Protestors gather outside Sanford to oppose Gender Identity Summit

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - The protest was organized by the group The Patriot Ripple Effect and labelled as the “Help, Not Harm Rally”.

Today, the third annual Midwest Gender Identity Summit took place at Sanford Health. According to Sanford’s website, the purpose of the event is to review the needs of transgender patients in healthcare, including communication as well as physical and mental health needs.

Protestors called on Sanford Health, summit participants and others to end the “propaganda-based science of unethical and harmful gender abuse practices”.

“Once we learned about that practices that Sanford is doing, working with the transgender summit talking about the youth and the struggles that they have, learning about what is going on, we wanted to step up to protect the vulnerable youth, to take a stand for that and stand up against the mental and physical abuse and gender mutilation that happens with children,” said one protestor named Chris.

We reached out to Sanford for a statement, and they said, “Sanford Health is dedicated to providing exceptional health care for all, including transgender and gender expansive individuals. This optional, educational opportunity with a strong focus on mental health will help providers better care for the unique needs of these patients, increasing inclusivity in the health care setting and improving health outcomes.”

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