{"id":603493,"date":"2021-07-27T10:51:47","date_gmt":"2021-07-27T14:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=603493"},"modified":"2021-07-27T10:51:51","modified_gmt":"2021-07-27T14:51:51","slug":"father-considers-lawsuit-against-gender-clinic-for-affirming-9-year-old-autistic-son-as-transgender-lesbian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/father-considers-lawsuit-against-gender-clinic-for-affirming-9-year-old-autistic-son-as-transgender-lesbian\/","title":{"rendered":"Father Considers Lawsuit Against Gender Clinic For Affirming 9-Year-Old Autistic Son As Transgender Lesbian"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffather-considers-lawsuit-against-gender-clinic-for-affirming-9-year-old-autistic-son-as-transgender-lesbian%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=603493&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Trans-Flag.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>A father is weighing civil action against the Minnesota gender clinic he claims tried to refer his autistic son for puberty blockers after affirming him as transgender when he was nine years old.<\/p>\n<p>Brenton Netz, 49, of Marquette, Michigan, detailed to The Daily Wire the <a href=\"https:\/\/savemilesgewirtz.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">uphill battle<\/a> he has faced trying to prevent his son from being inducted into the transgender ideology he described as a \u201cstate-sanctioned cult.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When he&nbsp;accidentally discovered his son\u2019s medical records in 2018 because they were linked to his name, Netz realized the child\u2019s mother had been taking him to a \u201cgender-affirming\u201d clinic without his consent.<\/p>\n<p>After a long legal battle, Netz obtained a court order in 2020 to prevent his son, now 11, from receiving further medical intervention at the clinic, which he claims was \u201cweeks away\u201d from issuing a referral for puberty-blocking drugs.<\/p>\n<p>Netz holds joint legal custody, which affords him equal say&nbsp;in major decisions about his child\u2019s education, health care, and religious training under Minnesota law. He alleges the gender clinic did not respect his parental rights until he retained legal counsel.<\/p>\n<p>Since lawyering up, Netz is planning to file a lawsuit he hopes will set a precedent regarding the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrc.org\/resources\/interactive-map-clinical-care-programs-for-gender-nonconforming-childr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rapidly proliferating<\/a> number of gender clinics that offer puberty blockers to children.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cRe-Parenting\u201d And Redefining Abuse<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>CentraCare Health\u2019s Gender Medicine Clinic in St. Cloud, Minnesota, was founded by Joni Steffens in 2016 and began taking on pediatric patients in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Steffens, an&nbsp;advanced practice registered nurse and certified sex counselor, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sctimes.com\/story\/news\/local\/2018\/12\/03\/st-cloud-gender-medicine-clinic-lgbtq-doctor-centracare\/1526801002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">told<\/a> the St. Cloud Times in 2018 that the clinic assists their younger patients \u201cprimarily with behavioral health services and family therapy, in a gender-affirming approach and model.\u201d She also explained that they offer hormones for adolescents.<\/p>\n<p>According to medical records that Netz provided to The Daily Wire, CentraCare\u2019s Family Health Clinic diagnosed his son with autism when he was four years old. When he was eight, the boy began treatment at CentraCare\u2019s separate specialized Gender Medicine Clinic. There, he was diagnosed with gender dysphoria by the clinic\u2019s gender therapist, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/femail\/article-2303625\/Rise-alternative-prom-The-LGBT-teens-celebrating-school-year-end-formal-dance-themselves.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Troy Weber-Brown<\/a>, who identifies as a non-binary male and uses \u201cthey\/them\/theirs\u201d pronouns.<\/p>\n<p>Weber-Brown\u2019s session notes repeatedly refer to Netz\u2019s son using female or plural pronouns, as well as a female variation of his name. One entry claims the young boy identifies as a transgender lesbian.<\/p>\n<p>Another entry indicates that during one session with Weber-Brown, which took place just two months after their sessions began, Netz\u2019s son and his mother \u201cparticipated in a structured discussion to identify fully [reversible], partially [reversible], and irreversible treatment options\u201d for gender dysphoria, which were defined as \u201cpsychotherapy, hormone blockers, feminization hormone therapy, and surgical options.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Weber-Brown\u2019s CentraCare <a href=\"https:\/\/www.centracare.com\/doctors\/troy-weber-brown-ms-lmft\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">profile<\/a>&nbsp;notes that the therapist is \u201ca Board Approved Superior with the Minnesota Board of Marriage and Family Therapy and the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health,\u201d who \u201chas given workshops and presentations on clinical considerations for working with sexual and gender diverse individuals at the local, state and national levels.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In one&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/stagetimeproductions.com\/opportunityconference\/presentations\/2019\/Tack%20A\/POST%20INDUCTION%20TREATMENT%20OF%20TRAUMA%20IN%20GENDER%20NON-CONFORMING%20CLIENTS.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">presentation<\/a>&nbsp;obtained by The Daily Wire, which bears a copyright that reads \u201cCentraCare Health 2016 Confidential,\u201d Weber-Brown laid out a methodology of \u201cpost-induction treatment of trauma in gender non-conforming individuals\u201d using a model of \u201cre-parenting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRe-parenting,\u201d according to Weber-Brown, necessitates that a therapist \u201caffirm,\u201d \u201cnurture,\u201d and \u201cchallenge\u201d the patient, which means they must \u201crespectfully restructure [a] client\u2019s reality\u201d and \u201cobtain consent to confront skewed reality.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In one slide that presented a hypothetical scenario by which a gender therapist would counsel a 12-year-old transgender client, Weber-Brown stressed the importance of identifying and defining \u201cvarious categories of abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The presentation defines&nbsp;emotional sexual abuse as \u201cinvalidating one\u2019s masculine or feminine identity, invalidating or denial of access to one\u2019s preferred sources of affection, invalidating or denial of access to one\u2019s preferred sexual preference, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Social abuse is defined as \u201cdirect or indirect interference with access to peers,\u201d which includes \u201cinstilling fear that others aren\u2019t safe.\u201d Intellectual abuse is when \u201cthinking is attacked or ridiculed,\u201d or when one is \u201cnot being allowed to do one\u2019s own thinking, not being supported when one\u2019s thinking is different from caregivers\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Neglect and abandonment are defined in part as \u201climiting access or denying\u2026sexual information and guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Weber-Brown\u2019s slideshow also addressed spiritual abuse, which was defined as \u201cexperiences that distort, retard, or otherwise interfere with spiritual development,\u201d such as \u201cwhen a caregiver replaces a child\u2019s higher power; when caregivers are addicted to religion; physical, sexual, or emotional abuse from a religious representative.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Daily Wire reached out to CentraCare Health\u2019s communications director with a link to the slideshow and asked if it believes a parent, pastor, rabbi, or other religious figure who does not endorse a child\u2019s sexual preference or gender identity is guilty of sexual abuse, as Weber-Brown\u2019s definitions suggest.<\/p>\n<p>CentraCare was specifically pressed to clarify what it means for a child\u2019s caregiver to be \u201caddicted to religion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Daily Wire also inquired whether such definitions were Weber-Brown\u2019s personal opinion or if they governed the therapeutic approach of CentraCare\u2019s entire organization, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.centracare.com\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">includes<\/a>&nbsp;eight hospitals, more than 30 clinics, and multiple inpatient and outpatient specialty care services in central Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>When The Daily Wire declined the communications director\u2019s request to disclose Netz\u2019s name and offer specifics about the scope of this article, she replied, \u201cWithout further context, I cannot provide any information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Autism Link<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Netz is frustrated that his son\u2019s primary diagnosis of autism has seemingly been placed on the back burner to focus instead on his supposed gender issues.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy son does need treatment,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s gotten so bad. His real problems have been neglected for years. And that\u2019s going to be another one of our arguments in court: that CentraCare is not only not solving the problem, they\u2019ve exacerbated and they\u2019ve stalled real treatment that should be happening because they\u2019ve pinned all of his problems on the fact that he\u2019s a girl stuck in a boy\u2019s body, and they can fix that with hormone therapies and surgeries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jennifer Bauwens, Ph.D., who&nbsp;serves as Director of the Center for Family Studies at the Family Research Council and has extensive experience as a clinician providing trauma-focused treatment to children, said she was \u201cabsolutely baffled\u201d when she perused Weber-Brown\u2019s case notes regarding Netz\u2019s son.<\/p>\n<p>Laying aside the case deals with a minor, Bauwens said that an observation period of six months is typical even for adults with gender dysphoria.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis therapist is introducing hormone blockers, feminization, hormone therapy, and surgical options within two months of seeing this child now,\u201d she noted of Weber-Brown, based on the session notes she read. \u201cI\u2019m perplexed that someone would offer such radical treatment to a nine-year-old within two months of treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Echoing Netz\u2019s claim, Bauwens singled out an entry in the case notes that quotes the boy saying \u201cimagination is real\u201d and \u201creality is dead to me,\u201d&nbsp;which she said \u201ccertainly raises concerns about this child\u2019s ability to understand and consent to his treatment plan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot to mention the symptoms described in the case notes indicate other possible diagnoses, none of which were properly addressed or ruled out,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>In the endnotes of her book \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Irreversible-Damage-Transgender-Seducing-Daughters\/dp\/1684510317\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters<\/a>,\u201d journalist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9uSlmfp7euo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Abigail Shrier<\/a> observed that high-functioning autism was a common thread among the transgender-identifying girls she wrote about.<\/p>\n<p>Her book focused on rapid-onset gender dysphoria in girls, but the <a href=\"https:\/\/pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/25503304\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">academic studies<\/a> Shrier cited also indicate a correlation between autism and gender dysphoria in boys.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the course of writing this book, I learned two disturbing facts about autism and its treatment,\u201d Shrier wrote. \u201cLike gender dysphoria, the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder has skyrocketed in the last decade. And many clinicians specializing in autism are actively encouraging gender exploration in their autism patients. The possibility that some clinicians working with adolescents who fixate might be supplying these kids with a fixation merits a book of its own.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cWe Could Blow That Whole Thing Open\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Robert C. Roby, Netz\u2019s attorney, said assembling a civil case against CentraCare that proves damages will be challenging, but it could prove precedent-setting if it succeeds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we could get the third leg of the stool on that case where we can show damages, we could blow that whole thing open,\u201d Roby said of the pediatric gender clinic industry. \u201cThere needs to be a major correction in the mental health field on the position that they have taken on gender issues because you can\u2019t divorce mental health from the idea of self-acceptance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Roby maintained that medical professionals are \u201cbasically encouraging self-loathing and self-rejection\u201d when they reinforce to children that they were born in the wrong bodies, or that their bodies are somehow unacceptable or defective.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think you can draw a straight line from that to the suicide rate with these kids,\u201d Roby continued. \u201cSo that\u2019s the case I\u2019d be building on the civil action.&nbsp;And if that correction can be made and it has to be done through litigation, so be it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the name of political sensitivity, whatever you want to call it, they\u2019re perpetuating a narrative of self-rejection with these children and it\u2019s damaging them in very real ways,\u201d Roby added. \u201cI have no question about that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201c<\/strong><strong>Covering All The Exits\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Living a relatively isolated lifestyle in rural Michigan, Netz said he once thought he suffered alone, but has since learned through online groups that there are many other parents nationwide contending with similar ordeals with their children.<\/p>\n<p>One father he met was Jeffrey Younger in Texas, whose son James was seven years old when his mother planned to transition him into a girl named Luna despite his objections. Younger claims the boy\u2019s mother&nbsp;was close to putting him on puberty blockers until&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thetexan.news\/james-younger-case-effectively-comes-to-a-close-mothers-legal-team-signals-future-appeals\/\">a court granted him joint conservatorship<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Younger case drew <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/magazine\/2019\/12\/09\/the-tragedy-of-the-trans-child\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">national attention<\/a> and has prompted proposed <a href=\"https:\/\/capitol.texas.gov\/tlodocs\/87R\/billtext\/pdf\/HB00068I.pdf#navpanes=0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">legislation<\/a> in the Texas House of Representatives that would define administering \u201cpuberty-blocking medication to stop or delay normal puberty\u201d as child abuse.<\/p>\n<p>During an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Z2fEK3huCsQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">online discussion<\/a> in June, the two fathers reflected soberly on how they feel nearly every institution is stacked against them.<\/p>\n<p>Both men have been particularly frustrated with the family court system. Letters from CentraCare that Netz provided to The Daily Wire repeatedly defer to the family court when he protests his son\u2019s treatment. Netz said the court, in turn, would urge him and his son\u2019s mother to work it out and \u201cexhaust every remedy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Because they disagree with their sons\u2019 mothers so profoundly on such fundamental issues, Netz and Younger conceded that the legal system is effectively designed to render one parent a winner and the other a loser. As Younger pointed out, the law and the courts typically side with the mother.<\/p>\n<p>According to a court memorandum Netz provided to The Daily Wire, one judge warned that a stalemate between the two parents could result in the court amending the legal custody arrangement. Netz claimed that the judge, who has since retired, scolded him for failing to affirm his son\u2019s gender identity, asked him if he knew the suicide rates among transgender children, and threatened him with contempt of court.<\/p>\n<p>Netz described the continuous passing of the buck between the medical industry and the family court system as a \u201cvicious cycle\u201d that is both time-consuming and disastrously expensive.<\/p>\n<p>Parents such as Younger and Netz also face opposition from the government at local, state, and federal levels. On July 16, Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed an <a href=\"https:\/\/mn.gov\/governor\/assets\/EO%2021-25%20Final%20Signed%20%28002%29_tcm1055-489794.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">executive order<\/a> banning state-licensed \u201cconversion therapy\u201d on minors, the definition of which has grown to include not just sexual orientation but also gender identity and expression.<\/p>\n<p>According to Walz\u2019s order, which echoed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/07\/15\/1016490666\/new-restrictions-in-minnesota-seek-to-sharply-curtail-conversion-therapy-for-min\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bans<\/a> already in place in some parts of the state, conversion therapy refers to&nbsp;\u201cany practice by a mental health practitioner or mental health professional that seeks to change a person\u2019s sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward people regardless of gender.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Similar conversion therapy bans <a href=\"https:\/\/www.familyequality.org\/resources\/conversion-therapy-laws\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">exist<\/a>&nbsp;at least partially in more than 20 other states and the District of Columbia, as well as numerous cities and municipalities.<\/p>\n<p>Netz recounted to Younger that when he sought therapy for his son at another clinic in Minnesota, the therapist told him it would be illegal to offer counseling that affirms his son\u2019s biological sex if he identifies as transgender.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ve got him in a box,\u201d Netz said. \u201cI call it \u2018covering all the exits.\u2019 I see the system as, they continue to watch people figuring out ways to get out of this and they just cover all the exits.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, Netz believes there is a money-driven agenda taking advantage of particularly vulnerable and impressionable children. \u201cThey\u2019re not just waiting for kids to fall through the cracks,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re sweeping kids toward the cracks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cTwo Different Worlds\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Netz remains determined to fight for his son in a battle he sees as fundamentally spiritual.<\/p>\n<p>Having become a Christian in recent years, Netz said his faith in God has helped him immensely. When he first discovered what was happening to his son, not only did he feel that God was absent, he worried that he had done something to bring down his curse.<\/p>\n<p>Remembering when&nbsp;he found his son\u2019s session notes from CentraCare, Netz said, \u201cI was in so much pain. I would just lay in bed in the morning and have this overwhelming sense of powerlessness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At his lowest point, he said he \u201cjust started to force myself to reach out and pray about it and to ask God for something, to come and help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said those prayers have been answered as he has found support from others who are also suffering&nbsp;<span>with similar predicaments at the hands of pediatric gender clinics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are two different worlds happening right now,\u201d he said of the growing cultural divide over the issue. \u201cThey\u2019re incompatible, and they\u2019re on a collision course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll I know is sane people are not going to allow this to be done to their children,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related<\/strong>: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/watch-new-documentary-sheds-light-on-gender-identity-industry-pushing-trans-surgeries-on-minors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Documentary Sheds Light On Gender Identity Industry Pushing Trans Surgeries On Minors<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i>member<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A father is weighing civil action against the Minnesota gender clinic he claims tried to refer his autistic son for puberty blockers after affirming him as transgender when he was &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-603493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=603493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=603493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=603493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=603493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}