When Medicine Forgets to Do No Harm – “The Sermon of Hippocrates” by Caroline Éliacheff and Céline Masson
- La Petite Sirène
- Apr 25
- 5 min read
Trad. Chat GPT
In “The Sermon of Hippocrates”, Caroline Éliacheff and Céline Masson denounce the ideological excesses of trans-affirmative medicine, particularly in the treatment of minors—practices they view as contrary to traditional medical ethics and responsible for serious physical and psychological harm. Drawing on concrete cases, historical analysis, and the Cass Report, they advocate for a rigorous remedicalization rooted in psychology, clinical caution, and the protection of the child.
A review by Emmanuelle Hénin.
Publié le 9 avril 2025 - Emmanuelle Hénin - Observatoire d'Éthique Universitaire
An Ideologically Influenced Medicine
Following their first book, The Making of the Transgender Child (2022), psychologists Caroline Éliacheff and Céline Masson (a child psychiatrist and a university professor, both psychoanalysts) return with another hard-hitting critique. In The Sermon of Hippocrates, they warn against the ideological drift of contemporary medicine, particularly trans-affirmative care for minors. According to the authors, this form of medicine has strayed from its ethical foundations. The core principle of the Hippocratic Oath, primum non nocere ("first, do no harm"), has been replaced by pro bono agere("act for the good").
They note that some medical schools have altered the original Hippocratic Oath, written in the 4th century BCE. For instance, since 2022, the University of Connecticut School of Medicine has introduced a DEI-inspired version, removing the "do no harm" clause and replacing it with: "I pledge to identify and mitigate my own biases," and "I will actively support policies promoting social justice." The University of Minnesota has asked students to pledge allegiance to Indigenous medicines, referencing racism, and Columbia University has done similarly. For proponents of woke morality, abandoning a foundational 2,500-year-old text of Western medicine is a mere detail in a broader dismantling of traditional anthropology.
Children Sickened by Ideology
The Sermon of Hippocrates is divided into seven factual and detailed chapters exploring why the over-medicalization of minors with gender issues has become so prevalent. The first chapter introduces the reader to the suffering of these youth through the dual journals of a teenage girl (ages 13 to 18) and her father, who resists both medical advice and activist pressure from an organization called "L'Abri." Within a 20-minute consultation, the confused teen is diagnosed with gender dysphoria, prescribed puberty blockers, and set on a transition path—without any exploration of the root cause of her distress. Thanks to her father’s resistance, she eventually reconciles with her birth sex and avoids what Abigail Shrier has called "irreversible damage." But for every positive outcome, how many minors are permanently harmed in the name of "doing good"?
The second chapter recounts the censorship faced by the authors since their first book: harassment, threats, canceled lectures, public calls for book burnings, and vandalized cafes. As vocal critics of the trans-affirmative approach for minors, they founded L’Observatoire La Petite Sirène and submitted a bill on youth gender transition in 2024, which was passed by the French Senate.
"Orvietism": Medicine in Service of Ideology
Chapter 3 introduces a neologism: orvietism, derived from "orvietan" (a miracle remedy peddled by charlatans at fairs under the Ancien Régime). Orvietism is defined as a rhetorical imposture wrapped in scientific jargon, moralizing metaphors (e.g., transphobia, patriarchy), euphemisms (e.g., "top surgery" for mastectomy), biological denial, victimhood narratives, and hyperbole ("do you want a live boy or a dead girl?").
Historical examples of orvietism include:
Lysenkoism, where Stalin-backed Trofim Lysenko dismissed genetics as bourgeois and claimed to apply Marxist dialectics to nature, leading to the execution of dissenting scientists.
Egas Moniz, Nobel Prize winner in 1949 for promoting lobotomy to treat psychosis, a procedure that left many patients severely impaired—including Rosemary Kennedy.
Medicalization of homosexuality, treated as a mental illness until 1973, resulting in forced treatments, hormone therapies, and surgeries.
Hysteria in women, once "treated" with genital mutilation during the 19th century.
The authors argue that current trans surgeries and hormone therapies replicate similar ideological logics under new terms. According to political scientist Pierre-André Taguieff, eugenicists and transhumanists share a belief in improving future generations by reshaping human nature—a desire rooted in eliminating the limits of power.
A History of Sex Reassignment Medicine
Chapter 4 recounts the history of sex reassignment medicine, from Magnus Hirschfeld’s early surgeries in the early 1900s to the Nazi atrocities of Gohrbandt, to Paul McHugh’s 1975 closure of Johns Hopkins’ gender clinic. It tracks the ideological shift within the WPATH, particularly post-1997, when transactivists gained control and replaced psychological assessments with self-identification as the main diagnostic criterion.
The Dutch Protocol (1987) began with strict criteria but rapidly relaxed them: puberty blockers now start as early as age 8, cross-sex hormones at 14, with parental consent considered optional. Side effects such as osteoporosis, stunted brain development, and near-certain progression to hormone therapy are well documented.
Transversion and Posthumanism: A New Ideological Human
The authors coin another neologism, transversion, to describe the ideological perversion underpinning gender identity debates. Inspired by oppressor-oppressed dialectics, it leads to individual totalitarianism and a criminalization of biological sex. The context needed for this includes sociopolitical crises and democratic decay—what philosopher Bruno Chaouat calls the "sadism of virtue."
The WPATH’s Standards of Care (SOC-8) remove age limits and ethical guidelines, pushing for unrestricted access to transition treatments. In 2024, a U.S. court in Alabama exposed manipulated evidence within SOC-8. Lawyers had drafted the standards to be legally unassailable, and Health Secretary Rachel Levine allegedly pressured authors to remove age minimums.
Pedomisia: The Righteous Hatred of the Child
Chapter 5 introduces pedomisia, a term describing ideological child hatred, including abuse and pedophilia. Inspired by Lacan’s "hainamoration," it critiques modern medicine’s transformation into a service industry promoting pleasure at all costs. Mastectomies are performed on girls as young as 12. The authors estimate the U.S. gender industry to be worth $200 billion for 1.4 million individuals.
Sex education materials promoted by WHO suggest informing children as young as 0-4 about bodily pleasure and masturbation. The authors link these to radical pedophile ideologies of the 1970s. They note the contradiction between the legal age of consent and the promotion of early medical transition.
The Cass Report: A Return to Clinical Ethics
Chapter 6 covers the Cass Report (April 10, 2024), the first major institutional challenge to trans-affirmative medicine. Pediatrician Hilary Cass conducted a systematic review of treatments for gender distress, interviewing patients, parents, and professionals. The report recommends banning puberty blockers, limiting hormone prescriptions, and prioritizing psychological care up to age 25.
The UK’s NHS adopted these recommendations, and the Labour government endorsed them. Cass was made a life peer for her courage. Her work influenced global discourse, including a shift in tone from outlets like the New York Times. In France, however, major media largely ignored the report—with Le Monde burying it and Le Figaro offering a detailed summary.
Puberty-Related Sex Anxiety: A Clinical Alternative
The final chapter presents Éliacheff and Masson’s alternative clinical proposal: puberty-related sex anxiety (ASP). Many symptoms attributed to gender dysphoria are also present in eating disorders, social anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, and autism. The authors recommend a psychological, rather than medical, approach—echoing the Cass Report’s conclusions.
Conclusion
This book is strongly recommended for parents of adolescents questioning their gender. It offers clear, evidence-based insights into the ideological underpinnings of trans-affirmative medicine. Together with L’Observatoire La Petite Sirèneand their legislative advocacy, this book is a crucial contribution to what the authors describe as the public health scandal of the century.
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