Prolife Democrat Physician who follows the evidence. Advocates for the value and dignity of all human beings.
Joined June 2020
- Tweets692
- Following679
- Followers203
- Likes3.6K
What hubris from @MarioNicolaiEsq a man I normally respect.
He characterizes all proponents of Prop 135 as espousing "hate" and as primitive right wing ignorant zealots. Nothing could be further from the truth.
As a progressive physician who bases opinions on evidence, this is not a hard call. To perform irreversible surgeries on minors who are still developing the cognitive tools to avoid impulsive decisions, it is unconscionable for the adults caring for them and the community supporting them to allow these surgeries to continue.
And yes, they are happening across the country and in our state at increasing rates. Not often at hospitals - as the opponents have rightly pointed out - but rather in ambulatory surgical centers where tracking them is problematic. Most of these are chest masculinizing procedures rather than genital surgeries - but even horribly complicated genital surgeries have been reported on minors. Love these kids with gender incongruence and stand up for their best interests when people like Mario Nicolais try to shame you into blind submission.
Please don't march for "no kings" - as I did - and then turn around and undermine are democracy by advocating for autocratic decisions by the legislature and governor. coloradosun.com/2026/11/08/t… via @coloradosun
Another revealing pick by Trump. Stephen Miller is nominally prolife on abortion but decidedly not prolife on the treatment of immigrants. Now that Republicans have been thoroughly trounced at both the national and state levels, they should have the guts to denounce all the ways Trump undermines the prolife cause.
Pope Leo speaking the truth that the world desperately needs to hear in Uruguay: “The unborn already belong to the human family, and to the future of their people. Their absolute dependence on their mother does not diminish the dignity to which they are entitled, nor to the protection they deserve. Jesus Himself chose to assume this condition. Welcoming a new life requires that fathers assume their responsibilities alongside mothers, that the family offers their support and that social conditions exist that allow both parents to raise and care for their children. Protection of the unborn and the support of those who welcome them are inseparable. The family remains the primary setting in which each person is welcomed and learns to life with others. St. John Paul II, who also had the joy to visit this land, expressed this in a phrase that retains all of its original force; “As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.”
Always interesting to look at studies of early drug induced abortion and contrast the findings to the abortion industry propaganda that they are "safer than Tylenol". In this randomized New Zealand study, there was an 8.5% -8.6% complication rate and a 5%-5.7% rate of hospitalization (ED and in-patient combined).
Some in the prolife movement heralded Trump as the "most prolife president". When you attach your movement to a narcissist who is cruel, vindictive, corrupt and unprincipled, you tarnish the movement and undermine the truth that is the prolife movement's greatest asset. Thank God we can now move past this sad man. nytimes.com/2026/11/05/opini…
The correction was way overdue. The Democratic party won because of the cruel, vindictive, corrupt, autocratic governing style of Trump and because of his inept management of the economy. They did not win because the majority of the country believed in their social agenda. I hope my Democrat colleagues don't misjudge their mandate.
They do a good job of dispelling the myths that the abortion industry uses to promote their business. It is sad how the media portrays these myths as facts. It undermines our democracy when decisions aren't based on truth.
Are OBGYNs fleeing Idaho? Are later abortions only for emergencies?
Before you vote, check these common abortion claims against the data: ow.ly/lS7a5102Uze
Thomas Perille retweeted
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) says "elective abortion" is not a medical term. But what does that objection mean for public discussion of abortion?
Preliminary unpublished work from China but nonetheless disturbing. Does induced abortion contribute to asthma - besides all the other documented adverse physical and mental health outcomes?
Thomas Perille retweeted
Vote YES Proposition 135 – Restricting Gender Surgery on Minors in Colorado. #YESonProp135
In order to medically justify an irreversible surgical intervention on minors three criteria should be met:
1) ) The adolescent needs to be able to seriously weigh the procedure against less invasive ways to address their gender incongruence,
2) The adolescent should have the cognitive capacity to understand the short/long term implications of the procedure on their physical, sexual, and mental health,
3) The adolescent needs to be made aware of the current state of the medical evidence to support the intervention to improve clinical outcomes.
None of these criteria are currently being met.
Historical follow-up studies of children referred to gender clinics found that a majority no longer met criteria for gender dysphoria or no longer identified as transgender by adolescence or early adulthood, with some cohorts reporting desistance rates above 80%. Most youth and their parents are unaware of these statistics.
Pursuing an irreversible surgical intervention for a potentially transient state of gender incongruence is not prudent and potentially, gross malpractice.
Adolescence is characterized by continuing maturation of the prefrontal and associated cognitive-control networks responsible for impulse control, planning, evaluation of long-term consequences, and self-regulation. This maturation lags development of reward- and emotion-responsive neural systems, making adolescents particularly susceptible to impulsive decision-making when choices are emotionally salient or promise immediate relief or reward.
This immaturity of neural development places youth with gender incongruence at extremely high risk for fraught decisions based on social media, peer pressure, and an ideologically driven medical profession.
Among adolescents with gender dysphoria/incongruence, gender transition has not been objectively documented to reduce severe psychiatric morbidity compared with otherwise similar adolescents who do not undergo it.
There is only very low- or low-level evidence to suggest benefit and most of the pertinent studies were subject to significant bias.
Even in the case of less irreversible medical interventions to “affirm gender” choice, a large Finnish national-register study with a low risk of bias did not show lower psychiatric morbidity among youth treated.
There is not even moderate level evidence to suggest that medical/surgical intervention prevents suicide.
The notion that it is “better to have an alive son rather than a dead daughter” is one of the most egregiously manipulative examples of medical advice in the history of the profession.
And how much emphasis is there in the informed consent process on the adverse outcomes from “gender affirming” surgeries? There is virtually no information on these surgeries in minors but one can extrapolate from adult data.
Are they made aware that masculinizing chest surgery is associated with a 7.3% complication rate and 10.9% risk for revision surgery? Are they made aware that phalloplasty is associated with a 76.5% complication rate and that 55% return to an inpatient hospital, emergency department or ambulatory surgical center for a phalloplasty related complication? Are they made aware that a vaginoplasty is associated with a 6.7% risk of wound breakdown, 3-10% risk of vaginal stenosis/contracture, 5% risk of urethral injury, 2.3% risk of rectal injury, 2.5% risk of a fistula (hole) between the urethra/vagina, and a 1% risk of a fistula (hole) between the vagina and rectum? Are they aware that 7% will need a revision to address urethral complications and 4-5% will need rehospitalization and reoperation?
Are they aware that besides the immediate surgical challenges and complications, that there is substantial risk for irreversible infertility, loss/change of breast or genital sensation, lifelong dilation after canal vaginoplasty, donor-site morbidity/scarring after phalloplasty, multiple planned operations, prosthesis replacement/failure, or the consequences of later wishing to reverse the procedure?
For all these reasons, the evidence-based voter would support Prop 135 to protect vulnerable minors.
Ad hominem attacks on proponents of Prop 135 are beneath @MarioNicolaiEsq He should stick to the merits of the arguments: 1) The medical professional society (American Society of Plastic Surgeons) responsible for gender surgeries has publicly acknowledged that they should not be performed on teens less than 19. 2) The desistance rates for teens who identify as trans is greater than 80% - making irreversible surgery not only unnecessary but arguably malpractice, 3) The known surgical complication rates for gender surgery is substantial (greater than 76% for phalloplasty) while the benefits of gender surgery (chest masculinizing) is limited to very low-level survey evidence prone to bias. 4) Adolescence is characterized by continuing maturation of the prefrontal and associated cognitive-control networks responsible for impulse control, planning, evaluation of long-term consequences, and self-regulation. This maturation lags development of reward- and emotion-responsive neural systems, making adolescents particularly susceptible to impulsive decision-making when choices are emotionally salient or promise immediate relief or reward.
Propositions 134 and 135 would make Colorado the “Hate State” again coloradosun.com/2026/10/25/p… via @coloradosun
This post highlights the confusion the abortion industry sows to garner sympathy for elective induced abortion. TREATMENT OF A MISCARRIAGE IS NOT AN ABORTION.
Dearest @KarlieInCali, you didn't have an abortion. You needed miscarriage care.
Zero pro-life laws prohibit care for miscarriages. And no one in the pro-life movement belives removing a dead child along with pregnancy tissue should be banned.
The difference between miscarriage care (a spontaneous abortion) and an induced abortion is a beating heart.
Your child tragically died and for that I'm very sorry, but please stop using the unintentional death of your child to advocate for the intentional death of millions of children with heartbeats.
Prolife advocates may endorse specific policies of Trump or his administration. However, to maintain even a shred of credibility, they need to denounce him when he lies, uses profanity, is cruel and vindictive, speaks or acts in a misogynist manner, supports violence against immigrants, celebrates capital punishment, is cozy with murderous dictators/authoritarians, and undermines our standing in the democratic world. Any self-indentifying "prolife" politician who doesn't do this does not deserve our votes. Public office is a privilege and not a right. Only virtuous people - based on their actions and not simply their words - should be elected if we want our country to flourish. #Trump #copolitics
This is how a Republican should act - not like the disgraceful manner in which Trump treats the victim of brutal aggression. Democrats and Republicans need to unite behind a virtuous cause - supporting this crucial ally as we can and applying maximal economic pressure to make Putin relinquish his violent imperialistic goals.
I will be speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team this week to discuss Starshield, sanctions, and other matters pertaining to the defense of our strong ally, Ukraine. I will be assuring President Zelenskyy that anyone who attempts to limit the use of Starshield for Ukraine will be fully investigated and will be held fully accountable, to include public congressional oversight hearings, and immediate harsh and punitive budget cuts to any responsible agency or agency head.
Congress will unequivocally reaffirm that Ukraine is an indispensable ally to the United States, that Russia is a self-declared enemy of the United States, and that the United States will 100% support and defend the people of Ukraine in their fight for their own freedom against this brutal, illegal, and unprovoked Russian invasion.
The United States must provide any and all defensive equipment that Ukraine needs to defend itself. The United States must not import a single drop of Russian oil. Sanctions against the Russian regime must be harsher and stronger than they’ve ever been before. Each and every one of these items will be brought to the House Floor—and each and every one of these items will pass on the House Floor by an overwhelming margin.
This is, after all, what Ronald Reagan would do. And this is what we will do now. Ukraine can, and will, defeat Russia. #PeaceThroughStrength
I hope that common sense prevails. 134 protects the integrity of women sports and 135 protects the dignity and life of those with gender incongruence who might face irreversible consequences from a surgical intervention for which there is not even low-level evidence that it is beneficial. If you love trans kids, you should support 135.enewspaper.denverpost.com/sh…
Stop dehumanizing preborn babies. Killing human beings is a human rights violation. Accompany women in challenging pregnancies and reject killing as a solution. Abortion harms the physical, mental and spiritual health of women - and men.
