LGB Fight Back Holds Valentine’s Protests in 5 Cities: “Stop Transing Kids!”

Newly formed organisation LGB Fight Back, along with Parents of ROGD Kids, held protests in 5 cities last weekend.

A parents’ group protested in five cities across the US and Canada last weekend as part of a Valentine’s Day-themed Week of Action to celebrate LGB youth and young people who do not conform to sex stereotypes. The protests were co-sponsored by LGB Fight Back and Parents of ROGD Kids to send a message to young people: We love you just the way you are!

LGB Fight Back is a multi-generational, US-based, grassroots organization that advocates for the interests of homosexual and bisexual people; last week’s protests were part of the organization’s Valentine’s Day launch. Parents of ROGD Kids (PROGDK) is an established network of support groups for parents of gender dysphoric kids. The two organizations joined forces to demand an end to the dangerous medicalization of young people for profit. Protests against Big Pharma and gender clinics were held over the weekend in Los Angeles, Hartford, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Toronto. A sixth protest, planned for Dallas-Fort Worth, was postponed due to inclement weather.

In Philadelphia, parents ventured out in freezing temperatures to get their message across. Annie Maurice, who protested outside Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), said that she felt she had no choice but to protest, no matter the weather. “The general public has no idea what’s really going on. We just want to protect our healthy kids from becoming lifelong medical patients.”

CHOP is an “affirmation only” gender clinic. “Immediately affirming the child as the opposite sex without question glosses over the often-complex issues involved when a child wants to present as the opposite sex,” said LGB Fight Back National Organizer Carrie Hathorn, who is also a social worker. “Many of the children caught up in this phenomenon have mental health issues such as autism, ADD, depression, anxiety, disordered eating, and unresolved trauma. These issues are being ignored in favor of medicalization.”

Children and teens are being experimented on at a growing number of gender clinics across the US and Canada. Parents in Los Angeles protested at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy’s policies allow children as young as 8 years old to be dosed with artificial hormones and bone-disintegrating puberty blockers. “Puberty blockers are experimental and have been proven to cause damage to healthy children,” Hathorn said. “Using them sets children on the pathway to becoming lifelong medical patients with a whole host of serious medical issues.”

“Kids who don’t conform to rigid sex-based stereotypes are the most at-risk for being seduced into thinking that they’re the opposite sex,” said Belissa Cohen, spokesperson for LGB Fight Back. “Studies have shown that, if not affirmed as the opposite sex, the vast majority desist from wanting to present as the opposite sex. It’s likely some of these kids will grow up to be lesbian, gay, or bisexual.” Cohen added, “Being gay is not a medical condition. It is perfectly normal for LGB people not to conform to sex-based stereotypes. Targeting non-conforming young people for medical experimentation feels like gay eugenics all over again.”

Protests remained peaceful, though Sunday’s protest in Hartford, CT attracted counter protesters who support child medical abuse. One mother received an email warning her not to attend the protest. The counter protesters tried to intimidate the mothers, and blocked cameras, attempting to obscure photos. As the mothers returned to their cars after the protest, a car came screeching into the parking garage, and a man stepped out and began screaming profanities at a protester and her son.

The protesters, however, refused to be intimidated. “We had some intense exchanges,” one mother said. “This is about protecting our children from medical abuse.”