Be warned
Australia's health establishment has been alerted to the case for abandoning the 'gender-affirming' experiment on children
On notice
More than 100 Australian health practitioners have signed an open letter calling for an end to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery for gender-distressed minors.
The signatories include 24 fellows of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists; the distinguished medical scientist Dr T J Martin; 22 fellows of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners; paediatricians; psychologists and psychotherapists; nurses; former and current university professors; and 10 fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.
The letter urges professional bodies and regulatory authorities to recognise the risk of harm to vulnerable children and adolescents posed by the “gender-affirming” treatment model.
“Invasive treatments such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgery hold known and potential risks of harm. These include sterility, urogenital and sexual dysfunction, effects on bone, brain and cardiovascular health,” the letter says.
It argues that practitioners should be given clear advice to use “psychosocial support as the first-line intervention for young people with gender-related distress.”
Weight of evidence
In support of its case for a correction, the open letter cites England’s 2020-24 Cass review; the more cautious treatment policy adopted in Nordic countries such as Finland and Sweden since 2020; May’s Gender Dysphoria Report from the US Department of Health and Human Services; and the recently-updated psychology-first approach recommended by Australia’s National Association of Practising Psychiatrists.
The letter also notes the Cass review’s negative verdict on Australia’s de facto national treatment guideline—issued in 2018 by the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Melbourne—and April’s ruling in a puberty blocker case by Family Court Justice Andrew Strum, who was highly critical of RCH Melbourne and the gender-affirming model.
The open letter has been sent to numerous medical colleges, associations of psychologists, media outlets, and state and federal political leaders.
Australia’s federal Health Minister Mark Butler has ordered the National Health and Medical Research Council to review the RCH Melbourne treatment advice and develop new national guidelines.
In the state of Queensland, new treatment of gender-distressed minors with puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones has been paused in the public health sector, pending an independent review of the evidence.
Hi Bernard, thanks for the time and effort you put in. I have two suggestions/ comments
1 . “Psychosocial support” means little; what they need is “professional supportive psychotherapy”.
Evidence is that with that, most end up with their natal gender.
2. From discussion with the Qld psychiatrist who has been a whistleblower, and the Cass report, I believe a large part of the problem has been INADEQUATE ASSESSMENT; has this been woke “must just believe what kids say” ?; in Psychiatry things are rarely as they seem or as they first present.
Dr John Buchanan MBBS, MMed, DPM, FRACP, FRANZCP retired Consultant Psychiatrist
OUR MEDICAL INSTITIUTIOINS HAVE PPROMOTED THE ‘AFFIRMATIVE MODEL OF GENDER CARE’ IN A MOST INAPPROPRIATE & DANGEROUS MANNER -
In 1987 an Australian surgeon developed an Intravaginal Sling Device (IVS) to treat pelvic floor prolapse in women, a condition a that sometimes followed childbirth.
From 1998 the AMA acted as exclusive distributor for the device which was introduced without appropriate studies to confirm its efficacy and safety.
By 2002 the IVS was in widespread use in Australis the US and multiple locations globally.
Over time some women thus treated reported complications including chronic pain, urinary incontinence, dyspareunia, & migration of the device into the vaginal wall.
As its use spread globally so too did ever more reports of adverse outcomes. Surgical removal difficult due to migration & entangled with pelvic tissue.
Ultimately the IVS caused irreversible damage to thousands of women resulting in billions of dollars in legal settlements across multiple countries.
. . . . Fast forward more than two decades: The AMA has endorsed and promoted the ‘Affirmative Model of Gender’ and, as in the case of the IVS no studies had been undertaken to confirm the safety and efficacy of the. Wil they ever learn?
. . . as well as the AMA many of our prestigious medical organisations have fallen in line to support this nonsense.