7 Comments
User's avatar
Elizabeth's avatar

Thank you for this, Bernard.

I was one of the parents interviewed. It is heartening to read your analysis, and have your accessible and learned take on the entirety of the report. Easier to digest, plus I trust your professional understanding and sound interpretation.

Thanks

Bernard Lane's avatar

It is a strange report. Much of it is “he said/she said but we sit in the fence”. To me it shows the extent of ideological capture & confusion in higher ed & the bureaucracy.

Vincent Keane's avatar

While the Australian Medical Association (AMA) strongly supports gender-affirming care it is appropriate to question the Association’s record in advising the public as to the efficacy and safety of medical interventions. Does the AMA have a flawless record in relation to recommending a model of care?

The answer seems to be ‘not always’:

The AMA’s endorsement and marketing of Intravaginal Sling device (IVS) to treat pelvic dysfunction in women has been referred to as ‘the Worst medical scandal since Thalidomide’

I reference a couple of news articles that outline the disaster that followed the treatment endorsed and marketed by the AMA.

https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/australian-medical-association-president-confirms-ama-was-role-in-pelvic-mesh-scandal-20170822-gy1hzj.html

https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/life-after-mesh-one-patient-s-harrowing-experience

Given the magnitude of the damage done by the IVS device it would be reasonable to expect that the AMA would adopt a most cautious approach to treating children (a cohort heavily burdened with mental health comorbidities) with a cocktail of hormones and followed up with mutilating surgery and lifelong.

Andrew Orr's avatar

Such sequential failures you have illustrated Vincent, we might have once put down to dreadful oversights , but the most recent one , of support for gender affirming care in minors , screams infiltrated social activism

Jillian Stirling's avatar

I thought it was a confusing report. It is obvious to us on the outside that to medicate and mutilate otherwise healthy children all their lives is not a good or helpful way to manage a psychological condition. It’s a bit like the vaccine debate.

Bernard Lane's avatar

There was no sense at all of surprise at what’s been happening.

Jillian Stirling's avatar

Indeed. Surely we don’t need Frankenstein experiments when the data is out there.

A blessed Christmas to you and yours.