By State Rep. Paul Schemel

Gov. Tom Wolf recently grandstanded while signing an executive order he says will protect Pennsylvania residents from the boogeyman of conversion therapy.

Conversion therapy is loosely defined as a medical or psychological treatment intended to help a person with same-sex attraction realign to a heterosexual orientation. Although conversion therapy is frequently associated with long-discredited practices such as electric shock or food depravation, these techniques were abandoned in the 1970s.

Rafael Alvarez Febo, director of the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ affairs, speaks at a press conference regarding Gov. Tom Wolf's executive order discouraging conversion therapy on Aug. 16, 2022.

Conversion therapy can also refer to a method of psychotherapy called talk therapy, where an individual explores feelings and emotions with a therapist in search of realigning with a heterosexual orientation. There are several academic studies demonstrating the general ineffectiveness of conversion therapy as a treatment for homosexuality, which is why this form of therapy is nearly non-existent today.

Gov. Wolfs executive order resurrects the old saw of conversion therapy and significantly broadens its definition to include protections for all manner of other identities, including children experiencing gender dysphoria, a condition more commonly called transgenderism. Under the governors order, children who assert they are transgender must be affirmed in their new gender identity, a treatment method known as the Dutch Protocol or affirmation therapy.

Affirmation therapy begins with accepting and supporting a childs new identity and, in most cases, leads to the child being prescribed drugs to block their natural puberty followed by cross-sex hormones, which give them some permanent outward characteristics of their non-biological gender. These are powerful drugs being prescribed off label with little long-term research to ensure safety. Understandably, many parents have reservations concerning affirmation therapy.

Gov. Wolf would have us believe that affirmation therapy is so universally accepted by medical and mental health professionals that any physician, psychologist, or counselor who uses traditional therapeutic approaches for treating gender dysphoric children is a purveyor of conversion therapy and junk science and thus must be stopped using the full force of the government. However, the world of gender science is not nearly as settled as the governor maintains.

In 2020, I held a series of hearings of the House Subcommittee on Healthcare. Those hearings were designed to inform the General Assembly of the debate within the medical and psychological community concerning the appropriate course of treatment for gender dysphoric children. The subcommittee received testimony from four physicians with significant experience in this field.

Two of the testifiers, both psychiatrists, supported affirmation therapy, whereas the other two, a psychiatrist and a pediatric endocrinologist, did not. In addition to hearing testimony from experts, the subcommittee also reviewed hundreds of pages of data, peer-reviewed journal articles and studies conducted by government agencies in several nations.

What the subcommittees work revealed is that the field of science surrounding affirmation therapy is far from settled. Although many major medical associations and journals promote affirmation therapy, scientists and researchers with evidence challenging this approach report being marginalized, blocked from presenting their research or denied the opportunity to publish their work. In a world that typically welcomes critical input, the dissenting voices of scientists and doctors who are not on board with the latest trend are being silenced.

The governors order extends the same barrier to dissent over healthcare professionals here in Pennsylvania.

Gov. Wolf doubles down on affirmation therapy, referring to it as medically necessary and directing state agencies to investigate providers and insurance companies not toeing the affirmation therapy line. The governors order prevents state resources from being used for any treatment method deemed by the governor to be conversion therapy, which he makes clear is any treatment that does not accept a childs assertion that they are transgender. That may be the opinion of the governor, but it leaves no room for traditional treatment approaches such as watchful waiting and psychotherapy, both of which are well researched and commonly used by professionals in the field.

What does this mean in practical terms? The governors gag order significantly limits the options available to parents by threatening the very professionals on which families with troubled children rely for help. Although some families embrace affirmation therapy for their children, others do not. Now, parents seeking options will find none in Pennsylvania.

This executive order is another example of Gov. Wolfs autocratic brand of governing, repeating the same, I know whats best for you approach rejected by voters in the 2020 referendum checking his emergency powers.

The sad effects of the governors most recent initiative will only become apparent when todays children mature into adults and find themselves permanently scarred and lifelong clients of the drug companies that supply their hormones. By then, Gov. Wolf will be enjoying retirement while families bereft of options today pick up the pieces of their childrens broken lives.

Rep. Paul Schemel represents the 90th Legislative District in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He is Chairman of the House Health Committees Subcommittee on Healthcare.

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Gov. Wolfs order denies families reasonable options to help children exploring their sexual identity | Opini - PennLive

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