Healthcare groups ask DOJ for protection against violence over gender-affirming care
Three major healthcare groups––the American Medical Association (AMA), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Children’s Hospital Association (CHA)––are taking a stand against threats of violence over gender-affirming care by asking the Department of Justice to get involved.
The three groups, which collectively represent more than 270,000 physicians and medical students and 220 children’s hospitals, penned a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice urging the agency to investigate escalating threats of violence against physicians, hospitals and families of children for providing evidence-based gender-affirming care.
The letter also noted that technology companies could do more to stop hateful rhetoric that includes threats or acts of violence that have led to harassment directed at children’s hospitals and physicians and staff who work there. Specifically, the groups called on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok to address and prevent coordinated campaigns of disinformation.
“Whether it’s newborns receiving intensive care, children getting cancer treatments or families accessing compassionate care for their transgender adolescents, all patients seeking treatment deserve to get the care they need without fear for their personal safety,” AAP President Moira Szilagyi, MD, PhD, said in a statement. “We cannot stand by as threats of violence against our members and their patients proliferate with little consequence. We call on the Department of Justice to investigate these attacks and social media platforms to reduce the spread of the misinformation enabling them.”
The letter comes as gender-affirming care has come under fire by some media figureheads that falsely claim physicians and families of children receiving such care are abusive. The groups asked Garland to take swift action to investigate and prosecute organizations, individuals and entities responsible for instigating threats of violence and spreading false information.
“Individuals in all workplaces have the right to a safe environment, out of harm’s way and free of intimidation or reprisal,” said AMA President Jack Resneck Jr., MD. “As physicians, we condemn groups that promote hate-motivated intolerance and toxic misinformation that can lead to grave real-world violence and extremism and jeopardize patients' health outcomes. The AMA will continue to work with federal, state and local law enforcement officials to develop and implement strategies that protect hard-working, law-abiding physicians and other health care workers from senseless acts of violence, abuse and intimidation.”
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."