American College of Pediatricians

Conservative advocacy group

This article is about the socially conservative advocacy group. For the professional association of pediatricians, see American Academy of Pediatrics.

American College of Pediatricians

Founded| 2002; 23 years ago (2002)
Founders| Gerry Boccarossa and Joseph Zanga
Type| 501(c)(3)

Tax ID no.

| 47-0886878
Location|

* Gainesville, Florida

Members| slightly more than 700[1]
Revenue| $178,000 (2022)
Expenses| $143,000 (2022)
Website| www.acpeds.org

The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) is a socially conservative advocacy group of pediatricians and other healthcare professionals in the United States, founded in 2002.[1][2] The group advocates in favor of abstinence-only sex education and conversion therapy, and advocates against vaccine mandates, pornography, abortion rights and LGBT rights.[3][1][4] As of 2022, its membership has been reported at about 700 physicians.[5][6][1]

ACPeds has been listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for pushing "anti-LGBTQ junk science".[3] A number of mainstream researchers, including the director of the US National Institutes of Health, have accused ACPeds of misusing or mischaracterizing their work to advance their own political agenda.[7][8] ACPeds has also been criticized for their professional-sounding name which some have said is intended to mislead people into thinking they are a professional medical organization or mistake them for the similar-sounding American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).[9]

## Founding and membership

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The group was founded in 2002 by a group of pediatricians, including Joseph Zanga, a past president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), as a protest against the AAP's support for adoption by gay couples.[7][5] Zanga described ACPeds as having "Judeo-Christian, traditional values".[10] In 2005, The Boston Globe noted that ACPeds was being used as a counterpoint to anything the AAP said, despite ACPeds being run by one employee at the time.[5] Between 2013 and 2017, ACPeds distributed over 10,000 mailers to doctors as a recruitment strategy.[1]

ACPeds has struggled to attract many members in the past, but in recent years has gained outsize political influence by "using conservative media as a megaphone in its quest to position [itself] as a reputable source of information." The group gained national attention in 2024 for being one of the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit, FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, which sought to limit access to the abortion drug, mifepristone.[11]

In 2012, the SPLC estimated the ACPeds membership at "no more than 200".[12] In 2016 ACPeds reported its membership at "over 500 physicians and other healthcare professionals",[13][6] while leaked internal documents in 2023 identified approximately 1,200 current and former members with about 700 active.[1] The ACPeds is currently led by its president, Quentin Van Meter.[14]

## Positions

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### Abortion

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ACPeds strongly opposes abortion, calling it "a clear violation of the Hippocratic Oath."[15] In 2023, ACPeds was a plaintiff in the federal lawsuit, FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, which sought to limit access to the abortion drug mifepristone.[11]

### LGBTQ rights

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ACPeds strongly opposes gay marriage, gay adoption and gay parenting and has submitted several Amicus Briefs in court cases opposing them.[16][17][18] They also support conversion therapy for gay youth and have linked homosexuality to pedophilia.[19][9][7][5][4]

ACPeds believes homosexuality leads to health risks and shorter lifespans. Additionally, they believe that people are not born lesbian, gay or bisexual and that LGBT identification in adolescences will ultimately be temporary if not encouraged.[10]

In 2015, then-ACPeds president, Michelle Cretella, strongly denounced the Supreme Court decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized gay marriage nationwide, saying it was "a tragic day for America's children".[10]

The organization's view on the relevance of sexual orientation to parenting differs from the position of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which holds that there is no connection between orientation and the ability to be a good parent and to raise healthy and well-adjusted children.[6][20][21]

ACPeds has vehemently criticized the American Psychological Association as a "gay-affirming program" that "devalues self-restraint" and supports "a child's autonomy from the authority of both family and religion, and from the limits and norms these institutions place on children".[12]

ACPeds also strongly opposes gender-affirming medical care for transgender people.[22][3][1][4][9] The group has also referred to transgender people as a "cultish religion".[10]

### Pornography

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ACPeds opposes online pornography.[23]

### Vaccines

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ACPeds opposes vaccine mandates.[4]

## Affiliations

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The ACPeds has affiliated itself with other conservative medical and religious groups including the Catholic Medical Association (CMA), the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA), the National Catholic Bioethics Center (NCBC), the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, the Lutheran Church and the United Reformed Churches in North America; as well as with anti-LGBT organizations and anti-abortion organizations including Genspect, the Discovery Institute, the Family Research Council, Family Watch International, Focus on the Family, Moms for Liberty, Family Policy Alliance, Ethics and Public Policy Center, the American Family Association, Gays Against Groomers, Protect Our Kids and The National Center for Law & Policy, some of which have been designated as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.[24][25][26][27][28]

## Publications

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In response to the publication by the American Academy of Pediatrics of Just the Facts, a handbook on teen sexual orientation aimed at a school audience, ACPeds issued its own publication, Facts About Youth, in March 2010.[7] Facts About Youth, along with a cover letter, was mailed to 14,800 school superintendents. Facts About Youth was challenged as not acknowledging "the scientific and medical evidence regarding sexual orientation, sexual identity, sexual health, or effective health education" by the American Academy of Pediatrics.[29]

The ACPeds letter to the superintendents primarily addressed same-sex attraction, and recommended that "well-intentioned but misinformed school personnel" who encourage students to "come out as gay" and affirm them as such may lead the students into "harmful homosexual behaviors that they otherwise would not pursue". The ACPeds letter to the superintendents also stated that gender dysphoria will typically disappear by puberty "if the behavior is not reinforced" and similarly alleged that "most students (over 85 percent) with same-sex attractions will ultimately adopt a heterosexual orientation if not otherwise encouraged."[30][31]

## Activities

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In 2023, the American College of Pediatricians was a plaintiff in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, which sought to overturn the FDA's approval of mifepristone as an abortion drug.[11] Leaked minutes from 2021 showed that the group has collaborated with religious groups in order to influence opinion leaders in courts, academic literature, and in state legislatures.

Since 2021, representatives of ACPeds have lobbied several state legislatures in support of legislation to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youths, as part of a campaign that succeeded in passing such laws in several states.[11]

In December 2023, ACPeds teamed up with the Catholic Medical Association (CMA) in the case American College of Pediatricians, et al v. Becerra which challenges president Joe Biden's executive order that sought to reinterpret the word "sex" in federal laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity, particularly in the Affordable Care Act.[25][24]

Members and presidents of ACPeds have appeared in conservative media including Tucker Carlson Tonight and Fox News and misinformation about LGBT rights by ACPeds has been parroted by conservative and far-right outlets, commentators and organizations including Glenn Beck, the Christian Broadcasting Network, The Daily Caller, Breitbart and the Family Research Council.[10]

## Reception

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Some scientists have voiced concerns that ACPeds mischaracterized or misused their work to advance its political agenda.[7][8] Gary Remafedi, a pediatrician at the University of Minnesota, wrote ACPeds a public letter accusing them of fundamentally mischaracterizing his research in their publications to argue that schools should deny support to gay teenagers. Francis Collins, a geneticist and director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), issued a statement through the NIH accusing the ACPeds of misleading children and parents on its Facts About Youth website.[8] Warren Throckmorton, a therapist who specializes in sexual orientation issues, similarly stated that his research had been misused, saying of ACPeds: "They say they're impartial and not motivated by political or religious concerns, but if you look at who they're affiliated with and how they're using the research, that's just obviously not true."[7]

In an amicus brief regarding the removal of a child from the foster home of a same-sex couple (Kutil and Hess v. West Virginia) the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) described ACPeds as a "small and marginal group" which was "out of step with the research-based position of the AAP and other medical and child welfare authorities".[6] The LGBT advocacy organization PFLAG categorizes the ACPeds as an anti-equality organization, describing the group as a "small splinter group of medical professionals who do not support the mainstream view of the American Academy of Pediatricians (AAP) that homosexuality is a normal aspect of human diversity".[32]

The American College of Pediatricians has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a "hate group", and a "fringe group" which closely collaborates with the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) with "a history of propagating damaging falsehoods about LGBT people, including linking homosexuality to pedophilia".[33][12][34] In response to being labeled a hate group by the SPLC, the ACPeds undertook a private campaign with its allies to attempt to discredit the SPLC and to lower its standing on Charity Navigator.[1]

In response to an ACPeds brief, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wrote that ACPeds is a fringe group that has acted to promote "unscientific and harmful 'reparative therapies' for LGBTQ students".[35][36][31]

Surgical oncologist David Gorski has said that statements from ACPeds have been used by quack sites like Natural News to push an anti-vaccine agenda. Gorski has said that organizations spreading misinformation regarding HPV vaccines have often cited ACPeds.[37]

## See also

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* American Pediatric Society
* Academic Pediatric Association

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f g h Cameron, Dell; Mehrotra, Dhruv (May 2, 2023). "An Anti-Trans Doctor Group Leaked 10,000 Confidential Files". WIRED. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
2. ^ Larsen, Allison Orr (2014). "The Trouble with Amicus Facts" (PDF). Virginia Law Review. 100 (8): 1762. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
3. ^ a b c "American College of Pediatricians". Extremist Files. Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
4. ^ a b c d Molloy, Parker (June 12, 2024). "The Bogus Anti-Trans "Declaration" From a Bogus Medical Organization". The New Republic. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
5. ^ a b c d Kranish, Michael (July 31, 2005). "Beliefs drive research agenda of new think tanks". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on February 8, 2006. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
6. ^ a b c d "Crossing Over". Proto Magazine. Massachusetts General Hospital. June 10, 2016. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
7. ^ a b c d e f Pinto, Nick (May 26, 2010). "University of Minnesota professor's research hijacked". City Pages. Archived from the original on November 17, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
8. ^ a b c Collins, Francis (April 16, 2010). "Response to the American College of Pediatricians". National Institutes of Health. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
9. ^ a b c "The American College of Pediatricians Is an Anti-LGBT Group". Psychology Today. May 8, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
10. ^ a b c d e "American College of Pediatricians". SPLC. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
11. ^ a b c d Lauren Weber; Caitlin Gilbert; Taylor Lorenz (June 15, 2023). "Documents show how conservative doctors influenced abortion, trans rights". The Washington Post.
12. ^ a b c Lenz, Ryan (March 1, 2012). "American College of Pediatricians Defames Gays and Lesbians in the Name of Protecting Children". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
13. ^ Beale, Stephen (November 11, 2016). "Lawsuits Challenge Federal 'Transgender Mandate'". NC Register. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
14. ^ "President". American College of Pediatricians. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022.
15. ^ "Abortion Is Not Healthcare". American College of Pediatricians. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
16. ^ "Same-Sex Marriage: Not Best for Children". American College of Pediatricians. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
17. ^ "Defending Traditional Marriage". American College of Pediatricians. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
18. ^ "Homosexual Parenting: A Scientific Analysis". American College of Pediatricians. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
19. ^ "Psychotherapy for Unwanted Homosexual Attraction Among Youth". American College of Pediatricians. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
20. ^ Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child Family Health (February 2002). "Coparent or second-parent adoption by same-sex parents". Pediatrics. 109 (2): 339–40\. doi:10.1542/peds.109.2.339. PMID 11826219.
21. ^ American Academy Of, Pediatrics (August 2009). "Policy Statement—AAP publications retired and reaffirmed". Pediatrics. 124 (2). American Academy of Pediatrics: 845. doi:10.1542/peds.2009-1415. PMID 19651598.
22. ^ American College of Pediatricians (July 16, 2019). "Letter to the Surgeon General" (PDF).
23. ^ "The Impact of Pornography on Children". January 3, 2025. Archived from the original on January 3, 2025. Retrieved January 13, 2025.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
24. ^ a b "CMA and ACPeds Challenge the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services". Catholic Medical Association. December 18, 2023. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
25. ^ a b "American College of Pediatricians et al v Becerra et al". June 28, 2024.
26. ^ "Doctors Protecting Children Declaration". American College of Pediatricians. Retrieved October 12, 2024.
27. ^ "Hate Map". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
28. ^ "Anti-LGBTQ". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
29. ^ "Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation and Youth". American Academy of Pediatrics. April 13, 2010. Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
30. ^ Horton, Greg (June 23, 2010). "Doctors debate the facts surrounding sexual orientation and gender confusion". Oklahoma Gazette. Archived from the original on December 19, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
31. ^ a b Coleman, Theara (June 24, 2010). "Misinformation from Doctors… Out to Hurt Students?". American Civil Liberties Union. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
32. ^ "Anti-Equality Organizations". PFLAG. Archived from the original on December 29, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
33. ^ "Meet the Anti-LGBT Hate Group that Filed an Amicus Brief with the Alabama Supreme Court". Southern Poverty Law Center. November 13, 2015. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
34. ^ Oatman, Maddie. "Dr. Jen Gunter wants to protect your vagina from Gwyneth Paltrow". Mother Jones. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
35. ^ "Does Focus on the Family Speak for Your Family?". American Civil Liberties Union. September 2010. Archived from the original on April 5, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
36. ^ "In re: Gill - About the American College of Pediatricians". American Civil Liberties Union. Archived from the original on May 27, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
37. ^ Gorski, David. "One more time: There's no evidence Gardasil causes premature ovarian failure". ScienceBlogs. Retrieved August 18, 2019.

## External links

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* Official website