Evidence-Based Founder Backs Autonomy

Updated: 2025.09.02 1M ago 5 sources
Dr. Gordon Guyatt, who created evidence-based medicine and the GRADE standard, reportedly signed a letter prioritizing patient autonomy even where evidence is very low in pediatric gender medicine. The critique argues this reverses the core EBM logic that recommendation strength should follow evidence quality. When founders validate autonomy-over-evidence, it legitimizes departures from the very guardrails they built. — Founder-level endorsement of autonomy in low-evidence settings signals institutional vulnerability to activist pressure and risks normalizing evidence-light care across medicine.

Sources

The taming of a gender researcher
Benjamin Ryan 2025.09.02 86% relevant
The article reports that Gordon Guyatt, co-founder of evidence-based medicine, disavowed SEGM funding, denounced using his team’s low-evidence reviews to justify bans, and contradicted his own findings under activist pressure—echoing the pattern where autonomy claims are used to override weak evidence in pediatric gender medicine.
McMaster University Fails the Bioethics Test
Joseph Figliolia 2025.08.29 95% relevant
The article centers on Gordon Guyatt and McMaster HEI researchers endorsing patient 'values and preferences' to guide decisions in low-evidence pediatric gender medicine, mirroring the claim that EBM founders legitimize autonomy-over-evidence in contested care.
The Disaster At McMaster Part 2: My Interview With Gordon Guyatt
Jesse Singal 2025.08.27 90% relevant
Gordon Guyatt explicitly argues that once a multidisciplinary team assesses maturity and understanding, a 14-year-old’s autonomy should be respected in youth gender medicine despite acknowledged evidence limitations—directly exemplifying the 'autonomy over evidence' concern.
The Broken Chain of Trust in Pediatric Gender Medicine
Leor Sapir 2025.08.27 66% relevant
Both pieces point to elite medical gatekeepers bending evidence standards in pediatric gender medicine—here, the AMA president defers to clinicians performing the procedures and misstates evidence, echoing the broader pattern that institutional leaders privilege values/authority over rigorous evidence hierarchies.
Autonomy Does Not Trump Evidence: A Response to Dr. Gordon Guyatt
Dr. Eithan Haim 2025.08.21 100% relevant
Guyatt’s recent letter with colleagues apologizing and deferring to patient autonomy in pediatric gender care, as described by Dr. Eithan Haim.
← Back to All Ideas