'If I could sing I would be on Broadway."

And if I could play football I'd be in the NFL. Derp.

What a weird stupid thing to say... not surprised considering this guy seems to specialize in saying weird stupid things.

"Almost never" is a quantifiable value of children's lives.

If it's "almost never" then it shouldn't be an issue for either side should it?

I can’t shake the feeling that Cantor is a straw man to deflect from a more serious adversary (like he’s straight out of central casting as the very image of a problematic gay man - see Pedophilia association).

Thanks for sharing but not sure what I can do with this information (other than be outraged / disgusted).

Gender Dysphoria is in the DSM and a therapist’s diagnosis is the first step in gender affirming care a for minors. Its not the fact that he is a therapist but that he has not treated transgender children himself which calls into question his expertise. It doesn't appear that Dr Rachel Levine, despite being a medical doctor and for all her advocacy work has ever treated a trans child utilizing Gender Affirming Care in a clinical setting herself. So this is more political bias than neutral litmus test.

This guy sounds koo-koo-cachoo.

But luckily, ADF does not need weirdos like Cantor to make their case for them. The European medical consensus is rapidly shifting so expect ADF to continue referencing EU research in their legal arguments.

Also, Chase Strangio admitted in Skrmetti oral arguments that gender affirming care for minors does not reduce suicidality ("completed suicides" in Strangio's verbiage) so I expect ADF to start quoting Strangio.

I suppose anyone is allowed to be an expert witness regardless of their credentials but his lack of clinical experience is less the problem itself than an indicator of it, specifically that he is just making shit up himself and calling it science. Not sure what Rachel Levine has to do with any of this but I’m guessing she has a better handle on the state of the research than a guy who’s just winging it to the tune of $400 an hour.

check
your Soul
at the door
it'll Likely still
be there at 5:00

I hope the SPLC has also added Sweden's National Board of Health and Welfare and the UK's NHS to their list of hate groups as well since they have also severely restricted gender affirming care for minors.

Unfortunately, the phenomenon of quack experts hired for their politics rather than their knowledge is not confined solely to the courtroom.

@10: All any side of the can do now is the politics, that's the best that can be done when the science is exploratory and has permanent life altering consequences.

@barth The courts have a standard for being an expert, (see, for example, https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/law-and-life/who-qualifies-as-an-expert-witness/) and a rule called the Daubert rule about what sort of evidence should be admitted. That was actually a case about the medical impact of silicone breast implants, and the leading expert in that case... wasn't very expert. The court (or opposing counsel) will usually ask has your testimony ever been excluded.

I'm surprised this guy hasn't been excluded repeatedly and ordered by courts to reveal his disqualification (at least based on what's in the story.)

So we have two journalists, who I am guessing have never been to medical school gatekeep who should be allowed to speak regarding treatment for trans patients?
Doctors go through years of school with additional years of residency.
Hmmm….
Who is more qualified to speak on this topic?

@12: "The courts have a standard for being an expert,"

The courts are all over the map on this one. Particularly if they perceive that certification as an "expert" interferes with someone's first amendment rights. It might not rise to the importance of gender affirming care, but if you are fighting a traffic ticket, then anyone can testify as an "engineer". Public safety be damned. (https://reason.com/2019/01/02/judge-confirms-that-oregon-engineer-has/)