LGBTQ+ Advocates Criticize Right Wing Catholic Ad Targeting Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris

A right wing Catholic political group has courted controversy with misleading advertisements about Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and transgender healthcare, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

Beginning September 16th, CatholicVote, a conservative organization with the mission to “inspire every Catholic in America to live out the truths of our faith in public life,” ran 30-second advertisements alleging that minors in various U.S states have undergone gender-affirming medical care.

The CatholicVote ads suggest that such interventions are common for minors, and accuse Harris of supporting what the group described as “gender mutilation surgeries.”

According to NCR, the ads were refuted by LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, which accused CatholicVote of misrepresenting data and perpetrating harmful language.

Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, told NCR that surgical procedures performed on gender-diverse minors are “extremely rare,” and form the last-line of treatment for major anxiety, depression, and especially the “likely expectation of a suicide attempt.”

“More typical interventions for minors considering transitioning are changes in name, pronouns, clothing and outward appearance,” DeBernardo added. Beyond what he called “social transitioning,” DeBernardo mentioned less-invasive or permanent medical interventions more commonly used for minors, including reversible puberty blockers and occasionally hormone treatment. All of which, he clarified, require “parental consent and doctors’ supervision.”

DeBernardo also referenced the primary place medical expertise ought to have in the politically contentious discourse on transgender healthcare, arguing that CatholicqVote “makes it appear that these few surgeries are conducted frivolously, when, in fact, no state would allow any sort of medical intervention for a minor unless it was approved, after extensive consultation, by parents and a team of doctors.”

“It is dangerously irresponsible for CatholicVote to be promoting statistics in a way that makes them seem to be the norm, rather than the exceptions,” he added.

Ross Murray, vice president of GLAAD Media Institute, further rebuffed CatholicVote’s portrayal of gender-affirming surgical care as dangerous “experiments,” telling NCR: 

“‘Health care for transgender people has long been supported by every major medical association and leading world health authority, across specialties and patient lifespan, because it is safe, long-studied and prescribed. This form of medical care is life-giving, even life-saving.'”

The Human Rights Campaign denounced CatholicVote’s false-portrayal of the transgender healthcare landscape. Laurel Powell, an HRC spokesperson, reiterated that “This care looks different for each person,” and emphasized the relative inaccessibility of gender-affirming care.

“People are having to travel long distances — sometimes hundreds of miles or more — to see a doctor, because of politicians that disregard medical expertise,” she said.

Fact checking CatholicVote’s sweeping claims, the NCR report cited a document from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicating that gender-affirming surgeries are “typically used in adulthood,” as well as a July study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health which corroborates the health department’s claim. Additionally, NCR referenced the American Academy of Pediatrics recent reaffirmation of their support for gender-affirming care for minors, as well the Biden administration’s opposition to surgeries for minors — complicating CatholicVote’s portrayal of Democrats as reckless on the issue.

As for Harris, she responded to a 2019 American Civil Liberties Union questionnaire: “It is important that transgender individuals who rely on the state for care receive the treatment they need, which includes access to treatment associated with gender transition.” Yet, as indicated by the data, the standard of care for transgender minors is not surgical, and Harris’ endorsement of gender-affirming care is congruent with her campaign site’s promise to “enshrine anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQI+ Americans ” in various arenas including healthcare.

—Jeromiah Taylor (he/him), October 30, 2024