on adults to guide and empower them to feel comfortable and confident in their own skin, not to push them down a dangerous and irreversible path of transition. Around the globe, patients and doctors have been assured they are following ‘best practice’ through the ‘Standards of Care’ published by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). The documents expose an organization lacking consideration for long-term patient outcomes despite being aware of the debilitating and life-changing effects of cross-sex hormones and other ‘treatments.’
The files reveal what we already knew to be true: children cannot consent to life-altering procedures with full knowledge of the consequences involved. Finland abandoned the controversial WPATH ‘standards of care’ in 2020 and set in place far more cautious guidelines that give stronger protections for children under 18. Sweden and the United Kingdom followed in 2022.
Children who experience discomfort with their biological sex deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and need compassionate, effective mental health care. Sadly, at the hands of ‘gender clinics’ around the world armed with the WPATH ‘standards of care,’ they have been pushed in only one direction. There is a mounting and tragic cost to this ideology, revealed by the many stories of those ‘de-transitioning’ or who otherwise regret what was done to them. Ultimately, vulnerable children and adults who deserved better were led to irreversible interventions; those who spoke out were censored. It’s time for more governments to act.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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ABOUT Robert Clarke
Robert E. Clarke serves as legal counsel and director of European advocacy for ADF International at its office in Vienna, Austria. He specializes in religious freedom issues and cases before the European Court of Human Rights as well as leading efforts across Europe in defence of life, family, and religious freedom. Prior to joining ADF International, Clarke was in-house counsel for the Nursing and Midwifery Council in London, prosecuting cases of medical misconduct. He qualified as a barrister at 2 Bedford Row in London, specializing in criminal and regulatory law. Clarke earned his LL.B with American law from the University of Nottingham with honours in 2012, having spent one year at the University of Virginia School of Law. He also completed the Bar Professional Training Course at Nottingham Law School. Clarke completed the ADF leadership development program to become a Blackstone Fellow in 2011. He is qualified as a barrister and is admitted to the Bar of England and Wales.