The American Parents Coalition has launched new resources allowing families to check whether a pediatrician is affiliated with the American Academy of Pediatrics as the two organizations remain sharply divided over medical care for transgender minors.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
The American Parents Coalition unveiled a new campaign Thursday designed to help parents determine whether their child’s pediatrician is affiliated with the American Academy of Pediatrics, expanding the group’s criticism of the nation’s largest pediatric professional organization over its support for gender-affirming care for minors.
The initiative includes a step-by-step parent resource explaining how families can use the AAP’s public physician directory, look for the “Fellow” designation known as FAAP and conduct additional checks of a doctor’s professional credentials, according to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The campaign also provides information about state and federal rules governing parental access to a child’s medical information and includes a sample letter parents can use to communicate expectations with their pediatrician.
APC separately launched AAPActivism.com, a website compiling material the organization says documents the AAP’s advocacy on transgender-related medical policy.
The new effort follows other campaigns by APC focused on parental involvement in children’s health, technology use and medical decision-making.
“Parents deserve accountability and transparency when it comes to their child’s medical care and should not worry about political agendas tainting medical guidance,” APC Executive Director Alleigh Marré told the DCNF. “While receiving millions of dollars in federal funding, the American Academy of Pediatrics advances dangerous transgender interventions and procedures for kids which prioritizes political activism over best practices.”
“Parents deserve to know what kinds of guidance their providers advocate for and should be allowed to receive care that is best for their child,” Marré continued.
The AAP did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment on the new campaign.
APC has previously accused the AAP of having “a long track record of pushing policies that favor a political agenda over the well-being of children, such as transgender ideology and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, while using federal funding to do it.”
Those assertions represent APC’s characterization of the pediatric organization. The AAP has publicly defended its recommendations for transgender and gender-diverse youth and has rejected claims that its position is politically rather than medically driven.
In a June 2025 social media statement, the AAP said “gender-affirming care remains evidence-based, medically necessary care that improves the health and well-being of transgender youth.”
The organization separately said after a 2025 Supreme Court ruling involving Tennessee restrictions on such care that it remained committed to supporting transgender youth and maintained that medical evidence continued to support gender-affirming treatment.
The conflict has extended beyond public statements and into federal court.
In February, the AAP filed suit challenging a Trump administration investigation into its guidance concerning treatment for transgender minors. The Federal Trade Commission had demanded records as part of an inquiry into whether medical organizations made false or unfair claims in connection with pediatric gender-dysphoria treatment. The AAP argued that the investigation was unconstitutional and designed to retaliate against the organization for its advocacy.
The Trump administration has taken the opposite position on the underlying medical debate.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a Nov. 19, 2025, HHS statement that the American Medical Association and the AAP’s “so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people.”
That statement accompanied an HHS report that concluded puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgical procedures for minors carried significant risks and lacked what the department considered sufficiently strong evidence of benefit. The AAP disputed the administration’s assessment and said an earlier version of the HHS review misrepresented the medical consensus and relied on a limited range of evidence.
The federal government has since moved to restrict funding for such treatments, including an August rule ending the use of federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program funds for certain gender-transition-related procedures involving minors.
Against that broader policy and legal backdrop, APC’s new campaign focuses on giving parents a way to identify a pediatrician’s professional affiliations and research the positions associated with those organizations before selecting or continuing care.
The group’s resource does not determine what an individual pediatrician personally recommends or believes. Instead, it allows families to check publicly available AAP affiliation information, independently verify professional certification and use that information when discussing medical care with their child’s provider.
The launch adds another front to the continuing national dispute among advocacy groups, medical organizations and federal officials over the evidence, regulation and parental role surrounding medical treatment for minors experiencing gender dysphoria.
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