Several years ago, Family Policy Alliance® was on the forefront of creating policy solutions to tackle harms that the transgender ideology was having on our children. Leftist activists had been working double-time – but under the radar – to make our children question the definition of male and female.
Whether an individual is born a boy or girl is one of the most basic facts about humanity. Yet the Left’s rapidly growing transgender ideology has shaken the foundations of our children’s core identities, resulting in a growing social crisis. The solution proposed by these activists – to the social crisis they invented – is to tell parents they need to allow their children to “change” their sex.
To that end, activists advocate the experimental use of drugs to stop puberty in gender-confused children. Activists claim “cross-sex” hormones have nothing but positive benefits, allowing a child to begin to develop the body of the opposite sex with no risk. They even tout “sex-change operations” as the ultimate cure for gender confusion and dysphoria.
But because of your early support, Family Policy Alliance was able to raise the alarm and start working diligently on solutions to protect our children before it was too late – and to share those solutions freely with our allies and partners:
- Solutions that would prevent minors from being subjected to body-mutilating surgeries
- Solutions that would allow minors to get the comprehensive mental-health care they need to address identity confusion and gender dysphoria
- Solutions that would keep schools from being allowed to sow radical gender ideology into the minds of vulnerable and impressionable children
Thankfully, legislators in several states are now introducing various versions of these solutions.
These solutions are based on the biblical truth that God has created us male and female for a reason. Our sex isn’t a burden; it’s a gift.
The seeds from our early work are starting to bear fruit as the urgency over these issues grows. In part, that’s because studies and results are coming in, and science supports what we’ve known all along: The best thing for our children is to teach them to love the bodies they have, not enable them to make drastic medical decisions that will permanently change their bodies, cause sterilization, and result in a lifetime of high-dose prescription drugs and medical complications.
Puberty isn’t a disease that needs to be treated, but a necessary part of growing up. The studies show puberty blockers are experimental and do cause harm [1]. Once an individual has had a “sex-change operation,” they are at an exponentially higher risk for suicide and other serious mental health struggles for the rest of their life. And 85-90 percent of children and adolescents will outgrow their gender confusion by the time they reach adulthood, without radical and harmful medical intervention [2].
As state legislatures convene across the nation, know that Family Policy Alliance will continue to generate, distribute and advocate for policy that supports teaching children to embrace their biological sex.
The gender ideology fight is truly a fight for our children’s lives. As compassionate Christians, we must oppose medical practices and interventions that undermine the long-term health of our children and do them irreparable harm. The most loving thing Family Policy Alliance and our allies can continue to do is stand together against this extremist agenda.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Curry, Esq.
Policy Manager
[1] Jim Strickland et al., AJC, (Oct. 29, 2018) https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/health/body-fire-woman-blames-drug-for-pain-sues-maker/SXiOzDSFL694I7LcT4Ra0O/ (last accessed Jan. 7, 2019).
[2] Thomas D. Steensma, et al., Desisting and Persisting Gender Dysphoria After Childhood: A Qualitative Follow-Up Study, 16 Clinical Child Psych. and Psychiatry (2010) 499-516; Annelou L. C. de Vries and Peggy T. Cohen-Kettenis, “Clinical Management of Gender Dysphoria in Children and Adolescents: The Dutch Approach” in Treating Transgender Children and Adolescents: An Interdisciplinary Discussion 11-12, Jack Drescher and William Byne, ed’s., (2014).; See World Prof’l Ass’n for Trans. Health, Standards of Care for the Health of Transsexual, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming People, v. 7 at 11, available at https://s3.amazonaws.com/amo_hub_content/Association140/files/Standards%20of%20Care%20V7%20-%202011%20WPATH%20(2)(1).pdf.
A few weeks ago, Family Policy Alliance was proud to partner with state ally Cornerstone Action of New Hampshire in hosting a Legislative Briefing and Gender Identity Forum centered around the hot-button issue of gender identity. Stephanie Curry, Manager of Public Policy for Family Policy Alliance, spoke to legislators and the public on how changing the definition of “sex” in the law negatively impacts everyone. Shannon McGinley, Executive Director of Cornerstone, stated: “Stephanie’s information was a real eye-opener to everyone who attended Cornerstone’s briefing and forum on gender identity. She gave a clear and valuable explanation of how gender identity laws will affect education and public policy. Even after the forum was over, she was happy to stay and answer questions. We’ve been hearing ever since from attendees who appreciated her presentation.” Curry was joined by David Pickup, a licensed psychotherapist, who addressed what true healing looks like, and Rene Jax who shared her life-long struggle with gender identity, even after a sex-change operation.
Several states have jointly filed a lawsuit against the Obama Administration for pushing its bathroom agenda onto public schools.
An announcement was made recently, giving “guidance” on Title IX and opening all public school bathrooms, showers and locker rooms to all students regardless of their biological sex.
Policy Director Autumn Leva tells us that there is a lot to be hopeful about in this latest round of legal wrangling.