Medical experts panel will use facts to counter antigay claims

The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association this week announced the formation of the GLMA Medical Experts Panel, a group designed to counter antigay claims about gay men and lesbians with scientific facts. The panel will rapidly disseminate evidence-based materials to volunteer members and medical experts who have received media and speaker training. As issues around lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health arise in public policy, the media, and scientific literature, panel members will be available to comment on relevant health issues in local and national media as well as in academic settings, GLMA said in a statement. "Over the past few years we have increasingly seen outrageous, untruthful claims about the health and well-being of LGBT persons and families used as justifications for discriminatory public policy," says Joel Ginsberg, executive director of GLMA. "The GLMA Medical Experts Panel aims to counter such bigotry with scientific fact." Creation of the panel was supported by a $25,000 grant from the Gill Foundation. The group will conduct an inaugural forum on June 9 in New York City that will address end-of-life choices and health care directives. The discussion, titled "What If Terri Schiavo Were Gay?" will be held at 6:30 P.M. at the Swayduck Auditorium at the New School, 65 Fifth Ave. Panelists will include Stephen Goldstone, MD, a GLMA medical expert; Hayley Gorenberg of Lambda Legal; Florent Morellet of Compassion and Choices; and David Lachmann, a spokesman for Democratic U.S. representative Jerry Nadler of New York.