Congressman Doug LaMalfa celebrated Pride Month by posting on Facebook: “There are no standards of care in transgender “medicine”, only the opinions of ideologues. Gender reassignment surgery is institutionalized medical malpractice and is barbaric. Any medical professional who pushes this on children should see the inside of a prison cell.”
LaMalfa wants us to believe that there are no standards of care in transgender medicine, only the opinions of ideologues. The Oxford English dictionary defines ideologue as a person who follows a system of ideas and principles in a strict and inflexible way. This is a perfect description of who Doug LaMalfa is. LaMalfa wants us to believe that gender affirming medical care and surgery is child abuse that is being forced onto innocent children by WOKE parents, school officials, politicians and wacko doctors. This is untrue. The current standard of care to treat gender dysphoria is to allow each transgender person to seek only those medical treatments which they choose to affirm their own gender identity. These medical treatments are all personal choices and not treatments forced upon unwilling individuals. Transgender people may seek any one of a number of gender-affirming interventions, including hormone therapy, surgery, facial hair removal, interventions for the modification of speech and communication, and behavioral adaptations such as genital tucking or packing, or chest binding.
LaMalfa wants us to believe that gender reassignment surgery is institutionalized medical malpractice that is barbaric. This is another of LaMalfa’s lies. The American Academy of Pediatricians and the Endocrine Society recommend gender-affirming care for transgender youths. In addition, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Medical Association believe gender-affirming medical care is evidence based medical care. LaMalfa thinks he knows more than all the doctors who deal with transgender individuals on a daily basis.
A 2023 study published in the Journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons documented that 99.7% of transgender individuals who had undergone gender affirming surgery were satisfied with their outcomes. Out of 1,989 patients only 6 patients (0.3%) requested reversal surgery.
In comparison, patient dissatisfaction rates for the various most common cosmetic surgical procedures in 2022 varied from 3-13% (statista.com). Patient dissatisfaction rate for other surgeries like total knee replacement and total shoulder replacement is 7.3% and approximately 12%, respectively (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). These patient dissatisfaction rates are much higher than the 0.3% rate for gender affirming surgeries.
LaMalfa wants us to believe that any medical professional who pushes this on children should see the inside of a prison cell.” LaMalfa wants us to believe that gender affirming medical care is being forced on children by doctors, schools and miss-informed parents. He is spewing conservative political lies and filth that he wants us to believe. This shows LaMalfa’s ignorance, stupidity and disrespect towards us and transgender youths. Gender-affirming hormone therapy is the primary medical intervention sought by transgender individuals. Such treatment allows the acquisition of secondary sex characteristics more aligned with an individual’s gender identity. These treatments are not being forced or pushed onto transgender individuals. Recent research shows that gender-affirming care improves mental health and overall well-being for transgender individuals. LaMalfa and his cronies refuse to acknowledge this.
A recent study using data from the CDC estimated that 1.64 million people in the United States over the age of 13 identified themselves as transgender (reuters.com; 2022). They are real people with real medical conditions who didn’t ask to be born this way. These uncaring politicians have no qualms about denying them their freedoms, liberties, equal rights and their right to receive gender affirming medical care.
LaMalfa and other Republican politicians are looking for any excuse to deny transgender individuals’ gender-affirming medical care. They just don’t care. LaMalfa and these other Republican politicians are evil people who really don’t care about the wrong they are doing to these innocent transgender individuals. They are being extremely judgmental. Would Jesus behave this way towards transgender individuals? Not sure, read Luke 6:31 and Matthew 7:12.
Avery Theatre CDF&W CHSRA College of the Siskiyous Copco Dunsmuir Dunsmuir Elementary Dunsmuir Wildcats Easter Egg Hunt Etna EtnaCa FERC Forest Service gardening Irongate Iron Gate Junior High Rodeo KCOC klamath Klamath National Forest klamath river Klamath River Dams KNF KRRC Main Street Homestead McCloud Montague Mount Shasta Mt Shasta obituary Rodeo Salmon Scott River Scott Valley Scott Valley Agriculture Water Alliance Siskiyou Siskiyou County Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors Siskiyou District Attorney Office Siskiyou Golden Fair SPAC USDA KNF weedca YPD Yreka
- Drug Bust on I-5 Yields 25 Pounds of MethamphetamineOn Thursday, December 5th; Two Los Angeles County men were arrested Thursday after a routine traffic stop in Siskiyou County led to the discovery of over 25 pounds of methamphetamine. A Sheriff’s Sergeant pulled over a white sedan on Interstate 5 for vehicle code violations. During the stop, the Sergeant found neither the driver, Guillermo… Read more: Drug Bust on I-5 Yields 25 Pounds of Methamphetamine
- Siskiyou County Deputy Injured in Head-On CollisionSISKIYOU COUNTY, Calif. — A Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Deputy was involved in a head-on collision Monday afternoon, according to a statement from the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office. The incident occurred on December 9th at approximately 2:15 p.m. on County Road A-12. According to authorities, an eastbound vehicle crossed into the westbound lane, colliding head-on with… Read more: Siskiyou County Deputy Injured in Head-On Collision
- Growing News Coverage Across California’s Northern Giant: A Journey Through Siskiyou CountyThe late autumn sun cast long shadows across the Klamath River as the “News Mobile” – a trusty white Volvo that’s become synonymous with local journalism – wound its way through the scenic corridor toward Happy Camp. This journey represented more than just another delivery route; it embodied the ambitious spirit of bringing community news… Read more: Growing News Coverage Across California’s Northern Giant: A Journey Through Siskiyou County
- Vacancy on the Happy Camp Community Services DistrictLaura Bynum, Clerk of The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors announces that there is onescheduled vacancy on the Happy Camp Community Services District with a term ending December 1,2028.Members of the Happy Camp Community Services District shall be registered voters living within thedistrict. Members are required to file Form 700, Statement of Economic Interest. For… Read more: Vacancy on the Happy Camp Community Services District
- Vacancy on the Happy Camp Fire Protection DistrictLaura Bynum, Clerk of The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors announces that there is onescheduled vacancy on the Happy Camp Fire Protection District with a term ending December 1, 2028.Members of the Happy Camp Fire Protection District shall be registered voters living within the district.Members are required to file Form 700, Statement of Economic Interest.… Read more: Vacancy on the Happy Camp Fire Protection District
Agree 💯 Well written and thoughtful essay
Glad to see the stats on gender affirming procedures that were done and only very few patients had a reversal! Obviously if the reversal numbers begin to grow, to a degree that becomes statistically significant, then finding those correlations and confounds can be tricky, but then the political front will find a way to “show” how these numbers are growing in dissatisfaction and say something along the lines of “It’s not working! See! We’ve told you!”. It’s always good to deconstruct political agendas and data.
Would like to add that intersex should be mentioned as well as most aren’t familiar with the term and meaning.
I still remember hearing from colleagues how the DSM added homosexuality (back in the 70s or so) as mental illness: Enter Dr. John Fryer who challenged these findings.
The Keck Medicine of USC has become one of the pioneers of gender affirming care for transgender, non-binary and diversity care. More and more doctors are reading and following studies not just for gender affirming care but gender in itself. The one size medical solution is slowly going out which is great! But there’s still a lot to do!
Now, it’s up to the community, scholars, and doctors to challenge these politicians!
LaMalfa continues to ignore facts that don’t fit his narrative, he lies constantly and hopes no one bothers to check his nonsense. Thank you Tom for calling out his dangerous rhetoric. We need a representative who cares about the people of our district, LaMalfa fails at that and everything else!
BOMB SQUAD: really impressive article and much interesting, I really like it.