PHOENIX, Ariz.—Calling her Democratic opponent Katie Hobbs a “monster,” Arizona Republican candidate for governor Kari Lake accused Hobbs of promoting gender transition surgery because her husband is a child therapist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital (PCH).
“We just found out her husband [Patrick Goodman] is a child psychologist specializing in transitioning children. It makes sense now. Why would she push this stuff on our beautiful, perfect babies?” Trump-endorsed Lake said at a rally in Phoenix on Nov. 3.
“And her husband is making money, brainwashing our children into thinking they can be a different gender than when they were born. It is sick. It is twisted—and we cannot let this monster [Hobbs] anywhere near the government.”
Lake made her comments before a crowd of supporters at Foothills Golf Club in Phoenix. She vowed to push back on gender reassignment surgery in Arizona if elected governor on Nov. 8.
Lake said her opponent sponsored legislation introducing sex education in kindergarten as a form of “brainwashing.”
“We will not sit idly by while they try brainwashing our kids. We will not sit idly by while they talk about things that are never to be talked about with our children, like sex education in kindergarten. This is why we need some common sense.”
PCH currently offers a Gender Support Program dealing with issues affecting children’s “gender identity and expression.”
According to a program summary, “Every child has a different way of expressing gender ... some may express themselves in ways that are different from what we expect.”
“Many gender-expansive children are comfortable with the sex assigned at birth. However, there are times when a child may assert a gender identity that is different from, or not consistent with, the sex assigned at birth. They may also say they are [uncomfortable] with their physical sex characteristics.”
The program addresses concerns among three distinct groups: gender-expansive youth, who express a “wider, more flexible range of gender identity,” gender-questioning children, and transgender youth.
Patrick Goodman is a licensed mental health therapist “specializing in serving youth and families affected by trauma and grief” at the affiliate Phoenix Children’s Medical Group, according to the PCH website.
His services include “outpatient assessment, treatment planning, individual and family counseling services to youth ... dealing with medical issues with co-occurring emotional concerns.”
Goodman’s job description, however, does not mention gender transition.
In an undated document, Goodman’s name appeared among six program care providers in the gender support program at PCH as reported in The Daily Wire.
His name did not appear in the program description on Nov. 4.
Hobbs, the current secretary of state in Arizona, and PCH did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.
“They’re coming after our baby cubs. We’re not going to let them come after our children,” Lake said.
In late March, the Arizona Legislature passed two bills, SB138 and SB1165, prohibiting doctors from performing gender transition surgeries on minors and allowing biological males to participate in female sports.
“My heart goes out to the entire LGBT community, especially our youth, who are being targeted and discriminated against by their own government, and being denied their freedom of identity.
“They’ve stripped women of the freedom to choose, imposed new barriers to voting, and now they’re denying trans Arizonans the freedom to be their authentic selves,” Hobbs said in a statement after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R), signed both pieces of legislation.
These laws will have long-lasting and devastating effects on trans people, their families, and their communities.”
At Nov. 3’s rally, Lake said promoting gender affirmation surgery is “a nice way to say ’mutilate our children.'”
“I wonder if the fake news will cover it. Katie Hobbs is in the business of transitioning our children into a different gender. Let that sink in.”
