Editing American College of Pediatricians

{{Evil_Organization|Box title = Hate Organization|image = ACPeds.jpg|fullname = American College of Pediatricians|alias = "ACPeds"|origin = Gainesville, Florida, U.S.|foundation = 2002|headquarters = Florida|commanders = Joseph Zanga (primarily)|skills = Manipulation, mongering|goals = To prevent same-sex couples from adopting children and to encourage heterosexuality through means of conversion therapy|crimes = [[Homophobia]]<br>[[Ableism]]|type of villains = Fear mongers}}The '''American College of Pediatricians '''is an American organization located in Florida, U.S. Members of the American College of Pediatricians, or "ACPeds", have been labelled a [[Hate Groups|hate group]] by the Southern Poverty Law Center because of their propagation of false information about the LGBT Community. 

The organization's primary goal is to prevent the adoption of children by gay and lesbian couples. Additionally, ACPeds are supporters of conversion therapy and believe that LGBT students should be denied acceptance at schools. In regards to transgender children specifically, ACPeds believe that gender dysphoria will disappear in transgender adolescents if they are not accepted by others for their transgender identity.
==Background==
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. ACPeds reports its membership at "over 500 physicians and other healthcare professionals".

In response to the publication by the medical and professional organization 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, accompanied by a web site. ''Facts About Youth'', along with a cover letter, was mailed to 14,800 school superintendents on behalf of Tom Benton, president of ACPeds. ''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.

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."

Some scientists have voiced concerns that ACPeds mischaracterized or misused their work to advance its political agenda. 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. 

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."

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".

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".

[[Category:Hate groups]]
[[Category:Anti-LGBT]]
[[Category:Mongers]]
[[Category:Organizations]]
[[Category:Corrupting Influence]]
[[Category:Jingoists]]
[[Category:Extremists]]
[[Category:Faux Affably Evil]]
[[Category:Liars]]
[[Category:Propagandist]]
[[Category:Oppressors]]
[[Category:Ableist]]
[[Category:Abusers]]
[[Category:Delusional]]
[[Category:Misopedists]]
[[Category:Hypocrites]]
[[Category:Psychological Abusers]]
[[Category:Dimwits]]
[[Category:Con Artists]]
[[Category:United States of America]]
[[Category:Modern Villains]]