In response to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proclamation of gender-affirming care being classified as pseudoscience, I would like to take the time to explain what statement this actually makes.
It has been a popular trend lately to claim certain opinions as science or to dismiss the research and facts upheld by science as fake or pseudoscience. I have spent many hours listening to people bringing their concerns and suggestions to legislative bodies, often making statements saying, “The science doesn’t support … biology dictates … science says.” These statements are usually followed by a claim that actually isn’t backed by science. To start with, science does not support anything — it has no opinions. It is not meant to be wielded as a weaponized political buzzword to meet an agenda when it agrees with a particular viewpoint or to be demonized as untruthful when it counters that agenda. Science has always been the collection of data, the best interpretation of that data and the consistent, proven, peer-reviewed repetition of that data.
So, let’s take a look at what science actually does state about genderaffirming care. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), consisting of 67,000 pediatric doctors across the nation, reaffirmed in 2018 that gender-affirming care was a crucial part of increasing the quality of life and survivability of those experiencing gender dysphoria. In addition to AAP, we have the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the Endocrine Society, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychiatric Association each having statements, policies and guidelines in support of and for genderaffirming care. For those with questions about what that care looks like, and the years involved in making necessary medical decisions, I recommend sourcing information from the above institutes.
Dunleavy is not a misinformed individual. You cannot convince me that an individual who has received a master’s degree in education would be ignorant of such distinctions. He is well aware of the logical fallacies utilized to elicit an emotional response that undermines the authority held by the medical and science communities.
I hope that he recants his statement of gender-affirming care as a pseudoscience. This is damaging and dangerous to those Alaskans seeking necessary, medically proven care and further discredits the medical field as a whole. In the medical field, we ask our doctors to take an oath: “First, do no harm.” I feel like it would only be appropriate to expect a modicum of that from our political leaders.
— Carly Jensen
Eagle River
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