The problem is that no amount of reviews pointing out the lack of evidence backing this treatment, or increasing numbers of nations restricting the treatment, will stop these zealots.
They have no interest in facts.
The only thing that will stop them is a successful law suit with massive damages awarded.
Unfortunately that will be too late for many children and their families.
But your relentless reporting of the issue Bernard, certainly helps to bring the day forward to when this litigation starts. And perhaps the current case in the family court might also help kick start the process.
I may be fooling myself but I think no matter how unreceptive the political system seems, it can change suddenly. As we’ve seen in other controversies, there can totally unexpected events that transform things overnight. Who would have predicted that Nicola Sturgeon’s career would be destroyed over gender ideology?
The evidence supporting the affirmative model of gender ‘care’ is second-year medical student stuff. It does not come even near constituting an evidence-base for doing what they do!
The long-term studies (20-30 years post transition) confirm greater and misery, morbidity and mortality in the transition cohort compared with normal population.
The scary part for those involved in implementing and promoting the this stuff is the litigation resulting from those who, with modest legal representation, could convince the court that irreversible sterilisation and surgical mutilation in an otherwise healthy child, all those years ago, was wrong.
The Australian Parliamentary website lists the qualifications and occupations of all Federal Politicians prior to their entry into politics. Herewith is a copy of the reference to Mark Butler, our Federal Health Minister, as it appears in the website:
LLB(Hons) (University of Adelaide).
MIR (Deakin University).
BA(Juris) (University of Adelaide).
Union official from 1992 to 2007.
Union Official: He has never had any exposure to any occupation even vaguely relating to a health discipline.
The advice provided to Butler in relation to the ‘lack of robust evidence . . . . . “, etc would seem more than adequate to seriously question the ethics of what was being done to children.
The influence of the RCH into decision-making following the Cass report is something that required a seasoned professional to be able to understand and generate an appropriate response. For an ex union official to be placed in such a position is absurd.
Butler had neither the training, experience or wisdom to navigate the complex machinery that has allowed the affirmative model of ‘gender care’ to flourish in Australian while the rest of the world has seen it for what it is.
I remember when Tom Roper was the Victorian Minister for Health, there was the issue of blue asbestos in trains. Tom did not wish to deal with it and stated blue asbestos was 'only' as harmful as passive smoking, suggesting that he understood little about either. However, the blue asbestos was removed. In Butler's case it appears he initially supported the confirming model for whatever reason, and when faced with the Cass Report, and did what many people do with cognitive dissonance, rationalised.
The adherents of these appalling medical practices are adept at obfuscation - from the use of deliberately ( and childishly ) euphemistic terms such as top and bottom surgeries to the pretence that the Cass report is inapplicable because of our alleged multi-disciplinary approach. The issue is the negligent administration in Australia of dangerous experimental treatments to Australian children knowing they lack any scientific evidence of efficacy; the fact that we have negligent teams of multi-disciplinary practitioners complicit in this makes it worse and more inexplicable. It most certainly does not make it okay and answers none of the fundamental objections to this so-called ‘care’.
The RCH/Telfer note to Brendan Murphy should come in handy some day soon. When clinicians are blaming right wing media and conservatives for causing harm - alarm bells should ring.
Yes , such comments from Telfer just openly demonstrate that , as the lead clinician, she, along with her colleagues, bask in the confidence that they have the health bureaucracy , and the minister,in their pocket. There being of course, plenty of reason for the activists to remain pretty much quarantined against any plausible threat of serious challenge, at least for as long as the ALP remains in power. Their 2018 federal conference enshrined “ gender affirmative care” as health policy, which remains in place and under party rules, takes policy precedence over all State Labor jurisdictions. So , unlike England, we function as a federation, which will require serial State challenges to extricate our profession’s feet from the ideological sticky paper. Queensland has the opportunity to lead the charge if some members can champion a bill through the next State Parliament to protect both future vulnerable children, and also protect dissenting clinicians from the current punitive “ anti conversion “ legislation.
I haven’t lost the capacity to be shocked by the wilful resistance of so many politicians and bureaucrats to being objective and exercising caution in the advice given. What happened to misleading ministers being a sackable offence?
Dr Develin's understanding has the authenticity, depth and sophistication of a sheet of laminate. What is her competence in health policy? All I find are references to her moving around energy portfolios and positions (and frequent moves don't spell confidence to me). Did she even read the Cass report and note the damning critique of Australian clinics? There should be new protocols for public servants at senate estimates. They should be required to name the sources of their "understanding" including briefs by their activist underlings. And they should be subject to instant dismissal if they lie or push ideologies or agendas instead of impartially serving the government of the day.
The statement that Australian gender clinics already follow the Cass recommendations in their multi-disciplinary model is embarrassing. There is zero point in there being a multitude of disciplines when they all follow the same 'no questions asked' affirmation model. So utterly bizarre.
The lack of evidence of puberty blockers is correct , but the key problem was poor assessment of kids presenting; some were prescribed puberty blockers within 15 minutes!
Where was the proper detailed history-taking? There are 100 reasons kids may be distressed including bullying, sexual abuse, parental problems, drug and alcohol abuse etc etc, while social media tells them “you are born in the wrong body” !
Poor medicine and poor Psychiatry (written by a Psychiatrist!)
The truth is the truth… despite the ideological destructions is currently unaware by many and deliberated by a few…as long as there are nonconformity …awakening of the mass will arrive..As proven in history, lies could not behold forever by all, truth prevails and would be revealed suddenly…
The problem is that no amount of reviews pointing out the lack of evidence backing this treatment, or increasing numbers of nations restricting the treatment, will stop these zealots.
They have no interest in facts.
The only thing that will stop them is a successful law suit with massive damages awarded.
Unfortunately that will be too late for many children and their families.
But your relentless reporting of the issue Bernard, certainly helps to bring the day forward to when this litigation starts. And perhaps the current case in the family court might also help kick start the process.
I may be fooling myself but I think no matter how unreceptive the political system seems, it can change suddenly. As we’ve seen in other controversies, there can totally unexpected events that transform things overnight. Who would have predicted that Nicola Sturgeon’s career would be destroyed over gender ideology?
Hopefully you are correct Bernard.
The evidence supporting the affirmative model of gender ‘care’ is second-year medical student stuff. It does not come even near constituting an evidence-base for doing what they do!
The long-term studies (20-30 years post transition) confirm greater and misery, morbidity and mortality in the transition cohort compared with normal population.
The scary part for those involved in implementing and promoting the this stuff is the litigation resulting from those who, with modest legal representation, could convince the court that irreversible sterilisation and surgical mutilation in an otherwise healthy child, all those years ago, was wrong.
The Australian Parliamentary website lists the qualifications and occupations of all Federal Politicians prior to their entry into politics. Herewith is a copy of the reference to Mark Butler, our Federal Health Minister, as it appears in the website:
LLB(Hons) (University of Adelaide).
MIR (Deakin University).
BA(Juris) (University of Adelaide).
Union official from 1992 to 2007.
Union Official: He has never had any exposure to any occupation even vaguely relating to a health discipline.
The advice provided to Butler in relation to the ‘lack of robust evidence . . . . . “, etc would seem more than adequate to seriously question the ethics of what was being done to children.
The influence of the RCH into decision-making following the Cass report is something that required a seasoned professional to be able to understand and generate an appropriate response. For an ex union official to be placed in such a position is absurd.
Butler had neither the training, experience or wisdom to navigate the complex machinery that has allowed the affirmative model of ‘gender care’ to flourish in Australian while the rest of the world has seen it for what it is.
Well, the minister would understand the concept of medical negligence. Otherwise, he should have officials who themselves are well briefed.
Unfortunately, many Australian politicians have been given portfolios in which they have little or no background.
I remember when Tom Roper was the Victorian Minister for Health, there was the issue of blue asbestos in trains. Tom did not wish to deal with it and stated blue asbestos was 'only' as harmful as passive smoking, suggesting that he understood little about either. However, the blue asbestos was removed. In Butler's case it appears he initially supported the confirming model for whatever reason, and when faced with the Cass Report, and did what many people do with cognitive dissonance, rationalised.
The adherents of these appalling medical practices are adept at obfuscation - from the use of deliberately ( and childishly ) euphemistic terms such as top and bottom surgeries to the pretence that the Cass report is inapplicable because of our alleged multi-disciplinary approach. The issue is the negligent administration in Australia of dangerous experimental treatments to Australian children knowing they lack any scientific evidence of efficacy; the fact that we have negligent teams of multi-disciplinary practitioners complicit in this makes it worse and more inexplicable. It most certainly does not make it okay and answers none of the fundamental objections to this so-called ‘care’.
The RCH/Telfer note to Brendan Murphy should come in handy some day soon. When clinicians are blaming right wing media and conservatives for causing harm - alarm bells should ring.
Yes , such comments from Telfer just openly demonstrate that , as the lead clinician, she, along with her colleagues, bask in the confidence that they have the health bureaucracy , and the minister,in their pocket. There being of course, plenty of reason for the activists to remain pretty much quarantined against any plausible threat of serious challenge, at least for as long as the ALP remains in power. Their 2018 federal conference enshrined “ gender affirmative care” as health policy, which remains in place and under party rules, takes policy precedence over all State Labor jurisdictions. So , unlike England, we function as a federation, which will require serial State challenges to extricate our profession’s feet from the ideological sticky paper. Queensland has the opportunity to lead the charge if some members can champion a bill through the next State Parliament to protect both future vulnerable children, and also protect dissenting clinicians from the current punitive “ anti conversion “ legislation.
I haven’t lost the capacity to be shocked by the wilful resistance of so many politicians and bureaucrats to being objective and exercising caution in the advice given. What happened to misleading ministers being a sackable offence?
Dr Develin's understanding has the authenticity, depth and sophistication of a sheet of laminate. What is her competence in health policy? All I find are references to her moving around energy portfolios and positions (and frequent moves don't spell confidence to me). Did she even read the Cass report and note the damning critique of Australian clinics? There should be new protocols for public servants at senate estimates. They should be required to name the sources of their "understanding" including briefs by their activist underlings. And they should be subject to instant dismissal if they lie or push ideologies or agendas instead of impartially serving the government of the day.
The statement that Australian gender clinics already follow the Cass recommendations in their multi-disciplinary model is embarrassing. There is zero point in there being a multitude of disciplines when they all follow the same 'no questions asked' affirmation model. So utterly bizarre.
The lack of evidence of puberty blockers is correct , but the key problem was poor assessment of kids presenting; some were prescribed puberty blockers within 15 minutes!
Where was the proper detailed history-taking? There are 100 reasons kids may be distressed including bullying, sexual abuse, parental problems, drug and alcohol abuse etc etc, while social media tells them “you are born in the wrong body” !
Poor medicine and poor Psychiatry (written by a Psychiatrist!)
The truth is the truth… despite the ideological destructions is currently unaware by many and deliberated by a few…as long as there are nonconformity …awakening of the mass will arrive..As proven in history, lies could not behold forever by all, truth prevails and would be revealed suddenly…
Let’s talk about this in a synchronous chat not just email.
Erica