A South Australian academic says medical experts can no longer be trusted on transgender health because they’ve misled the public over the covid pandemic and abortion figures.
Dr Joanna Howe from the University of Adelaide appeared on Sky News Outsiders on Sunday to share her views on a call for a parliamentary inquiry into transgender healthcare in the South Australian parliament, linking the issue to abortion and the covid pandemic.
Last week a push for an inquiry from independent MP Frank Pangallo failed to get support in the South Australian parliament after the Labor government used their numbers to prevent the motion going ahead.
The proposal from the South Australian MP follows similar attempts for an inquiry by One Nation in the federal parliament, and independent MP Moira Deeming in Victoria. Liberal senator Alex Antic has also put forward a proposal for a ban on health care for transgender youth.
Speaking about his party’s decision to oppose the motion, by not allowing members to have a free vote, South Australian Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas said transgender people lives didn’t need to be part of the “culture wars”.
“I am not too sure if a parliamentary inquiry that would be highly political in nature and that would only seek to perpetuate the culture wars is the best way to do a proper examination of medical policy,” Malinauskas said last week.
“These are questions of science in terms of best practice and medicine as distinct from a political forum for people to prosecute the culture wars which I think people know I’m not particularly keen on.
“I would much rather any sort of examination of this to be done in a methodical policy-based way based on the science and best available medical advice.
Dr Howe, who is a Rhodes Scholar and law professor at the University of Adelaide, said she was disappointed in the Premier’s actions.
“It’s incredibly disappointing that cancelled the inquiry on the basis it would be too political. He said that it would get too political to have an inquiry into this issue and he said that we should trust the ‘so called’ medical experts, but as anybody who has lived through the last three years knows you can’t trust the medical experts.”
“We know that the medical peak bodies have been captured by radical activists trying to pursue their agenda.”
Dr Howe, whose expertise is largely in migration law, is also an anti-abortion activist. She said that prior to South Australia changing its abortion laws there had been assurances that it was unlikely there would be terminations beyond 35 weeks of pregnancy, but recent figures had shown it had occurred at least eight times.
The academic said the combination of mistrust of abortion laws and issues that had arisen over Covid information, showed that medical experts could not be trusted on transgender health either.
“We were told then to trust the medical experts, we were told in the pandemic to trust the medical experts, but its 2024 and all of us know when they say, ‘trust the medical experts’ they actually mean trust the activists who don’t want us to think for ourselves and just want to shut down us asking genuine questions.”
The legal scholar said the government was not supportive of a parliamentary inquiry because it would not be able to control who appeared before it. Dr Howe said she was concerned about the safety of children, highlighting that she herself has five children.
Ahead of the issue being raised in parliament Rebecca Galdies from the South Australian Rainbow Advocacy Alliance (SARAA) said gender affirming care should be left to medical experts and not politicians.
“We have some of the world’s leading clinicians and experts in transgender healthcare in Australia and they are best placed to make decisions about the kinds of care provided to young people.
“An inquiry would only generate unnecessary and damaging debates, causing harm to an already vulnerable group of people, when the evidence on the benefits of gender affirming care is clear and well-established.
While Dr Portia Predny, Vice President of AusPATH (the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health) said medical practitioners followed guidelines established through research and clinical evidence to ensure patient safety.
“Gender affirming care is essential medical care and research shows us that it has overwhelmingly positive impacts for trans and gender diverse people,” she said.
“The decision to undergo gender affirming medical care is a personal healthcare decision made by the patient, and in the case of younger people, with the support of their parents.
“It is facilitated by medical and other healthcare professionals who have knowledge, experience and expertise in this field of health care, and treatments are tailored to the individual and their needs.
“Gender clinics and gender affirming clinicians support patients to be able to explore their gender identity through a variety of means, including through social and legal pathways of affirmation, as well as medical treatments that help to alleviate a person’s dysphoria.”
Nicky Bath from LGBTIQ+ Health Australia echoed the view that research had already shown the gender affirming approach was appropriate.
“Gender-affirming care is crucial for the wellbeing of trans and gender-diverse young people, providing them with the opportunity to access lifesaving and life-affirming support,” she said.
“Studies consistently show that denying access to gender affirming care, and subjecting trans and gender diverse young people to hostility, negatively impacts their mental health. Depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicidality rates are a result of barriers to care, discrimination, and stigma.”
OIP Staff
Declaration: OUTinPerth editors Graeme Watson and Leigh Andrew Hill also work in the university sector.
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