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Dr. Miriam Grossman Destroys Gender Ideology in 5 Minutes
Mr. Guthrie (Chairman): Thank you for your testimony. The chair now recognizes Dr. Grossman for five minutes for your opening statement.
Dr. Miriam Grossman: Thank you for the opportunity to address you. My name is Miriam Grossman. I’m a Board-Certified Child, Adolescent and Adult psychiatrist, Author, and Senior fellow at Do No Harm. I have been taking care of patients for 45 years.
I’m going to use my time to respond to Dr. McNamara. First, I’m struck by her use of the phrase “sex assigned at birth”. Sex is not assigned at Birth, sex is established at conception and it’s recognized at birth if not earlier. Dr. McNamara claims that her views are science based but to claim that sex is assigned at birth is without any scientific basis whatsoever. Its language misleads people, especially children, into thinking that male and female are arbitrary designations and can change, that is simply not true. Dr. McNamara claims that social and medical interventions are the only evidence-based treatment and that scientific evidence shows it is life-saving, without it, she’s warning us, kids will commit suicide. Well, a growing number of countries have effectively banned the care to which she’s referring and thank God there’s been no wave of suicides or other mental health catastrophes.
Three years ago Finland placed strict limitations on medical interventions for minors, Sweden did the same thing after a 14 year old girl was found to have osteoporosis and spinal fractures from puberty blockers. An investigation concluded “The risks of anti-puberty and hormone treatment for those under 18 currently outweigh the possible benefits”. The U.K. conducted a review and called the evidence very low, they’ve also placed severe restrictions on the care that Dr. McNamara calls life-saving. Norway also analysed the data and has made similar changes in policy. The National Academy of Medicine in France warned “Great medical caution must be taken in children adolescence given the vulnerability of this population and the many undesirable even serious complications the therapies cause”. Doctors in New Zealand and Australia have published similar statements.Is Dr. McNamara suggesting that all these countries are rejecting evidence-based treatment and placing their kids at risk of suicide? Regarding that point of view, Finland’s gender expert Dr. Riitta Kaltiala said “It’s purposeful disinformation the spreading of which is irresponsible”. All seven countries and Florida too, of course, concluded that kids don’t need their development interrupted, the girls don’t need their periods stopped and their voices lowered, and the boys don’t need to grow breasts, what they need is psychotherapy.
I have other objections to Dr. McNamara’s testimony. She insists that her position, only hers represents standard medical care. What she doesn’t want you to know is that there is no standard, there’s a debate, there’s a fierce debate and on this side opposite her stands such prominent figures as Stephen Levine, Kenneth Zucker, Paul McHugh and James Cantor among others. These doctors are giants in the field. They have been treating transgender patients and gathering data and publishing papers about them, and I mean no disrespect here, but since before Dr. McNamara was born.
The point is that those veteran clinicians and others who have wisdom and experience are ignored because they disagree with the current narrative. They’re against medical interventions for the same reason those seven countries are. There is no evidence of long-term benefit but there is evidence of harm. I’ll end by quoting Jamie Reed the courageous whistleblower from the Children’s Gender Clinic in St. Louis, I believe that that hospital receives the medical education funding that we’re discussing today. She said that “doctors at that clinic said, we are building the plane while we are flying it”. We are building the plane while we are flying it, that’s how they described the treatment at their gender clinic. Our precious tax dollars should not support such a perilous experiment. Thank you
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