Pediatrics Association Tells Transphobes Not to Use Its Name to Push for School Sports Genital Exams

This medical group would like transphobes to keep its name out of their mouth. A right-wing anti-trans campaign seeking to ban trans athletes from playing on teams that match their gender identity has decided not to comply with a request from the American Academy of Pediatrics to remove mention of the medical group in a voters’ pamphlet sent to 3.6 million people in Washington State, per a report in the Seattle Times. The language included in the paragraph seems to have used the group’s expertise as a boon to its desire to justify the requirement of genital exams in order for children to play sports. Let’s Go Washington, which is a sponsor of Initiative IL26-638, cited the American Academy of Pediatrics in a paragraph about the potential law that AAP says lacks context and will confuse voters. The initiative, per LGW’s own website, is meant to “protect fairness in women’s sports” — a phrase that is often used as a dog whistle to ban trans athletes from playing on teams that match their gender identity. On the group’s site, it claims the law is necessary because “biological men are competing in girls’ sports in Washington State, and it’s destroying fairness in girls’ sports.” Despite the harsh language on its website, the LGW used very different language in appealing to Washington State voters. The passage that drew the ire of the AAP, which was written by LGW and included in the pamphlet, makes mention of an annual recommended exam for children that is unrelated to any of the initiative’s underlying anti-trans aims. It reads:“Students would compete in the category that aligns with their sex, verified during routine, medically necessary primary care recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. During a private, consented visit, a licensed medical professional would verify sex based on the student’s birth records, medical history and/or a standard, non-invasive physical examination.”The secretary of state’s office, which dis