American College Of Pediatricians
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The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) is a
socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional social structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institu ...
advocacy group of
pediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...
s and other healthcare professionals in the United States, founded in 2002. The group advocates in favor of
abstinence-only sex education Abstinence-only sex education (also known as sexual risk avoidance education) is a form of sex education that teaches not having sex outside of marriage. It often excludes other types of sexual and reproductive health education, such as birth co ...
and
conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...
, and advocates against vaccine mandates,
abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...
and rights for LGBT people. As of 2022, its membership has been reported at about 700 physicians. ACPeds has been listed as a
hate group A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society. Acc ...
by the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...
for pushing "anti-LGBTQ junk science". A number of mainstream researchers, including the director of the US
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...
, have accused ACPeds of misusing or mischaracterizing their work to advance their own political agenda. ACPeds has also been criticized for their professional-sounding name which some have said is intended to mislead people into thinking they are a professional medical organization or mistake them for the similar-sounding
American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is the largest professional association of pediatricians in the United States. It is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, and maintains an office in Washington, D.C. The AAP has published hundreds of poli ...
(AAP).


Founding and membership

The group was founded in 2002 by a group of pediatricians, including Joseph Zanga, a past president of the
American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is the largest professional association of pediatricians in the United States. It is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, and maintains an office in Washington, D.C. The AAP has published hundreds of poli ...
(AAP), as a protest against the AAP's support for adoption by gay couples. In 2005, ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' noted that ACPeds was being used as a counterpoint to anything the AAP said, despite ACPeds being run by one employee at the time. Between 2013 and 2017, ACPeds distributed over 10,000 mailers to doctors as a recruitment strategy. ACPeds has struggled to attract many members in the past, but in recent years has gained outsize political influence by "using conservative media as a megaphone in its quest to position tselfas a reputable source of information." The group gained national attention in 2024 for being one of the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit, '' FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine'', which sought to limit access to the abortion drug,
mifepristone Mifepristone, and also known by its developmental code name RU-486, is a drug typically used in combination with misoprostol to bring about a medical abortion during pregnancy. This combination is 97% effective during the first 63 days (9 wee ...
. In 2012, the SPLC estimated the ACPeds membership at "no more than 200". In 2016 ACPeds reported its membership at "over 500 physicians and other healthcare professionals", while leaked internal documents in 2023 identified approximately 1,200 current and former members with about 700 active. The ACPeds is currently led by its president, Quentin Van Meter.


Positions


Abortion

ACPeds strongly opposes abortion, calling it "a clear violation of the Hippocratic Oath." In 2023, ACPeds was a plaintiff in the federal lawsuit, '' FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine'', which sought to limit access to the abortion drug
mifepristone Mifepristone, and also known by its developmental code name RU-486, is a drug typically used in combination with misoprostol to bring about a medical abortion during pregnancy. This combination is 97% effective during the first 63 days (9 wee ...
.


LGBTQ rights

ACPeds strongly opposes gay marriage, gay adoption and gay parenting and has submitted several Amicus Briefs opposing them. They also support conversion therapy for gay youth and have linked homosexuality to pedophilia. The organization's view on the relevance of
sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...
to parenting differs from the position of the
American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is the largest professional association of pediatricians in the United States. It is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, and maintains an office in Washington, D.C. The AAP has published hundreds of poli ...
(AAP), which holds that there is no connection between orientation and the ability to be a good parent and to raise healthy and well-adjusted children. ACPeds has vehemently criticized the
American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...
as a "gay-affirming program" that "devalues self-restraint" and supports "a child's autonomy from the authority of both family and religion, and from the limits and norms these institutions place on children". ACPeds has also strongly opposed gender-affirming medical care for transgender people.


Pornography

ACPeds opposes online pornography (Primary Author: L David Perry, MD, FCP, October 2015, Updated August 2024).


Affiliations

The ACPeds has affiliated itself with other conservative medical and religious groups including the Catholic Medical Association (CMA), the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), the
Association of American Physicians and Surgeons The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is a Conservatism in the United States, politically conservative non-profit association that promotes conspiracy theories and Pseudoscience, medical misinformation, such as HIV/AIDS deni ...
(AAPS), Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA), the
National Catholic Bioethics Center The National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC) is a not-for-profit research center located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after previous locations in St. Louis (1972–1985) and Boston (1985–2004).Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, the
Lutheran Church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...
and the United Reformed Churches in North America; as well as with anti-LGBT organizations and anti-abortion organizations including Genspect, the
Discovery Institute The Discovery Institute (DI) is a conservatism in the United States, politically conservative think tank that advocates the pseudoscience, pseudoscientific concept Article available froUniversiteit Gent of intelligent design (ID). It was fou ...
, the
Family Research Council The Family Research Council (FRC) is an American evangelical 501(c)(3) non-profit activist group and think-tank with an affiliated lobbying organization. FRC promotes what it considers to be family values. It opposes and lobbies against access ...
, Family Watch International,
Focus on the Family Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is an American Christian fundamentalism, Evangelical Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of Evangel ...
, Moms for Liberty, Family Policy Alliance,
Ethics and Public Policy Center The Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) is a conservative Washington, D.C.–based think tank and advocacy group. Founded in 1976, the group describes itself as "working to apply the riches of the Jewish and Christian traditions to contempora ...
, the
American Family Association The American Family Association (AFA) is a conservative and Christian fundamentalist 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States.Gays Against Groomers, Protect Our Kids and The National Center for Law & Policy, some of which have been designated as hate groups by the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...
.


Publications

In response to the publication by the American Academy of Pediatrics of ''Just the Facts'', a handbook on teen sexual orientation aimed at a school audience, ACPeds issued its own publication, ''Facts About Youth'', in March 2010. ''Facts About Youth'', along with a cover letter, was mailed to 14,800 school superintendents. ''Facts About Youth'' was challenged as not acknowledging "the scientific and medical evidence regarding sexual orientation, sexual identity, sexual health, or effective health education" by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The ACPeds letter to the superintendents primarily addressed same-sex attraction, and recommended that "well-intentioned but misinformed school personnel" who encourage students to "come out as gay" and affirm them as such may lead the students into "harmful homosexual behaviors that they otherwise would not pursue". The ACPeds letter to the superintendents also stated that
gender dysphoria Gender dysphoria (GD) is the distress a person experiences due to inconsistency between their gender identitytheir personal sense of their own genderand their sex assigned at birth. The term replaced the previous diagnostic label of gender i ...
will typically disappear by puberty "if the behavior is not reinforced" and similarly alleged that "most students (over 85 percent) with same-sex attractions will ultimately adopt a heterosexual orientation if not otherwise encouraged."


Activities

In 2023, the American College of Pediatricians was a plaintiff in '' Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA'', which sought to overturn the FDA's approval of
mifepristone Mifepristone, and also known by its developmental code name RU-486, is a drug typically used in combination with misoprostol to bring about a medical abortion during pregnancy. This combination is 97% effective during the first 63 days (9 wee ...
as an abortion drug. Leaked minutes from 2021 showed that the group has collaborated with religious groups in order to influence opinion leaders in courts, academic literature, and in state legislatures. Since 2021, representatives of ACPeds have lobbied several state legislatures in support of legislation to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youths, as part of a campaign that succeeded in passing such laws in several states. In December 2023, ACPeds teamed up with the Catholic Medical Association (CMA) in the case ''American College of Pediatricians, et al v. Becerra'' which challenges president
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
's executive order that sought to reinterpret the word "sex" in federal laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity, particularly in the
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
.


Reception

Some scientists have voiced concerns that ACPeds mischaracterized or misused their work to advance its political agenda. Gary Remafedi, a pediatrician at the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
, wrote ACPeds a public letter accusing them of fundamentally mischaracterizing his research in their publications to argue that schools should deny support to gay teenagers.
Francis Collins Francis Sellers Collins (born April 14, 1950) is an American physician-scientist who discovered the genes associated with a number of diseases and led the Human Genome Project. He served as director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ...
, a geneticist and director of the U.S.
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...
(NIH), issued a statement through the NIH accusing the ACPeds of misleading children and parents on its Facts About Youth website.
Warren Throckmorton Earl Warren Throckmorton (born 1957) is an American psychologist and retired professor of psychology at Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania. He developed the Sexual Identity Therapy Framework and was a creator of the documentary ''I Do ...
, a therapist who specializes in sexual orientation issues, similarly stated that his research had been misused, saying of ACPeds: "They say they're impartial and not motivated by political or religious concerns, but if you look at who they're affiliated with and how they're using the research, that's just obviously not true." In an ''amicus'' brief regarding the removal of a child from the foster home of a same-sex couple (''Kutil and Hess v. West Virginia'') the
National Association of Social Workers The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is a professional organization of social workers in the United States. NASW has about 120,000 members. The NASW provides guidance, research, up to date information, advocacy, and other resources ...
(NASW) described ACPeds as a "small and marginal group" which was "out of step with the research-based position of the AAP and other medical and child welfare authorities". The
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
advocacy organization
PFLAG Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is an LGBTQ advocacy organization founded and led by friends and family of LGBTQ people. PFLAG is a national organization presiding over decentralized local and regional chapters. PFLAG has nearly ...
categorizes the ACPeds as an anti-equality organization, describing the group as a "small splinter group of medical professionals who do not support the mainstream view of the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) that homosexuality is a normal aspect of human diversity". The American College of Pediatricians has been described by the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...
(SPLC) as a "
hate group A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society. Acc ...
", and a "fringe group" which closely collaborates with the
National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality The Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity (ATCSI), which until 2014 was known as the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), also known as the NARTH Institute, is a US organization that promotes con ...
(NARTH) with "a history of propagating damaging falsehoods about LGBT people, including linking homosexuality to pedophilia". In response to being labeled a hate group by the SPLC, the ACPeds undertook a private campaign with its allies to attempt to discredit the SPLC and to lower its standing on
Charity Navigator Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates more than 230,000 charitable organizations based in the United States, operating as a 501(c)(3) organization. It provides insights into a nonprofit's financial stability, adh ...
. In response to an ACPeds brief, the
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...
(ACLU) wrote that ACPeds is a fringe group that has acted to promote "unscientific and harmful 'reparative therapies' for LGBTQ students". Surgical oncologist
David Gorski David Henry Gorski is an American surgical oncologist and professor of surgery at Wayne State University School of Medicine. He specializes in breast cancer surgery at the Karmanos Cancer Institute. Gorski is an outspoken skeptic and critic ...
has said that statements from ACPeds have been used by quack sites like Natural News to push an anti-vaccine agenda. Gorski has said that organizations spreading misinformation regarding
HPV vaccines Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines are vaccines intended to provide acquired immunity against infection by certain types of human papillomavirus. The first HPV vaccine became available in 2006. Currently there are six licensed HPV vaccines: ...
have often cited ACPeds.


See also

*
American Pediatric Society The American Pediatric Society (APS) is the first pediatric society established in North America. Created in 1887, the APS pursues a vision of an engaged, inclusive, and impactful community of pediatric thought leaders. The APS mission is to shape t ...
* Academic Pediatric Association


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:American College Of Pediatricians Anti-abortion organizations in the United States Conservative organizations in the United States Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in the United States Organizations that oppose transgender rights