McMaster scientist denies statement he signed claiming gender medicine is “medically necessary”
Gordon Guyatt, the McMaster professor widely regarded as the father of evidence-based medicine, emphatically denies describing youth gender treatments as “medically necessary.”
Gordon Guyatt, the McMaster professor widely regarded as the father of evidence-based medicine, emphatically denies describing youth gender treatments as “medically necessary.” In an interview with Beyond Gender, he admitted signing a statement containing that phrase but says he “would NEVER use the term ‘medically necessary,’” calling it “completely wrong” and adding he’d sooner “jump off a bridge” than use it.
“That was not my paragraph and I didn’t read [that part] carefully… I was a dope,” Guyatt told interviewers Mia Hughes and Stella O’Malley of Genspect. He said he intended only to oppose legislative bans on treatment, not endorse the disputed label. “The fallout has been immense, and by signing, my name is now attached to language I don’t endorse.”
The interview follows backlash over a public statement signed by Guyatt and colleagues at McMaster University. Many were left perplexed as the pioneer of evidence-based medicine seemed to reject his own professional legacy. The letter was published following a research collaboration with the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine, which concluded that “only low certainty evidence exists” for the benefits of intervention.
McMaster entered into a collaboration with the Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine in 2021, but Guyatt soon found their approach “problematic,” saying they placed “zero value” on patient autonomy. He and colleagues issued a statement cutting ties with the group and pledging donations to a pro-LGBTQ legal group opposing bans on gender care.
Guyatt said he was strongly opposed to governments using his studies to justify restrictions. He singled out Alberta, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and more than twenty American states, calling their reliance on his work “egregious” and “unconscionable.”
Guyatt calls the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s approach “clearly inappropriate” for today’s patient population, even as he opposes government restrictions. Transgender care in Canada remains contentious. WPATH standards are widely treated as the gold standard, yet a recent investigation found rising numbers of youth pursuing medicalized interventions and even a handful approved for “bottom surgery” under WPATH guidance, though full details remain obscured. Guyatt concedes there are “enormous problems in the care that is given to gender dysphoria,” but maintains that denying access altogether would also cause harm.
Guyatt said his “work has been predominantly used to deny care” to trans people. He insists that low-quality evidence should not lead to legislative bans but concedes that the evidence base for pediatric gender interventions is poor and that many minors lack the maturity for irreversible decisions.
Gordon Guyatt did not respond to a request for comment.
Another Scanadal [sic] ! Things can only get worse with Dr Meat and his band of incompetent and mentally challenged brigands. Brace yourselves.
The background psychosis level is so high in Canada and throughout the West that Guyatt must be given the benefit of the doubt. So many outrageous things are said and done daily by our rogue governments that occasional slip-ups like this, even by the principled and sane, are understandable.