NC Democrat challenges ads on gender-affirming surgery for kids. What’s the reality?
A Democratic candidate in a battleground district that could be key to political control in North Carolina is pushing back against advertisements by opponents calling him a “quack liberal” and saying he supports “sex-change surgery,” also known as gender-affirming surgery.
Democratic candidate Dr. David Hill — a pediatrician — issued a “cease-and-desist” letter on Tuesday to Sen. Michael Lee and the North Carolina Senate Majority Fund, regarding claims they made about him in TV ads and mailers. The Senate Majority Fund is a special committee that helps fund Republican state Senate candidates.
Hill says the ads are full of false claims, but Lee and the committee are standing by the ads.
The Dowling Firm, a law firm representing Lee and the Senate Majority Fund, replied on Thursday to the cease-and-desist letter, citing statements made by Hill in podcasts and other instances as backing for language used in its advertisements.
“We are not sure how else Dr. Hill would like the public to understand such statements. Admittedly, the list of liberal politicians who have abandoned their support for sex-change surgeries for minors is growing, and Dr. Hill may now wish to disavow his prior endorsements of comprehensive gender-affirming care for minors,” says the letter shared by Lee with The News & Observer.
Barring Hill publicly declaring his stance, the letter says, “Senator Lee and the North Carolina Senate Majority Fund will continue to inform voters of Dr. Hill’s support of sex-change surgeries for children.
“Senator Lee strongly disagrees with Dr. Hill’s views on gender. The Senator is free to express his opinion that Dr. Hill’s radical views are wrong and, in doing so, point out that Dr. Hill’s self-promotion as a doctor does not make him an authority on gender issues,” says the letter.
In addition to gender-affirming surgeries, the ads allude to debates over transgender girls in sports and minors changing their pronouns without parental permission. Asked by The N&O about Hill’s positions on those issues, campaign manager Nehemiah Curnock sent a written statement from Hill that said he believed “in families’ and patients’ ability to make the best decisions for themselves without interference from the government.”
“Michael Lee is lying to voters about my beliefs and the type of care I provide. I’m the doctor you come to when your child is sick or hurt. I’m the doctor called into your delivery room when your newborn is having an emergency. That is what I do every day, and that is why parents trust me to care for their kids. I’m running to make sure that North Carolinians can get the care they need without lawyers and politicians joining them in their most private and critical healthcare decisions,” he said.
As the Nov. 5 election nears, advertising is growing —and Senate District 7, which includes parts of Wilmington, will likely see a lot more of it, considering it’s been targeted by Democrats and Republicans alike as a key district to win.
Here’s a look at what the ads say, what the candidates argue, and the evidence we could find about their claims.
Mail ad details
The cease-and-desist letter sent by law firm Womble Bond Dickinson on behalf of Hill on Tuesday cites an ad running on TV and more sent by mail, including a mailer that says that Hill “strongly supports sex-change surgeries for kids.”
“That statement is false,” says the letter shared by Curnock.
Curnock also shared a photo of the mailer on support for gender-affirming surgeries. The picture of the mailer does not show who paid for it, but Curnock said Hill’s lawyers confirmed that the mailer was paid for and approved by Lee’s committee.
The mailer quotes a blog post by Hill from July 1, 2021, but the letter from Republicans’ lawyers said that post was not the source for Hill’s position on surgery.
“To the contrary, the blog post was cited as the source for Dr. Hill’s quote that belittles parents who disagree with his liberal ideology,” says the letter.
“The mailer did not include a citation to Dr. Hill’s advocacy for sex-change surgery for minors because his support for such procedures seems without question,” says the letter.
It then references Hill having held leadership roles with the American Academy of Pediatrics and cites that during Hill’s leadership tenure the AAP published a policy statement recommending transgender youth have access to “comprehensive, gender-affirming” healthcare.
That document supports gender-affirming surgery for teens on a “case-by-case” basis. The letter cites various other sources.
The blog cited in the mailer appears to be the post written by Hill titled “Yes, I Just Changed Your Baby’s Diaper,” which hones in on why changing a dirty diaper has helped him as a pediatrician to diagnose various ailments a baby may have and allows him to inspect the baby’s genitalia.
Hill writes that some people are born with ambiguous genitalia, combinations of sex chromosomes beyond XY and XX, and “It may take weeks or months before gender is assigned in consultation with the family, endocrinologists, and psychologists.”
“What happens when these babies grow older and want to play school sports? Or must pick a public restroom to use? Or choose pronouns that someone else isn’t sure applies to them? Without even beginning to address the very real and very serious issue of gender dysphoria,” he wrote.
“When you hear someone assert that gender is either one thing or another, and they’re ready to pass laws to police how gender is treated, you can bet that they don’t understand the basics of endocrinology, genetics, or physical and psychological development. And I’ll bet they haven’t changed tens of thousands of diapers,“ he wrote.
‘Quack liberal’ TV ad
The letter also cites a television advertisement that calls Hill a “quack liberal.”
“They say doctors know best, but not David Hill. He’s a liberal, a radical, too extreme,” says the TV ad, which says it was paid for by Lee’s campaign committee.
“Let children change their gender with puberty blockers and other life altering treatments? Dr. David says yes. Let school kids change their name, their pronouns without their parents permission? Dr. David says yes. Let biological boys, men compete in women’s sports? Dr. David says yes. Dr. David Hill. He doesn’t know best. He’s just a quack liberal,” says the TV ad.
Hill’s campaign took issue with the insinuation that he was not fit to practice medicine, saying “that epithet, as you undoubtedly know, is typically reserved for medical practitioners who are ignorant, misinformed, or dishonest.”
On the use of the word “quack,” Lee’s attorney’s letter says “the advertisement is devoid of a single factual statement regarding Dr. Hill’s medical practice, much less a factual statement about his honesty or competency as a pediatrician.” The word “quack” is used to describe Hill’s “liberal views,” the letter says.
On the TV ad, Curnock said “the claims do not represent Dr. Hill’s views or his future priorities as a legislator” and “we believe that they have taken many things out of context and exaggerated many claims.”
Lee has also faced attack ads. Hill’s campaign has aired an ad against Lee saying he is “just another anti-abortion extremist,” citing Lee’s vote in favor of the GOP’s Senate Bill 20, which banned abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, with some exceptions.
The TV ad also cites the 2021 blog, as well as a podcast in which Hill participated and “public school forum, 24” as sources it used to back statements.
The GOP last year in North Carolina passed several laws aimed at the LGBTQ+ community, including one titled the Parents’ Bill of Rights that would ban curriculum on gender identity, sexual activity or sexuality from being taught in elementary school and that would require schools to notify parents if their children change their names or pronouns.
It also included one limiting gender-affirming treatment for transgender minors and another barring transgender females from playing in sports aligning with their gender identity. Lee voted in favor of these three bills during the final Senate floor vote.
This story was originally published August 15, 2024 at 4:19 PM with the headline "NC Democrat challenges ads on gender-affirming surgery for kids. What’s the reality?."
