American Academy of Pediatrics Responds to "Facts About Youth"
by dentedbluemercedes
April 25, 2010
http://dentedbluemercedes.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/american-academy-of-pediatrics-responds-to-facts-about-youth/Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, Pam's House Blend and Box Turtle Bulletin recently looked at the Facts About Youth website and brochure. The bogus American College of Pediatricians announced both in a letter sent to 14,800 school superintendants in the US. The document and website repeat distorted claims that sexual orientation and gender identity are changeable by reparative therapy and that if they're "not reinforced" in youth, then their homosexuality and/or ->-bleeped-<- will eventually go away.
The ACP was founded by proponents of reparative therapy that has been largely recognized as harmful by the medical establishment. Founders Joseph Nicolosi, George Rekers, Dean Byrd, Rick Fitzgibbons and Arthur Goldberg all have ties to NARTH, which promotes conversion therapy. Although by name the ACP would seem to be a legitimate medical college, it is actually an interest group whose membership is determined partially by prospective members' opinions on this subject.
The actual medical body that pediatricians turn to is the American Academy of Pediatrics. My partner wrote to the AAP to ask them for their feedback on the ACP letter and brochure. In response, they wrote:
