The physician husband of Rhode Island GOP candidate for governor Ashley Kalus has used plastic surgery to aid the transition of transgender women — a practice at odds with growing opposition among Republicans to transgender rights.
Dr. Jeffrey Weinzweig promoted a specialty in facial feminization surgery when Kalus and he lived in Illinois, and he previously advertised on the internet with the URL femmesurgery.com.
According to the program for a 2016 conference, Weinzweig was slated to present on “Facial Feminization Surgery: Advanced Craniofacial Techniques.” An advertisement in a program for a different conference in 2016 called Weinzweig “one of the foremost international experts in plastic surgery. In fact, he is one of the only leading craniofacial surgeons in the United States with a special interest in performing FFS.”
Kalus’ campaign declined to make her available for an interview.
In a statement, Kalus said, “Throughout his career, my husband has performed craniofacial work on thousands of patients, including adult, transgender patients. Jeff has helped adults live their lives in the way in which they saw fit. If you support liberty and freedom, you should respect an adult’s right to choose their own path.”
Republicans in Congress, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, have rallied behind proposals to unwind protections for transgender people, “setting a playbook,” Reuters reported, “for action on a divisive social issue should they take control of Congress this fall.”
Different GOP proposals would block federal money to colleges that allow transgender women to play sports with cisgender women, target medical providers, and block funding to schools that permit teaching about LGBT themes.
The Republican Governors Association, which supports Kalus in her challenge to Democratic Gov. Dan McKee, has aired ads accusing Kansas Democrat Laura Kelly of supporting a “radical transgender agenda.”
An estimated 5% of young adults, and 1.6% of the U.S. population, identify as transgender or non-binary, according to the Pew Research Center. Pew also found that 64% of Americans support policies that protect transgender individuals from discrimination in jobs, housing and in public places including restaurants.
Some observers believe the GOP’s focus on transgender issues is based on a desire to motivate evangelical voters.
In Rhode Island, hundreds of supporters of transgender rights staged a counter-demonstration outside a Cranston library during a “gender ideology” forum last month.
Kalus blamed Gov. Dan McKee’s campaign for The Public’s Radio story about her husband’s work with transgender patients, saying, “We knew for weeks this was coming from his camp.” However, The Public’s Radio did not learn of the story from McKee’s campaign or people associated with the governor.
Kalus spokesman Matt Hanrahan added, “Ashley’s husband, Dr. Jeffrey Weinzweig, is a world-renowned craniofacial surgeon. Among various positions he’s held, Dr. Weinzweig was the Director of Research at Brown University School of Medicine – Division of Plastic Surgery, served as the Chief of Craniofacial Surgery at Illinois Masonic Medical Center, and was the Director of the Craniofacial Anomalies Program at Tufts Medical Center. In addition, Jeff and Ashley’s nonprofit, Komedyplast, has organized 15 mission trips to Peru to treat children born with craniofacial anomalies – some life threatening. Dr. Weinzweig is the very best in his field and is in the process of writing his seventh medical textbook.”
Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis@ripr.org
