Welcome to the website of the Yale School of Medicine Dean’s Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Affairs.

The Dean’s Advisory Council collaborates with other groups to cultivate visible supports and a vibrant, connected community of LGBTQI+ individuals and their allies at YSM. The Advisory Council helps guide the expansion of LGBTQI+ health research, and coordinates efforts to foster an inclusive, patient-centered environment in which tailored care is available for LGBTQI+ patients. Furthermore, the Advisory Council oversees initiatives that prepare our trainees to serve all of their patients with excellence, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The mission of the Dean’s Advisory Council on LGBTQI+ Affairs is to:

• Cultivate a vibrant, connected community of LGBTQI+ individuals and their allies at the School of Medicine
• Collaborate on medical education initiatives that prepare our trainees to provide high quality care to LGBTQI+ populations
• Provide support and mentoring for LGBTQI+ trainees as they progress through their studies and interact with various populations at the School of Medicine
• Expand LGBTQI+ health research at Yale
• Foster an inclusive patient-centered environment that effectively and compassionately addresses the needs of LGBTQI+ patients

The New York Times recently reported on a leaked memo from the Department of Health and Human Services indicating efforts by the current U.S. administration to change the legal definition of sex to an “immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth”. This proposal is at odds with the understanding of gender identity within the medical community that, based on a preponderance of evidence, recognizes that gender identity is not a rigid condition, does not always reflect one’s sex at birth, and is not strictly binary. The proposal also implies that chromosomes and anatomy are definitive, ignoring intersex individuals entirely. Such a definition fails to acknowledge the realities of our transgender, intersex, and gender non-binary patients, which undermines their health, obstructs efforts to address the health disparities they face, and facilitates further discrimination and lack of understanding. Such a change to the way sex is currently defined is a step backward and will be harmful to patients and the community. Therefore, we firmly reject the proposed change to the legal definition of sex.

Yale University and other organizations at Yale have issued clear statements denouncing the proposed change.

As health care providers, scholars, and educators at the Yale School of Medicine and across the medical campus, we will continue to provide and advocate for compassionate and evidence-based care to transgender, intersex, and gender non-binary patients, as we do for all patients. We will continue to pursue efforts to improve health outcomes for these patients and provide them with the highest quality of care due all of our patients. We are also willing to fight to uphold the current legal definition of sex as recognized by the U.S. government.

Sincerely,
The Dean’s Advisory Council for LGBTQI+ Affairs

Click here to sign your name in support of transgender, intersex, and gender non-binary patients