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.
Arrest Arrested bookings CDF&W chinook CHSRA coho Copco Dam Removal Dunsmuir Dunsmuir Elementary EHS Etna EtnaCa FERC Irongate Jail KCOC Klamath National Forest klamath river Klamath River Dams KNF KRRC LA Fires McCloud Montague Mount Shasta Mt Shasta obituary police blotter Rodeo Salmon Scott River Scott Valley sheriff Siskiyou Siskiyou County Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors Siskiyou Golden Fair USDA KNF weedca Whaleback Pack YPD Yreka Yreka City Council
- Trump’s Latest Orders: A Catalyst for Siskiyou County’s RenaissanceThe winds of change are sweeping across America’s heartland, and few places stand to be transformed as dramatically as Siskiyou County, California. Nestled in the shadow of Mount Shasta, this rugged, resource-rich region has long been a quiet giant of natural wealth—minerals, timber, and fertile soil abound. Yet, for decades, Siskiyou’s potential has been shackled… Read more: Trump’s Latest Orders: A Catalyst for Siskiyou County’s Renaissance
- Yreka Resident Criticizes City Council Members’ Conduct“The following letter was submitted to Siskiyou News, addressed to the Yreka City Council. The author’s name has been withheld at their request due to privacy concerns.” Letter:City Council,As you both know, I have been attending quite a few council meetings as I care about our community very much. To say I am very, very… Read more: Yreka Resident Criticizes City Council Members’ Conduct
- Obituary: Neil Roger LemosNeil Roger Lemos passed into eternal life on March 11, 2025, just shy of his 91st birthday. Born April 3, 1934 to Harold and Irene Lemos of Edgewood, Neil was a descendant of the Portuguese pioneers that arrived in Siskiyou County in the late 1850s. Neil spent most of his life in his hometown of… Read more: Obituary: Neil Roger Lemos
- Obituary: L.E. “Bud” TaylorRetired Siskiyou County Sheriff L.E. “Bud” Taylor peacefully passed away on March 19, 2025. He was 93 years old. Bud was born in Placer County to Ernest E. and Adeline Taylor. He attended Auburn High School and after graduation he joined and served in the U.S. Navy. After being honorably discharged he moved to Mount… Read more: Obituary: L.E. “Bud” Taylor
- The Unregulated Skies: A Lack of Oversight Above UsIn the quiet expanse of Siskiyou County, the sky often feels like a battlefield. Jet lines crisscross the heavens, lingering longer than memory suggests they should, sparking whispers of chemtrails and global dimming. To some, these are contrails—simple vapor trails from high-flying aircraft. To others, they hint at something more: a deliberate act, perhaps stratospheric… Read more: The Unregulated Skies: A Lack of Oversight Above Us
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.