American psychiatrists set to declare that pedophilia is not a mental disorder

Reports say that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) is considering destigmatizing pedophilia and removing it from the Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

According to news reports, at a recent conference by the APA, psychiatric professionals deliberated on removing pedophilia from the DSM.  Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel Action who attended the conference said, in an interview with OneNewsNow.com:

The entire focus of the event was on the victimhood of the pedophile…[and there was] very little concern for the children who are the victims of these individuals when they are raped, who these individuals lust after.

Opponents of the move have alleged that  B4U-ACT, a pro-pedophile activists group is supporting the  APA conference which includes panelists from Harvard University, the John Hopkins University and the Universities of Louisville and Illinois. Howard Kline, the sciene director of B4U-ACT, had criticize the definition of pedophilia by APA, describing it as "inaccurate" and "misleading." According to  Howard Kline in a July 25 press release:

It [the classification of pedophilia as mental disorder] is based on data from prison studies, which completely ignore the existence of those who are law-abiding…The proposed new diagnostic criteria specify ages and frequencies with no scientific basis whatsoever…The Diagnostic and Statistical of Mental Disorders (DSM) should meet a higher standard than that…

B4U-ACT, on their website, say that pedophilia is just a sexual orientation and argue that the "stigma" associated with it is unfair. The statement on the B4U-ACT website argues that:

No one chooses to be emotionally and sexually attracted to children or adolescents. The cause is unknown; in fact, the development of attraction to adults is not understood.

Matt Barber claims that APA is already close to declassifying pedophilia as mental disorder with the argument that  "pedophile is only a pedophile … if they are distressed by their attractions or behaviors."

The American Psychiatric Association is very unpopular in conservative social circles  because they are seen as having contributed significantly to the success of the gay pride movement through their unanimous vote to endorse same-sex marriage, and have contributed to 11 amicus briefs since 2004 in court cases favoring same-sex marriage.

JohnThomas Didymus

Transmodernist writer and thinker. Author of "Confessions of God: The Gospel According to St. JohnThomas Didymus"

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  • http://www.houseofbetazed.com Mriana

    I haven't heard this until now and quite frankly, I'm not sure how to take this. It would seem pedophilia is a mental illness and what they do to children does cause psychological problems. This really bothers me greatly.

    Just read a link… Destigmatization pedophilia? No way in hell! These guys are SICK and deserve to be demonized. What the hell are they thinking? What about the victims of these sickos? They can't be serious!

  • http://www.goddiscussion.com/ admin

    It kind of creeped me out, too. This is a situation that creates victims who may be scarred for the rest of their lives, so there is an element of intent to harm in this behavior, I would think. Since I'm not trained in psychology, I don't know what the criteria for mental illness is, but this just doesn't seem right.

    Deborah

  • Lee B.

    The APA can play whatever games of semantics it chooses to on this matter. The act of sexualizing children… generally before the agreed upon age of majority… will still be considered criminal and will not be tolerated by society in general. This is one slippery slope I believe all but the most ideologically twisted and deviantly opportunistic are going to avoid. If you happen upon any of the comments from the brain trust at the conference in question, it was clear that predators were being packaged as victims and children as objects. A good chuckle was had by many when sex with a child was considered no more shocking than sex with a shoe. Hilarious!!!

    • http://www.goddiscussion.com admin

      This is the key for me: Victims.

      I don't understand what motivates pedophilia, but one thing is clear, acting on it does not result in victimless crime. I agree with you Lee, no matter how it is perceived from a psychological viewpoint, pedophilia will always be considered criminal because there are real victims — the kids, not the perpetrators.

      Deborah

      • http://johnthomasdidymus.blogspot.com JohnThomas Didymus

        you hit the nail on the head deborah, your rights end where another person's begins