SPLC expands 'hate watch' to doctors who oppose child sex changes

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has released its annual “Year in Hate and Extremism” report, which controversially includes medical professionals who oppose sex change interventions for minors who identify as transgender. 

According to the SPLC, the report is intended to provide a comprehensive analysis of the organizational infrastructure supporting white supremacy and other forms of extremism in the US. It includes a list of nearly 600 hate groups and hundreds of anti-government extremist groups. 

“With a historic election just months away, this year, more than any other, we must act to preserve our democracy. That will require us to directly address the danger of hate and extremism from our schools to our statehouses,” said Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center. 

However, the inclusion of groups that publicly oppose "gender-affirming care" for minors has sparked controversy. These groups, labeled as "anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups," include state-based family policy councils, doctors opposing medical practices for sex change interventions on transgender-identifying minors, and chapters of the group Gays Against Groomers.  

The report’s effort to label many conservative and religious organizations across the country as “anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups” is a way for the SPLC to condemn those who oppose its desired narrative towards LGBT issues, an analysis by the Daily Signal pointed out. The SPLC's list includes medical organizations such as Do No Harm, Genspect, Partners for Ethical Care, and the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, placing them alongside recognized white supremacy organizations including KKK chapters.  

The SPLC has also taken a stance against groups that oppose Drag Queen Story Hour events happening across the country, where men dressed in sexually provocative drag outfits read books to children.  

On Tuesday, the organization published an article titled, "The Power of Drag Story Hour," which stated, “Drag, which often challenges strict adherence to binary gender roles, poses a problem for hate and antigovernment groups because it offers freedom from the restrictive ideologies they espouse.”