Brody's Notes... Conservative Pediatricians Association Cautions Educators About Sexual Orientation in Youth

By Brody Levesque (Washington DC) Apr 6 | In a press release April 5th, a conservative professional pediatricians association cautioned school district superintendents in the U.S. about the management of students experiencing same-sex attraction or exhibiting symptoms of gender confusion. The  American College of Pediatricians warned that:

“We are increasingly concerned that in too many instances, misinformation or incorrect assumptions are guiding well-intentioned educators to adopt policies that are actually harmful to those youth dealing with sexual confusion.”

According to  Dr. Den Trumbull, a Montgomery, Alabama based pediatrics specialist, who gained notoriety in the early 1990's by advocating the position that corporal punishment wasn't child abuse in a American Academy of Pediatrics Journal published in March of 1992, said:

"The College reminds school superintendents that it is not uncommon for adolescents to experience transient confusion about their sexual orientation and that most students will ultimately adopt a heterosexual orientation if not otherwise encouraged. For this reason, schools should not seek to develop policy which “affirms” or encourages these non-heterosexual attractions among students who may merely be experimenting or experiencing temporary sexual confusion. Such premature labeling can lead some adolescents to engage in homosexual behaviors that carry serious physical and mental health risks.

There is no scientific evidence that anyone is born gay or transgendered. Therefore, the College further advises that schools should not teach or imply to students that homosexual attraction is innate, always life-long and unchangeable.  Research has shown that therapy to restore heterosexual attraction can be effective for many people."

These cautions were are outlined in a letter and fact sheet sent by ACP president Thomas Benton, MD, to all 14, 800 school district superintendents in the U.S. at the end of March, 2010.  Dr.Trumball also notes:

"Optimal health and respect for all students can only be achieved within a school by first respecting the rights of students and parents to accurate information and to self-determination. It is the school’s legitimate role to provide a safe environment for respectful self-expression for all students. It is not the school’s role to diagnose or attempt to treat any student’s medical condition, and certainly not the school’s role to “affirm” a student’s perceived personal sexual orientation."

The American College of Pediatricians  broke off from the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2002 as ultra-conservative pediatric doctors became disenchanted with the more liberal and moderate postilions taken by the American Academy of Pediatrics on positions regarding same-sex marriage and gender identification.

A year ago, the American College of Pediatricians (ACP) took a public stand against the legalisation trend of same-sex marriage. On April 8th, 2009, Dr.Trumbull called actions in Vermont and Iowa to support same sex marriage  "another blow to children’s rights."