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Alliance Defending Freedom: 2017 anti-transgender strategy meetings

by Andrea James Reviewed October 1, 2026 3 min read

In 2017, American faith-based legal advocacy ministry Alliance Defending Freedom held strategy meetings to cultivate anti-trans “experts” to participate in lawsuits and legislation affecting trans and gender diverse people.

Attendees

Sometime before October 24, 2017, ADF held a strategy meeting in Arizona led by ADF lawyers Gary S. McCaleb and Jeffrey Alan Shafer.

Participants included members, staff, and advisors of American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds), Catholic Medical Association (CMA), and Heritage Foundation.

Confirmed attendees included:

Unconfirmed attendees included:

  • Ryan T. Anderson (Heritage)
  • Allan Josephson (in later testimony Paul Hruz stated we “first met and became experts… at a conference sponsored by the Alliance Defending Freedom”)
  • Stephen B. Levine (in later testimony Patrick Lappert stated “if you were to tell me that Dr. Levine was at that conference I wouldn’t argue with you about it.”)

Boe v. Marshall

REQUEST NO. 43: Produce all Communications and Documents regarding the Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine (“SEGM”), the American College of Pediatricians, 4th Wave Now, Transgender Trend, Michael Laidlaw, MD, William Malone, MD, Paul Hruz, MD, Quentin Van Meter, MD, Julie Mason [sic], MD, Stephen Levine, MD, Andre Van Mol, MD, Michelle Cretella, MD, Deborah Soh [sic], Abigail Schrier [sic], Jesse Singal, and Hilary Cass.

Notes:

Ryan T. Anderson is unconfirmed per leaked ACPeds minutes listing “Ryan T.” as an attendee.

Allan Josephson is unconfirmed per later testimony of Paul Hruz, which stated Hruz and Josephson “first met and became experts… at a conference sponsored by the Alliance Defending Freedom”

Stephen B. Levine is unconfirmed per later testimony by Patrick Lappert, who stated “if you were to tell me that Dr. Levine was at that conference I wouldn’t argue with you about it.”

Leaked meeting minutes from the American College of Pediatricians on November 21, 2017 state: “Highlights from Dr. Cretella from the ADF Strategy Meeting as relayed to her from Dr. Van Mol and Dr. Zanga: Essentially, attorneys are using our position statement, interviews, etc to craft legal challenges. I’ve been invited onto conference call that will occur in December for further details.”

References

(November 19, 2017). Statement Against the ADF. Detransitioned Women Resist the ADF https://detransitionedwomenresistadf.wordpress.com/

Jones, Zinnia (May 17, 2023). The far-right law firm Alliance Defending Freedom offered a Florida anti-trans hate group $15,000 to “refute” the WPATH Standards of Care “for use in litigation.” Medium https://zinniajones.medium.com/the-far-right-law-firm-alliance-defending-freedom-offered-a-florida-anti-trans-hate-group-15-000-1e826248ea3

Decl. of Cortlin H. Lannin in Supp. of Joint Mot. of Nonparties Am. Acad. of Pediatrics, World Pro. Ass’n for Transgender Health & Endocrine Soc’y to Quash Rule 45 Subpoenas, Boe v. Marshall, No. 2:22-cv-00184-LCB-CWB (M.D. Ala. Dec. 27, 2022), ECF No. 208-2 https://transgender.agency/files/boe-v-marshall/208-2.pdf

Hart, David Cary (December 12, 2017). [Alliance Defending Freedom] developed a stable of anti-LGBT “expert” witnesses. Slowly Boiled Frog via Southern Poverty Law Center / Hatewatch https://www.splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/alliance-defending-freedom-developed-stable-anti-lgbt-expert-witnesses/ https://www.slowlyboiledfrog.com/2017/12/adf-developed-stable-of-anti-lgbt.html [archive]

Levin, Sam (November 21, 2024). Revealed: trans rights case at US supreme court features doctors previously discredited by judges. The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/21/supreme-court-trans-rights-doctors-testimonies-bias

American College of Pediatricians (November 21, 2017). EC Conference Call Minutes. https://trans.so/acpresearch/Updated_Review%20of%20EC_CC_minutes_11.21.17.pdf

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