Paula Scanlan: The Dangers and Due Process Violations of ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ for Children

Contact Your Elected Officials

Testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government
“The Dangers and Due Process Violations of ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ for Children”
Paula Scanlan, Spokeswoman & Advisor Independent Women’s Forum
July 27, 2023

Good morning Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member Scanlon and members of the subcommittee. I’m Paula Scanlan, a spokeswoman and advisor for the Independent Women’s Forum and a former NCAA athlete. I am here today to share my personal story.

I started swimming at a very young age, by age 8 I was swimming competitively, and by late middle school I was devoting at least 20 hours per week to swimming. I gave up countless Christmas holidays, weekends, and social events to work towards my goal of swimming Division 1. A dream that came true when I began swimming for the University of Pennsylvania. While I am not an NCAA champion, I hold the New England Independent School League Record in the 400-yard freestyle relay, a record that has stood since March of 2017.

In September 2021, Lia Thomas began participating as a member of the Penn Women’s Team. Lia, formerly Will, had personal best times in every freestyle event that were faster than the Women’s world records. Once the season began, Thomas was leading the country in multiple events while placing only top 500 in one of those events. Thomas later became an NCAA Champion in the 500-yard freestyle, the first NCAA champion in our women’s team program history.

While many of you already know this, what you do not know is the experiences of the women on the University of Pennsylvania swim team. My teammates and I were forced to undress in the presence of Lia, a six-feet four-inch tall biological man fully-intact with male genitalia, 18 times per week. Some girls opted to change in bathroom stalls and others used the family bathroom to avoid this. When we tried to voice our concern to the Athletic Department, we were told that Lia swimming and being in our locker room was non-negotiable and we were offered psychological services to attempt to re-educate us to become comfortable with the idea of undressing in front of a male.

To sum up the university’s response: we, the women, were the problem, not the victims. We were expected to conform—to move over and shut up. Our feelings didn’t matter. The university was gaslighting and fear-mongering women to validate the feelings and identity of a male.

As an attempt to voice my concerns about the situation we were forced into—revealing the unfair and unjust treatment—I wrote an Op-Ed for Daily Pennsylvanian, the University of Pennsylvania student-run newspaper. I approached this from a scientific, statistical perspective where I used my engineering background to discuss how Y-chromosomes cannot be changed by any surgical procedure or systemic therapy. This biological fact lends itself to athletic advantages that cannot be mitigated by lowering testosterone levels, which are readily apparent in sports competitions and locker rooms. The DP published my article on the evening of February 10, 2022. Only a few hours later my piece was retracted. I was given no notice, nor reasoning. Again, I was silenced for my dissenting viewpoint, and felt my First Amendment Rights were denied by my university.

This is representative of a greater issue, the destruction of free speech. Today any discussion of maintaining the sanctity of women’s spaces is labeled transphobic, bigoted, and hateful.

What’s bigoted and hateful is the discrimination against women and the efforts to erase women and our equal opportunities, dignity, and safe spaces. One may ask, why do I speak so passionately about issues that seem hypothetical or that some may perceive as impacting only a small number of women? This is not hypothetical, this is real. I know women who have lost roster spots and spots on the podium. I know of women with sexual trauma who are adversely impacted by having biological males in their locker room without their consent.

And I am one of these women. I was sexually assaulted on June 3, 2016, in a bathroom.

I was able to forgive my attacker, but violence against women still exists. Let us not forget the viral #MeToo movement that empowered female victims to speak up; it cast a spotlight on the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and abuse, including in scholarly and educational institutions. Individuals on this committee have stated, “Violence against women is all too common.”

I am extremely grateful for those members who have brought awareness to violence against women in the past, but unfortunately, there is still much to be done. As a sexual assault survivor, many policies pushed today completely ignore my experiences and many women like me.

I ask members of this committee, please consider this issue outside the lens of political affiliations and understand the true impact of ignoring the realities of womanhood. Future generations depend on us. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

The Thinking Conservative
The Thinking Conservativehttps://www.thethinkingconservative.com/
The goal of THE THINKING CONSERVATIVE is to help us educate ourselves on conservative topics of importance to our freedom and our pursuit of happiness. We do this by sharing conservative opinions on all kinds of subjects, from all types of people, and all kinds of media, in a way that will challenge our perceptions and help us to make educated choices.

Trump’s Middle East Triumph is Worth Celebrating Even As Peace Remains Elusive 

President Trump’s bold foreign policy defies globalist appeasement, showcasing unwavering American strength and decisive leadership on the world stage.

Are conservatives fighting a fiction of woke?

Wokery, it hurts to say it, is too disorganized to have an organized cosmology or doctrine of metaphysical belief.

Illinois Democrat Offenders Reveal Party

The crime of J.B Pritzker and Brandon Johnson in this episode of American history is called subversion at the least , but could be as serious as treason.

Inside the Public School Librarian Jihad to Keep Transgender Propaganda on Shelves

Public school librarians are doing all they can to keep child tranny propaganda flowing directly into the malleable minds of their charges.

Five Reasons Why The Latest Czech Elections Were So Important

Populist-nationalist politician Andrej Babis is poised to return to the premiership after his party's victory. Here are 5 reasons why this is so important.

New York AG Letitia James Indicted on Federal Charges

New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted by a grand jury on federal charges, according to an indictment on unsealed on Thursday.

6 Ways Vaccine Policy Has Changed Under RFK Jr.

Health Sec RFK, Jr. and officials at the HHS changed recommendations and policies for multiple vaccines, including shots against COVID-19 and measles.

Journalists Recount Antifa Violence in Roundtable With Trump

President Trump met at the White House with journalists attacked by the newly designated terrorist group Antifa, joined by Cabinet officials for a roundtable.

IRS to Furlough 34,000 Employees as Government Shutdown Halts Treasury Operations

The IRS said in an emergency message to staff that it will furlough more than 34,000 employees starting on Oct. 8 due to the government shutdown.

Trump Says He May Invoke Insurrection Act in Portland If Necessary

President Donald Trump on Oct. 6 said he may consider invoking the Insurrection Act in Portland, Oregon, if necessary.

Trump: All Medium, Heavy Duty Trucks Entering US Will See 25 Percent Tariff on Nov. 1

President Trump announced on Monday that all medium and heavy-duty trucks entering the United States will see a 25 percent tariff starting on Nov. 1.

Treasury Names Social Security Commissioner as CEO of IRS

Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent announced that Frank Bisignano, the head of the Social Security Administration (SSA), will also serve as CEO of the IRS.

Agencies Terminated, Descoped 94 Wasteful Contracts With $8.5 Billion Ceiling Value, Says DOGE

Various federal government agencies have terminated and descoped 94 wasteful contracts over the past five days, DOGE said in an Oct. 4 post on X.
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

MAGA Business Central