A French gynecologist has been sanctioned by medical authorities after a trans activist group reported him to the Minister of Equality for comments which they deemed to be “transphobic.” Dr. Victor Acharian, who operates in the Pau region, has been prohibited from practicing medicine for five months, with an additional one-month probationary period.
In August 2023, a trans-identified male and his partner visited Dr. Acharian’s office in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. After a few minutes of waiting, the secretary told the man that the doctor had refused to see him.
The trans-identified male allegedly shouted, “You’re transphobic!” while leaving the clinic. According to Dr. Acharian, the patient then began reacting violently to the refusal and insulted the staff.
In response, the doctor remarked that his practice was only open to patients who were “real women.”
“SIR, I am a gynecologist, and I take care of real women. I have no skills to take care of MEN, even if they have shaved their beards and come to tell my secretary that they [have] become women. My GYNECOLOGICAL examination table is not suitable for examining men. You have specialized and very competent services to take care of men like you,” Acharian wrote, emphasizing his text with capitalized letters.
On December 16, 2024, the Conseil National de l’Ordre des Médecins sentenced Acharian to a five-month suspension, followed by a one-month probationary period. During that time, if the gynecologist is found to have engaged in transphobia or denied another trans-identified male patient, he would be sanctioned again.
Trans activist organization SOS Homophobie posted a statement to their website suggesting that the doctor’s actions were potentially “also punishable by criminal sanctions.”