At this point, it cannot be denied that Massachusetts schools are actively indoctrinating students in progressive gender ideology, and the state is medicalizing them with experimental treatments. An MFI public records request recently revealed that since 2012, Massachusetts has spent over $7.6 million of taxpayer dollars on funding medical treatments related to “sex reassignment” surgeries or gender transition. The target group? Children 17 and younger. And this is only the tip of the iceberg.  

More information is coming out about the harmful nature of so-called “gender-affirming medical care.” According to a whistle-blower account published earlier this year, a St. Louis-based gender clinic fast-tracked minors towards transitioning and downplayed the negative consequences of hormone blockers and testosterone to their patients. Minors referred from a local inpatient psychiatric unit were presented with gender transition as the only solution to their mental distress. This is not the first time a report has been released about medical institutions transitioning young children, however. Just last year, a medical journal revealed that Boston Children’s Hospital has been performing transgender surgeries on minors as young as 15. Mass Resistance details the horrors here.  

So-called Pediatric Gender Clinics like the one at BCH are fed by a pipeline from the MA public school system, which encourages students to transition. Transgender ideology is actively promoted in lessons taught in public school classrooms. The indoctrination drip campaign also employs rainbow and transgender flags prominently displayed on school campuses, pride celebrations, books available to students in school libraries, LGBTQ+ oriented student groups, and “safe school programs.” Efforts to recruit minors to assume diverse gender identifications continue in other public institutions as well. Drag queen events like dances, story hours, and make-up sessions are hosted by local libraries and municipal youth organizations and marketed to young students.  

 

The latest evidence of the state’s agenda to trans kids comes from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, in a recent report titled: “Mental Health and Gender-Affirming Care Resource Guide for Massachusetts LGBTQ2IA+ Young People and Their Trusted Adults”. 

The “Resource Guide” was compiled by the state Attorney General’s office with contributions from some of the largest medical institutions in the state, like Boston Children’s Hospital, Massachusetts Association for Mental Health, Network of Care Massachusetts, and Harvard Medical School. It was paid for with a grant designated to prevent school violence (despite not containing any language about violence in schools). 

The guide contains many concerning resources, especially considering the target audience is young students under the age of 18. Many of the organizations listed in the guide claim to do the following: 

• offer free mental health care for LGBTQ+ identifying youth as young as 12, 
• provide assessments and letters of recommendation for medical transition, 
• support programs for “gender expansive young children” pre-K through 5th grade,
• refer minors to transgender medical services like puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery, which the AGO considers “essential medical care.”  

The guide also encourages kids to start a Gender Sexual Alliance (GSA) club in their school. Shockingly, it even references services that specialize in therapy for polyamorous relationships. Equally as troubling is the scarcity of references to parental involvement in its advice to students. Instead, “trusted adults” are prioritized, and the guide informs minors of how to use MA law to circumvent the need for parental consent.  

The fact that the MA AGO is actively promoting irreversible and experimental transgender medical treatments for kids is shameful, and the centering of “trusted adults” over parents is profoundly disturbing. But more distressing yet is the revelation that another state agency is mounting an even greater attack on MA youth and their parents. Not only does this taxpayer-funded agency want to circumvent parents who won’t consent to gender-affirming care, they want to punish them. 

The MA Commission on LGBTQ Youth has released their recommendations for fiscal year 2024, which include: “Improve Massachusetts child abuse laws to explicitly include the withholding of gender-affirming care for LGBTQ youth.” Blaming what they refer to as “a significant rise in public transphobia across the state,” the Commission recommends that the state move toward codifying “gender-affirming child welfare protections.” If this recommendation is adopted, it will pose a direct legal threat to parents who do not support gender ideology by labeling them as child abusers. This represents a grave danger to the families of impressionable children who have fallen prey to the transgender craze. And this recommendation is only one troubling aspect of the Commission’s report! Stay tuned for more information as MFI digs into this lengthy report and further exposes the threats posed by this radical, activist Commission.

Fortunately, there are many children in the public schools who know that this transgender ideology is a lie and that it’s harming their fellow students. Some of them are even courageous enough to speak out about it. A Middleborough seventh-grader decided to wear a shirt to school saying simply, “There are only two genders.” The school’s administration told him he was prohibited from wearing the shirt. A video of this young man defending his freedom of speech before the school committee went viral and gained national media attention, including a recent appearance on Fox and Friends. I’m proud to say that MFI, working with Alliance Defending Freedom, is representing him in federal court, where he has a hearing next week to force the school to follow the dictates of the First Amendment and allow him to wear the shirt.   

Massachusetts state leaders are on a mission to indoctrinate kids in gender ideology, and they don’t tolerate dissent. Institutional support for the transgender agenda is clear in the AG’s office, the Commission’s recommendations, and the public school system. The safety of our children is at stake, and being equipped with resources to fight back is more important than ever. For help on how to respond to gender ideology and the transgender craze, this Parent Resource Guide is a great place to start. And while this resource is free, we hope you’ll consider financially supporting the mission of MFI as we continue to push back against gender ideology in the Commonwealth. Registration is open for MFI’s Annual Fundraising Banquet, and this year’s theme, “The Battle for Our Children: Protecting Their Hearts, Minds and Bodies” is more critical than ever.  

As we take time this Memorial Day weekend to honor those brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who sacrificed for the fundamental rights we have enjoyed for so many years in America, we recognize that we must all work as we are able in our local communities and in our Commonwealth to preserve those hard-won rights for the next generation. 

For our families,

Andrew Beckwith, President and General Counsel