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Moti Gorin vs. transgender people

Moti Gorin is an American philosopher and anti-transgender activist. Gorin opposes US medical consensus on healthcare for gender diverse youth and consistently promotes like-minded activists.

Anti-trans activism is a family business: Gorin’s sibling is anti-trans philosopher Shlomit Gorin.

Background

Moti S. Gorin was born on May 25, 1975 to Luba Gorin and Bradley University sociology professor Zeev Gorin (1943-2008). Gorin grew up in Peoria, Illinois with a sibling.

Gorin earned a doctorate from Rice University in 2013 and a postdoctoral master’s degree from University of Pennsylvania in 2015.

Gorin is an assistant professor at Colorado State University and director of the Jann Benson Ethics Center. Gorin also collaborates with campus organizations focused on research integrity and compliance.

Gorin lives with partner Acacia A. Springsteen (born September 9, 1976) and their children, Imogen and Lev.

Anti-transgender activism

In an echo of 1979, Gorin is one of many activists pushing to restrict or eliminate trans healthcare for minors by seeking out the most conservative gatekeeping psychiatrists in the world, particularly in bureaucratic nationalized healthcare systems that consistently fail trans and gender diverse patients through long waitlists and cruel rules for access to care.

Gorin frequently defends other anti-trans activists in philosophy, like Alex Byrne and Holly Lawford-Smith.

Gorin was an invited speaker at a 2023 anti-trans conference organized by anti-trans hate group Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine.

Gorin and Alex Byrne contributed a chapter to Lawrence Krauss’ 2025 book The War on Science: Thirty-Nine Renowned Scientists and Scholars Speak Out About Current Threats to Free Speech, Open Inquiry, and the Scientific Process. The chapter is titled: “A Deafening Silence: Bioethics and Gender-Affirming Health Care.”

References

Quinn, Gwendolyn P.; Kearns, Lisa; Caplan, Arthur (November 22, 2022) Pediatric Gender Care: Absence of Evidence Is Not Absence of Efficacy. Bioethics Forum https://www.thehastingscenter.org/pediatric-gender-care-absence-of-evidence-is-not-absence-of-efficacy/

Sylte, Allison (November 8, 2021). New Center for Ethics and Human Rights to tackle world’s most pressing issues. Colorado State University https://source.colostate.edu/csu-center-ethics-human-rights/

Weinberg, Justin (February 26, 2021). Philosopher Launches Anti-Trans Website; Colleagues & Others Object. Daily Nous https://dailynous.com/2021/02/26/philosopher-launches-anti-trans-website-colleagues-others-object/

Coverage in anti-trans press

Sapir, Leor (Dec 15 2023). Who Counts as an Expert? City Journal https://www.city-journal.org/article/who-counts-as-an-expert

Selected anti-trans writing by Gorin

Gorin, Moti; Byrne, Alex (2024). A Deafening Silence: Bioethics and Gender-Affirming Health Care. In Krauss, Lawrence [editor]. The War on Science, Post Hill Press, ISBN 979-8888457566

Gorin, M., Kulatunga-Moruzi, C., Joffe, A. R., & Cohn, J. (2025). Ethical Care Necessitates Synthesizing the Best Available Evidence. The American Journal of Bioethics, 25(6), 73–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2025.2497990

Gorin, M., Smids, J., & Lantos, J. (2025). Toward Evidence-Based and Ethical Pediatric Gender Medicine. JAMA, 333(10), 841. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2024.28203

Gorin, M. (2024). [Letter] Gender, Pediatric Care, and Evidence. Hastings Center Report, 54(5), 34–34. https://doi.org/10.1002/hast.4916

Gorin, M., & Smids, J. (2024). [Letter] Errors, Omissions, and Pediatric Gender Medicine. The American Journal of Bioethics, 24(12). https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2024.2416143

Gorin, M. (2024). What Is the Aim of Pediatric “Gender‐Affirming” Care? Hastings Center Report, 54(3), 35–50. https://doi.org/10.1002/hast.1583

  • Campo‐Engelstein, L., Jackson, G. R., & Moses, J. D. (2024). [reply] Breaking Binaries: The Critical Need for Feminist Bioethics in Pediatric Gender‐Affirming Care. Hastings Center Report, 54(3), 55–56. https://doi.org/10.1002/hast.1591

Caraballo, A. (2022). The Anti-Transgender Medical Expert Industry. Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 50(4), 687–692. https://doi.org/10.1017/jme.2023.9

Gorin, Moti (November 17, 2022). The Cure for Politicized Pediatric Gender Care. Bioethics Forum https://www.thehastingscenter.org/pediatric-gender-care-the-cure-for-politicized-medicine-is-evidence-based-medicine/

Gorin, Moti (2023). Review: Gender-Critical Feminism. The Philosophers’ Magazine Issue 99, 1st Quarter 2023, Pages 90-94 https://doi.org/10.5840/tpm20239921

Gorin, Moti (November 17, 2022). The Cure for Politicized Pediatric Gender Care. Hasting Center Bioethics Forum https://www.thehastingscenter.org/pediatric-gender-care-the-cure-for-politicized-medicine-is-evidence-based-medicine/

Gorin, Moti (June 2013). The Nature and Ethical Significance of Manipulation. https://repository.rice.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/cb8ee1ce-395b-4525-b7a2-19d264a72284/content

DIAG Democrats with “Ellie,” Tomas Bogardus, Moti Gorin, and Leor Sapir (Jul 30, 2024). Where Ethics Meets Medicine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNynWLIwRu0

Media

The Origins Podcast with Lawrence Krauss, Moti Gorin, and Alex Byrne (August 11, 2025). Alex Byrne & Moti Gorin on Philosophy’s Silence Around Pediatric Gender Care | War on Science. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcJeAarichc

Holly Lawford-Smith (Feb 2, 2025). Explainer | “Gender-Affirming Care” | Moti Gorin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J96Sf37-krc

Brain in a Vat with Mark Oppenheimer, Moti Gorin, and Holly Lawford-Smith (Apr 21, 2024). Paediatric Gender Medicine | Moti Gorin and Holly Lawford-Smith. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV7W5SoKrBg

Holly Lawford-Smith (Dec 17, 2022) Electric Agora | Moti Gorin & Holly Lawford-Smith discuss Gender-Critical Feminism (2022). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoAFyyiOrWo

Resources

Colorado State University (libarts.colostate.edu)

X/Twitter (x.com)