The American Booksellers Association has apologized for mailing an advertisement to members for a book that argues transgender acceptance is harming young women, saying the mailing goes against "everything we believe and support."

"Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters" by Abigail Shrier has been praised in conservative media but fiercely criticized by LGBTQ advocates and many medical professionals, who argue its conclusions are not based on science. The author claims that gender transition has become an "epidemic" and her book "will help you understand what the trans craze is and how you can inoculate your child against it—or how to retrieve her from this dangerous path," according to the publisher's description.

ABA included a copy of the book and a sell sheet in a promotional box sent to 750 bookstores, according to Publishers Weekly. Several recipients quickly took to Twitter to condemn the mailing, with one transgender bookseller telling ABA: "Do you know how that feels, as a trans bookseller and book buyer? It isn't even a new title, so it really caught me in the gut. Do better."

ABA issued an apology within hours of the tweets. "This is a serious, violent incident that goes against ABA's ends policies, values, and everything we believe and support. It is inexcusable," the association tweeted. It pledged to take further action in the next three weeks, PW reported.

Promotional boxes have long been a perk of ABA membership, the publication noted. Publishers pay the organization to mail out advance copies of books along with sale sheets, bookmarks and other materials.

The backlash over "Irreversible Damage" is the second time in the past two weeks the association has come under fire. In a letter to members, ABA CEO Allison Hill apologized not just for the book mailing but a separate indecent in which the group mistakenly included a photo of a Black "right-wing extremist" in a listing for an anthology of contemporary stories by Black writers.

"We traumatized and endangered members of the trans community," Hill said. "We erased Black authors, conflated Black authors, and put the authors in danger through a forced association. We further marginalized communities we want to support."

MORE CEO DATELINE

• Finseca begins merger talks with life insurance advisers group
• Manufacturers partner with psychologists in worker-retention study
• Groups seek mandatory vaccinations for health care workers
• Education groups seek doubling of Pell Grants
• Entomology society removes 'gypsy' from insect names