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Fewer than 10 anti-trans protesters met by 100s of counter-protesters at Boston Children’s Hospital
The hospital has been repeatedly targeted for protests and harassment by right-wing activists due to its transgender healthcare program for minors.
A group of 200 counter-protesters met a small contingent of anti-transgender healthcare protesters outside Boston Children’s Hospital Sunday morning, The Boston Globe reported.
The eight or nine anti-transgender protesters were continuing a far-right campaign against the hospital for its pediatric and adolescent gender-affirming healthcare program, which treats minors dealing with conditions such as gender dysphoria.
Counter-protesters arrived at the Longwood Avenue entrance to the hospital around 9 a.m. Sunday, while protesters arrived at 11 a.m., the Globe reported. Both disbanded around 2 p.m.
In pictures from the protest, demonstrators can be seen wearing black and holding signs that say things such as “children cannot consent to puberty blockers,” “no child is born in the wrong body,” and “gender clinics harm children.”
Photos from the scene also show counter-protesters with rainbow and transgender flags and signs that say things like “celebrate trans children,” “protect trans kids,” “trans kids deserve care,” and “gender-affirming care is healthcare.”
Several of the counter-protesters held signs that identified them as socialists in favor of trans rights, and others had anti-fascist messages.
The Globe reported that one reason the reaction to the protest was so strong was due to the presence of Canadian anti-trans activist Chris Elston.
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Elston was part of a group of far-right activists who spread false accusations about Boston Children’s Hospital online, such as that the hospital performs sex-change operations on minors. The accusations helped spur a harassment campaign against the hospital and its doctors.
On Sunday, Elston wore two signs hung over his shoulders. One had a message written on it like a dictionary entry for the word “dad” that said “a human male who protects his kids from gender ideology.”
Counter-protesters booed and chanted pro-trans slogans at Elston such as, “When trans kids are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back,” the Globe reported.
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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said in a statement to the Globe Sunday afternoon that the protesters were part of a “national intimidation tour” targeting the city and the “life-saving care” provided by Boston Children’s Hospital.
“We will not let those who rely on intimidation and fear-mongering get in the way of our work everyday to make Boston a safe and welcoming city,” she told the paper.
Local News
Boston Children’s Hospital’s Gender Multispecialty Service (GeMS) program was created in 2007 and became the first program of its kind in the nation.
The program has come under fire from right-wing activists for treating minors with gender dysphoria, which the hospital defines as “a conflict between the sex you were assigned at birth and the gender with which you identify.”
According to the hospital, it treats the condition using counseling, hormone blockers that suppress gender-associated physical traits in pubescent adolescents, and gender-affirming hormones in adolescents and adults that have passed puberty.
The hospital does perform gender-affirming surgeries, but according to the Globe, the only surgeries it performs on people under 18 are breast surgeries.
The Globe reported that the hospital only does this under certain circumstances, with parental consent, after other therapies have been tried, and will not perform breast surgery on people under 15.
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Right-wing activists began a harassment campaign against Boston Children’s Hospital because of its GeMS program in mid-August. The hospital said previously that doctors and other staff received tons of emails and phone calls attacking them for the program and threatening violence.
On Thursday, a Westfield woman was arrested for allegedly calling in a bomb threat against the hospital after becoming incensed about the GeMS program.
Other hospitals, including Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, have been similarly targeted.
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