[3] A number of mainstream researchers, including the director of the US National Institutes of Health, have accused ACPeds of misusing or mischaracterizing their work to advance their own political agenda.

[1] ACPeds has struggled to attract members in the past, but in recent years has gained outsize political influence by "using conservative media as a megaphone in its quest to position [itself] as a reputable source of information."

The group gained national attention in 2024 for being one of the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit, FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, which sought to limit access to the abortion drug, mifepristone.

[11] In 2016 ACPeds reported its membership at "over 500 physicians and other healthcare professionals",[12][6] while leaked internal documents in 2023 identified approximately 1,200 current and former members with about 700 active.

"[14] In 2023, ACPeds was a plaintiff in the federal lawsuit, FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, which sought to limit access to the abortion drug, mifepristone.

[6][19][20] ACPeds has vehemently criticized the American Psychological Association as a "gay-affirming program" that "devalues self-restraint" and supports "a child's autonomy from the authority of both family and religion, and from the limits and norms these institutions place on children".

The ACPeds letter to the superintendents also stated that gender dysphoria will typically disappear by puberty "if the behavior is not reinforced" and similarly alleged that "most students (over 85 percent) with same-sex attractions will ultimately adopt a heterosexual orientation if not otherwise encouraged.

[10] In December 2023, ACPeds teamed up with the Catholic Medical Association (CMA) in the case American College of Pediatricians, et al v. Becerra which challenges president Joe Biden's executive order that sought to reinterpret the word "sex" in federal laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity, particularly in the Affordable Care Act.