This Is One of the Biggest Medical Malpractice Scandals in History | Michael Shellenberger | EP 435

Intro (00:00:35)

• Michael Shellenberger, a journalist and author, discusses the WPATH files, which document the activities of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).
• WPATH is an organization that advocates for transgender rights and provides guidelines for the treatment of transgender individuals.
• Shellenberger argues that WPATH's guidelines are not based on evidence and that the organization has misled the public about the safety and efficacy of transgender treatments.
• Shellenberger released approximately 170 pages of documents from WPATH, which reveal that the organization:
  • Has financial ties to pharmaceutical companies that manufacture puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.
  • Has a conflict of interest due to its close relationship with transgender activists.
  • Has suppressed evidence of the negative effects of transgender treatments.
  • Has promoted the use of experimental and unproven treatments for transgender individuals.
• Shellenberger believes that WPATH's actions have contributed to the medical malpractice scandal involving transgender treatments.

The pseudoscience of WPATH (00:01:47)

• WPATH is the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.
• WPATH's internal files reveal discussions about treating gender distress in children as young as 10 years old.
• There are discussions about performing genital surgeries on individuals with developmental delays and mental health issues.
• WPATH's standards of care lack evidence-based support and are more like pseudoscience.
• Radical interventions such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries are being performed without proper scientific backing.
• The scale of this medical mistreatment scandal is comparable to historical atrocities like lobotomies and the Tuskegee experiments.

PROVEN: doctors are not getting informed consent and they know it (00:06:15)

• Doctors are aware that they are not obtaining informed consent from patients and their parents.
• They acknowledge that the patients and parents do not understand the treatments.
• No one questions whether they should stop the treatments.

All you have to do to become a professional association… (00:07:09)

• To become a professional association, one can simply call themselves one and claim to represent an oppressed group.
• This allows narcissistic and incompetent individuals to rise to the top of hierarchies.
• The American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, and WPATH are inexcusable for their involvement in this scandal.

Gender and distress explained clinically (00:09:06)

• Distress is indistinguishable from generalized negative emotion and absence of positive emotion.
• Distress is a common symptom of depression, anxiety, and various pathologies.
• Gender distress is mostly indistinguishable from anxiety and depression.
• The claim that people with gender dysphoria are more likely to commit suicide is misleading as depressed and anxious people are also more likely to commit suicide.
• Additional utility in a diagnostic label must be demonstrated, which is difficult in the case of gender dysphoria.

Gender and identity confusion are the same thing (00:10:51)

• Confusion about gender and identity are the same.
• Seeking psychological treatment indicates confusion about identity.
• Renaming gender does not address the underlying confusion.

The astounding evidence for effective treatment that is being ignored (00:11:42)

• Gender distress is defined by unqualified individuals.
• Minimal necessary intervention is not recommended.
• Clinical literature suggests leaving children with gender dysphoria alone until they are 18.
• Most children with gender dysphoria turn out to be gay.
• The existence of the remaining 10% is debatable.
• The best treatment is to accept the physical reality of one's body.
• Radical individuals forced out the expert who established this treatment approach.
• Current approach involves extreme surgical and hormonal interventions.
• False claims are made that children will commit suicide if they don't receive these treatments.
• The consequences of these treatments are severe and people often don't understand what they are agreeing to.
• The promise of finding one's true self is used to justify these treatments.

Enticed into denial, and waking up to the truth (00:14:07)

• Michael Shellenberger was initially skeptical of Abigail Shrier's claims about the medical malpractice scandal involving gender-affirming care.
• He gradually became convinced of the widespread nature of the mistreatment after learning more about the cases of detransitioners.
• The indictment of the entire chain of trust, from pseudo-scientists to practitioners, associations, news media, and institutions, is very serious.
• The scandal has serious implications for society, as it erodes the core restraints and guardrails that used to protect individuals from harm.
• The gatekeeping and vetting processes have failed, allowing harmful practices to become widespread.
• The scandal is a betrayal of trust and has caused significant harm to young women.

Rampant psychopathology, the UK starts banning gender affirming care (00:16:07)

• The UK has banned puberty blockers and all of its clinics after the release of the WPATH files.
• The Times of London called this "quack medicine" in the lead editorial and called for expanding the ban.
• There is concern that puberty blockers will still be prescribed in private clinics.
• The WPATH files reveal rampant psychopathology and mistreatment in the gender-affirming care system.
• The scandal is comparable to the horrors of Unit 731, the Japanese medical experiments on the Chinese during World War II.
• The details of the scandal are so shocking that they are hard to believe.

The doctors involved did “no serious study or followup for adverse outcomes” (00:19:38)

• There was no serious study or follow-up of the victims of these mistreatments.
• The doctors showed a complete abdication of responsibility and did not even attempt to follow up with the patients.
• This lack of care and concern for the well-being of the patients is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about the ethics and professionalism of the doctors involved.

Sadists are overrepresented among surgeons, profit margins of trans care (00:21:55)

• Sadists are overrepresented among surgeons, which is a known clinical fact.
• The trans industry is incredibly profitable, with projections showing a significant increase in growth over the next seven years.
• This profitability attracts individuals who are not genuine physicians and surgeons but are willing to perform surgeries for financial gain, leading to a concerning situation where unqualified individuals are performing these procedures.

Selective blindness to the spread of pathology (00:23:19)

• Canadians have become selectively blind to the spread of pathology in major institutions over the last 10 years.
• Institutions that were once reliable and middle of the road, such as the United Church, the Catholic Church, the news media, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the universities, and the education system, are now riddled with pathology.
• The federal liberals subsidize the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to the tune of $1.4 billion a year, despite having no customers.
• People are faced with the conundrum of either believing those who are screaming about this as right-wing conspiratorial lunatics or losing trust in all the institutions they thought they could trust.

Abigail Shrier, raising the alarm, and the initial sense of hesitancy (00:25:20)

• Michael Shellenberger was initially hesitant to believe the allegations of medical malpractice in the gender-affirming care industry due to his trust in the medical system.
• Abigail Shrier's book and conversations with her raised concerns, but he felt that more men should be speaking out about the issue.
• Despite publishing articles and obtaining the de-transition files, Shellenberger struggled to fully accept the extent of the malpractice due to the implications it would have on trust in medical institutions.
• Iatrogenesis, when the medical system makes people sick, is a long-standing issue.
• The impact of vaccine compulsion on mortality rates is unknown and may never be fully understood.
• The gender-affirming care industry is a grotesque perversion of healthcare, destroying the bodies of individuals who would likely grow up to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual if left alone.
• The gay rights movement, which should be the first to express outrage, has been co-opted by the corruption in the gender-affirming care industry.

Why the LGB communities are aiding in their own erasure (00:28:43)

• The LGB communities are facilitating their own erasure by supporting the undermining of the reproductive capacity and sexual function of gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents.
• The traditional heterosexual couple is considered the foundation of society, despite the prevalence of divorce, single parenthood, and other deviations from this ideal.
• Expanding the definition of the core to include same-sex relationships was an attempt to normalize homosexuality, but it has inadvertently invited even more marginal identities to emerge.
• The new marginal identities are conceptualized in the same civil rights-oriented terms, leading to the unintended consequence of targeting the gay community first.

The reality of transsexualism and autogynephilia (00:33:40)

• Autogynephilia, a sexual fantasy of oneself as a woman, primarily affects men and has been studied by psychologists Ray Blanchard and Michael Bailey.
• Bailey and Blanchard faced backlash from autogynephilic men who felt their fantasy was being undermined, displaying narcissistic outrage similar to a child's reaction when their fantasy play is disrupted.
• Transgender ideology emphasizes the importance of gender identity over biological sex, and transgender activists often use bullying and intimidation to silence dissent.
• Some transgender activists have engaged in high-risk behavior, including botched surgeries on children, such as the case of Dr. Marci Bowers, president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), who performed a botched genital surgery on transgender teenager Jazz Jennings for personal fame and attention, with little regard for Jazz's well-being.

Deep narcissism and a need for immediate gratification (00:40:22)

• Powerful narcissists and psychopathic men construct the idea and reality of trans children to fulfill their sexual fantasies.
• Psychopathic narcissists use their psychopathy to serve their narcissism, disregarding the feelings of others and engaging in risky behaviors.
• Immature individuals, like toddlers, are characterized by a sequence of whims and lack the ability to regulate their impulses in accordance with their future selves and others.
• Gender quacks focus on providing immediate care and comfort without considering the long-term consequences of their actions.
• Dr. Marcy Bowers, who operated on Jazz Jennings, was obsessed with performing surgical procedures and argued with her colleague during surgery about removing unnecessary tissue.
• These individuals display a lack of concern for the future and engage in destructive behaviors, similar to toddlers.

The pathologization of the Devouring Mother (00:44:38)

• Freud believed that the "devouring mother" archetype was the root of much psychopathology.
• Human infants are born in a vulnerable state and require 100% care, leading to the development of the maternal instinct.
• When the maternal instinct becomes pathologized, it can lead to overindulgence and entitlement in children.
• Childless women entering the political arena can lead to the infantilization of society due to the powerful maternal instinct.
• Women are good at spotting predators, but the pathologization of the devouring mother can lead to false accusations and excessive punishment.

A clear trend of weak fathers in transitioner homes (00:49:26)

• Many parents of desisted transitioners report that the father eventually stepped in to stop the transition.
• Fathers are supposed to protect their children and prevent them from making harmful decisions.
• In many cases, fathers have abdicated their responsibility and allowed their children to undergo unnecessary and harmful medical procedures.

Snow White and the deprivation of growth (00:50:20)

• Puberty and growing up are fundamental human rights.
• The medical system is depriving people of the right to be adults by blocking puberty and preventing them from reaching their full potential.
• This is similar to the story of Snow White, where the witch attempts to prolong her youthful adulthood by sacrificing the upcoming feminine generation.
• The witch is in power across all institutions, and men have abdicated their authority and responsibility, allowing this to happen.
• Fathers need to protect their children from these "creepy" doctors who are trying to prey on them.

Barbara Walters helped sell the lie (00:52:15)

• Barbara Walters' special on Jazz Jennings promoted the idea of a "beautiful little girl born into the wrong body."
• Walters' endorsement of this view contributed to the normalization of sterilizing children, depriving them of sexual function, and denying them puberty.
• This approach is seen as nihilistic, negating life and the immortality project of having children.
• Hedonism and the immediate pleasure of exercising power over others' bodies are underlying motivations.

Michael Shellenberger's perspective (00:00:35)

• Michael Shellenberger believes that the medical malpractice scandal involving the sterilization of children for gender reassignment is one of the biggest in history.
• He criticizes the promotion of this practice as a form of nihilism, rejecting reality in favor of an alternative world.
• Shellenberger emphasizes the importance of sleep for mental and physical health and recommends Beam Dream Powder as a natural sleep aid without grogginess.

Psychology of hedonism paired with force (00:54:59)

• Hedonism paired with force is a dangerous combination.
• People who pursue short-term hedonistic ends often resort to force to achieve their goals.
• The Nazis and the hedonists in Cabaret are an example of this dynamic.
• We are currently doing the same thing by pursuing short-term hedonistic ends and ignoring the long-term consequences.

The shocking rate that totalitarianism is spreading (00:57:45)

• Totalitarianism is defined by narcissists and psychopaths taking over major institutions in society.
• Narcissists use their charisma to cast a spell on individuals, mesmerizing and hypnotizing them into conformity.
• Psychopaths use raw power, bullying, and harassment to keep people in line and create a culture of fear.
• The files on the transgender movement reveal chilling examples of totalitarianism, such as the suggestion to give drugs and surgery to people with multiple personalities without proper consideration or consent.
• People often find it difficult to believe that such extreme situations can occur in modern society, similar to how Germans in the late 1930s couldn't believe the atrocities happening around them.

Cluster B-Type psychopathy (01:01:33)

• Men and women with narcissistic psychopathic mellian sadism exhibit different behaviors, with men being more direct and aggressive, while women are more subtle and manipulative.
• Women who engage in reputation sabotage and gossip are difficult to confront, and men often fail to say no, leading to significant suffering for men involved with women with cluster B psychopathology.
• It is crucial to accurately describe the psychopathologies of leaders and distinguish between different types, such as narcissists, psychopaths, and psychopathic narcissists.
• Autophiles, who identify as women but were assigned male at birth, should be recognized as such, and their fantasies should not be indulged as they drive much of the current gender ideology.
• Certain types of pornography may contribute to autophilia in men at younger ages, leading to a sense of entitlement and participation in women's sports while identifying as women, which victimizes and oppresses women.
• Medical associations and societies must demonstrate courage and oppose pseudo-science and cowardice to maintain respect and credibility.
• The American Medical Association website promotes gender medicine as a means of preventing suicide despite evidence to the contrary.
• To address these issues, it is necessary to challenge leaders and institutions and demand an end to pseudo-science and cowardice within the medical community.

How does this end? (01:08:21)

• The speaker expresses frustration about the current state of affairs regarding gender ideology and its impact on young women.
• They believe that the promotion of gender ideology, such as the mandating of pronoun use, has led to an increase in mental health issues among young women.
• The speaker criticizes the hypocrisy of those who claim to be compassionate and accepting but support harmful practices such as transitioning minors.
• They suggest that those responsible for transitioning minors, including counselors, should be held accountable and potentially face legal consequences.
• The speaker proposes a stepwise approach to addressing the issue, starting with changing laws and regulations at the institutional level, such as in medical and sports organizations.
• They believe that public opinion is already largely in favor of their position, but many people are still in denial about the severity of the situation.
• The speaker highlights the importance of changing laws in both Republican and Democratic states and using examples from countries like the UK, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia, where there has been a reversal or reconsideration of gender-affirming care for minors.
• They acknowledge that the underlying systemic problem is complex and difficult to characterize.

The oppressor/oppressed narrative formula explained (01:12:28)

• The demographic slice most supportive of Democrats is childless women under 30.
• Democrat policies play into a misapplied maternal instinct by focusing on protecting the oppressed.
• The oppressed are seen as infants who can do no wrong, and the oppressor must be found.
• This has led to hostility towards Jews, as they are disproportionately successful and thus seen as oppressors.
• This narrative is similar to what happened in Austria and Nazi Germany, where the Jews were enslaved because they were a disproportionately successful minority.

The monotheistic hypothesis and the end of the Enlightenment (01:14:11)

• The secular experiment has failed because it is scientifically incorrect.
• We perceive the world through a structure of value, and stories embody these values.
• The monotheistic hypothesis proposes that all values unify at the pinnacle, and people should orient themselves towards that.
• To build alliances in a secularizing society, we need to tell a better story that is invitational.
• The postmodernists discovered that we see the world through a structure of value, but they incorrectly assumed that the fundamental story is one of power.
• The true story is one of voluntary sacrifice.
• The Christian myth of community is accurate in that becoming a member of a community requires self-sacrifice.
• The United States exemplifies the concept of voluntary self-sacrifice as the foundation for community.
• The image of the crucifixion at the center of the church symbolizes the antithesis of the claim that power unites.

What lies under the sacrifice of one's own child (01:21:07)

• Sacrificing others for oneself is worse than sacrificing part of oneself for others.
• Jazz Jennings' mother sacrificed her son to her narrow whims, demands, and prideful power.
• It's a luciferian sacrifice where the worst impulses within her gained from the situation.
• She subjected herself to her narcissistic hedonistic whim and allied herself with the Spirit of Pride and power.
• People don't want to look into it because it's brutal and gets worse the deeper you look.
• The Enlightenment is arguably a secularized version of the Judeo-Christian tradition.
• Tom Holland, dominion, and others argue that the Enlightenment is a secularized version of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

Is there a secular version of the core transcendent story? (01:23:13)

• The speaker believes that there is a secular version of the core transcendent story that would appeal to people like Steve Pinker and Michael Shermer.
• The speaker argues that truth in its highest form is a unity and there is no distinction between the religious and the scientific enterprise if they are both properly understood.
• The speaker cites the work of a renowned neuroscientist who has developed an entropy theory of anxiety and suggests that every object perception is a micro narrative.
• The speaker claims that sense data presents itself as value and that value is not derived from the underlying data.
• The speaker proposes that the biblical library is the repository of the value structure through which we see the world.

Civilization isn’t good enough to unite; it must serve something greater (01:26:41)

• The concept of civilization has shifted from valuing God to prioritizing power and sex in a secular society.
• The ultimate unity of the spirit manifests in all good things, defining the concept of good rather than merely summing it up.
• Humans primarily comprehend through relationships, and the best way to understand the interaction with the highest good is through a covenantal relationship.
• Work and sacrifice are contractual understandings with something, and God is the spirit that ensures the fruits of labor.
• The Jews believed in a Unity as the highest value, while alternatives like nothingness or fragmentation are unhelpful.
• A loving relationship with someone is actually a connection with the highest Spirit within them, and genuine conversations manifest this Transcendent reality.
• The logos is the fundamental reality upon which all other realities, including scientific ones, are based.
• Converging evidence supports this conclusion.

Invitation over force, attracting the most people to greatest good (01:32:15)

• To resist totalitarianism, it is crucial to find common ground and shared values, avoiding the counterproductive use of force and coercion often employed by fundamentalists and conservatives.
• The invitational approach emphasizes the richness and benefits of a particular perspective without sacrificing individual agency.
• Balancing the need for sacrifice and self-transcendence with the preservation of individual freedom remains a challenge.
• Voluntary self-sacrifice forms the basis of community and can be effectively conveyed through stories and narratives.
• The Enlightenment dichotomy between rationality and religion is a false distinction that hinders meaningful discussion and understanding.
• The speaker acknowledges the existence of something profound yet incomprehensible and faces difficulties discussing these ideas with individuals holding atheistic or enlightenment beliefs.
• Approaching the topic from a scientific perspective generally avoids disputes, but there are difficult truths that must be accepted.

The image of mother and child must remain sacred (01:37:51)

• The image of mother and child is sacred and essential for society.
• Without protecting the image of mother and child, society decays.
• The choice is between the Virgin Mary and the whr of Babylon.
• The obligation to continue the human race is a sacrificial duty.
• The Good Mother fails, and the alternative is the mother devouring mother.
• The sacrificial gesture of the Eternal feminine is a sacred image with no replacement.
• There is a medical malpractice scandal involving gender medicine.
• Children and vulnerable adults are not being protected from this scandal.
• The scandal is comparable to the Tuskegee syphilis experiment.
• The scandal involves the medical establishment, pharmaceutical companies, and the media.
• The scandal is a threat to liberal democratic civilization.

See how many snakes appear in the absence of faith (01:41:35)

• The speaker compares current events to the story of the Israelites in the desert, who were punished with poisonous snakes for their lack of faith.
• The speaker suggests that the antidote to pathology, totalitarianism, and despair is to look upon that which poisons you in faith.
• The speaker discusses the book "Medical Nemesis" by Ivan Illich, which argues that the medical system itself is a major cause of illness and suffering.
• The speaker suggests that the solution to this problem is not to try to fix the medical system, but to build up our internal resources and resilience to withstand the pain and suffering that is part of life.

“Cult is an objective description” of the WPATH orchestrators (01:44:59)

• Michael Shellenberger, a guest on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, uncovered a medical malpractice scandal involving child sacrifice and castration during an eight-month investigation.
• Shellenberger and his colleagues compiled a 70-page report to accompany the files they obtained.
• He believes the individuals involved are dangerous and is taking measures to ensure his personal safety.
• Shellenberger feels compelled to speak out about the scandal and is willing to take risks to do so.
• He emphasizes the importance of describing the situation in specific psychological terms to overcome societal totalitarianism.
• The scandal also involves the pharmaceutical industry, particularly the drug Vioxx, manufactured by Merck & Co. and prescribed as a painkiller.
• Vioxx was later found to increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries.
• Despite the evidence, Merck continued to market and sell Vioxx, leading to lawsuits and settlements.
• The scandal highlights the need for accountability from pharmaceutical companies and stricter regulations to prevent similar incidents.