In a new bombshell essay published by the Free Press, another whistleblower came forward against the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), alleging what AAPLOG has long known to be true: Ideologues run the show, not science.
AAPLOG has continuously pointed this out over the years, as ACOG has tripled down on induced abortion policy misinformation, published incoherent responses to pro-life arguments, and generally misled on maternal medical care.
This time, however, an unlikely whistleblower came forward to call out ACOG’s transgender care guidelines.
Board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Karla Solheim previously served as the chair of the Iowa section of ACOG for a year and a half. She identified as someone who “placed immense faith and trust in the institutions that guided my profession.”
However, that all changed in March 2026, when ACOG leadership essentially told her to step down or keep her opinions to herself. Given the choice to resign from her position as chair or stop publicly criticizing ACOG’s endorsement of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s (WPATH) guidelines for transgender medical care, Dr. Solheim walked away.
In her work, Solheim had been at the center of the transgender debate, practicing at a LGBTQ+ clinic a few times a month, which she later learned was basically a “gender clinic,” where their main service was hormone “therapy” and surgery. When she left the clinic due to scheduling reasons, they still continued to refer their patients to her.
For a time, carrying out these prescriptions and “gender-affirming” hysterectomies made sense to Solheim. Her patients had all been biological women who were seeking to transition and planned to be on lifelong testosterone treatment. While she noted that these surgeries were a major medical procedure, with the risk of death, Solheim wrote:
“I thought the medical basis for these procedures was plausible: lifelong testosterone treatment could cause uterine complications, and in addition, it made sense to me that seeing menstrual blood, or even knowing they had a uterus in their bodies, could cause these patients profound anguish. I presumed that the benefits of a hysterectomy in these cases outweighed the risks.”
In 2023, a patient encounter of a different kind began to change Solheim’s mind. The woman was an early 20-something, perfectly healthy, nonbinary and yet presenting “very much like a conventional woman,” who was not intending to undergo a full medical transition. Her case caused Solheim “a deep sense of anxiety.”
“I couldn’t understand how her request was any different than asking for an elective hysterectomy—a surgery that has no medical justification, and against which ACOG strictly recommends. I began to reflect on this patient, and all the other patients who had come through my door asking for me to remove their uteri. Why was it that for a healthy young person it would be nearly impossible to get their uterus removed without an underlying medical issue, but if one were simply to identify as a man with no other plans to transition—or even just say they are nonbinary—the surgery is freely available?”
As Solheim dug further into the literature on gender transitions, she became convinced the research basis of “gender medicine” both for adolescents and adults was fraudulent. She authored an essay calling for OB/GYNs to hold to “the highest, most rigorous and data-driven standards of care when treating patients with gender dysphoria, even if it means having to admit we had previously been misguided.”
For her convictions, she was ousted in a 20-minute meeting by ACOG Vice President Rachel Pittman. She wryly noted that the same day, ACOG awarded the Iowa section the State Legislative Advocacy Award for her work to recruit and retain OB/GYNs in the state. A week earlier, Solheim had also been recognized with a service award and asked to give a presentation in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, her story is just another example of how ACOG prioritizes dogma over science and sound patient care.
AAPLOG remains committed to research-driven, life-affirming medical practice and continues to speak out when ACOG eschews truth for both induced abortion and gender ideology. We encourage you, if you are still an ACOG member, to let them know your thoughts on their positions on both of these issues.
