Bernard Lane
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Journalist covering the international debate over youth gender clinics | May contain traces of poetry | Email genderclinics@gmail.com
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Articles by Bernard Lane
Invading the domain of science Original
In January, a four-year-old model of care for the gender clinic at Perth Children’s Hospital finally reached daylight. After months of resistance, the Western Australian government had tabled the document in parliament. It showed that the public clinic will connect interested girls under 18 who identify as boys with private surgeons for double mastectomy—“top surgery”—while placing “personal responsibility” on the child and her family.
Irregular regulator Original
When your view is skewed by gender ideology … Photo by Girl with red hat on Unsplash Inside info The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency has uncritically embraced the contentious gender-affirming worldview as part of developing its “LGBTQIA+ Equity and Inclusion Strategy”, judging by documents obtained under Freedom of Information law. Joe Goddard-Williams, state manager for Victoria and co-chair of the steering committee for the strategy, has been upfront about a personal interest.
Doctor’s defence Original
Physician, arm thyself! Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash Armour for dissidents Doctors in trouble for criticising the “gender-affirming” treatment model can invoke in their defence a landmark statement from Children’s Health Queensland (CHQ) recognising the legitimacy of debate about this model, according to lawyer John Steenhof.
Confusing the innocent Original
Photo by Uday Mittal on Unsplash Australia now has a confused generation of teenagers raised in the shadow of gender identity divorced from biological reality, according to Professor Emerita of Psychology Dianna Kenny. She was addressing a women’s rights rally in Sydney’s Martin Place held on Sunday to protest amendments to the federal Sex Discrimination Act in 2013. The definitions of “man” and “woman” were removed from the law.
Puberty blockers unleashed? Original
Affirmative taxpayers? A former president of Australia’s transgender medical lobby has claimed that puberty blocker drugs will now attract federal subsidies under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). “So, the maximum monthly price will be $25! That’s right, you read it correctly! These are scripts that can be written by GPs [in primary care],” Brisbane GP Fiona Bisshop, a past president of the lobby group, the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health, said on Facebook.
Signs and symptoms of fraud Original
By any other name America | US hospitals and clinics have been referred to the Trump Administration’s Department of Justice for possible breaches of federal law following a report on potentially fraudulent insurance claims for paediatric medical transition. The Wolves in White Coats report, commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), identifies US$50 million in insurance claims for puberty blockers billed with the misleading diagnosis of “endocrine disorder, unspecified”.
Doubting Dutch Original
Photo by Luna Wang on Unsplash Psychology first Only 5 per cent of people polled in the Netherlands—home to the puberty blocker-driven Dutch protocol for paediatric gender transition—support the use of these drugs to interrupt a child’s normally timed puberty.
Two hats
Photo by Raphael Renter | @raphi_rawr on Unsplash Comment | Professor Christine Kilpatrick, who trained in neurology, occupies two positions that might make any thoughtful person somewhat nervous. Since 2024, she has chaired the board of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. And she became chair of the board at the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Melbourne on July 1 last year. The Commission is a health sector watchdog agency.
Blockers on trial Original
Renunciation United Kingdom | The puberty blocker trial recommended by the Cass Review can go ahead following the failure of a legal challenge to ethical and regulatory approval of the trial. Some 226 minors with “gender incongruence” and under the age of 16 are to be recruited, and randomly assigned to two groups: the first receiving blockers straight away, the second after 12 months.
Sorry for the sorry Original
Apologies then, regrets now Australia’s nursing federation has published a “clarification” following its decision to apologise and retract a journal article by mental health nurse Jason Watson, who had cited peer-reviewed studies to challenge the alarmist “trans youth suicide narrative”.
Blowback
Photo by Iryna Limborska on Unsplash Transition for toddlers Italy | An affirmation-only guide, which offers a case study of social transition for a three-year-old Italian boy and advises paediatricians to refer teenagers to gender clinics “without judging” their requests, has had an unexpected effect.
Blowback
Photo by Iryna Limborska on Unsplash Transition for toddlers Italy | An affirmation-only guide, which offers a case study of social transition for a three-year-old Italian boy and advises paediatricians to refer teenagers to gender clinics “without judging” their requests, has had an unexpected effect.
Enough! Original
Out in the open Now we know that Australia’s public broadcaster, the ABC, refused to publish an opinion article by Sall Grover, who is fighting for the rights of women and girls in the Giggle for Girls v Tickle case. As disturbing as the Grover-ABC debacle is, the fact that it has played out in public provides an insight into the way the transgender ideology power dynamic works.
Sex strikes back Original
The gay and lesbian critique There is no recognized body of “gender-critical” gay and lesbian writing analogous to gender-critical feminism. Like gender-critical feminism within the broader feminist sphere, the gender-critical stance is a minority view among gay men and lesbians, and one that tends to be held by an older generation.
V is for validated Original
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez đ¨đŚ on Unsplash Child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Jillian Spencer hopes that the end of disciplinary proceedings against her will encourage other Australian health practitioners to speak up about the harm to children of the gender-affirming treatment model.
Takedown Original
Nurses need to keep up to date with the latest in evidence-based medicine. Photo by Ani Kolleshi on Unsplash Unpublish Australia’s nursing federation, the country’s largest trade union, has issued two apologies and taken down a journal article that questioned the alarmist “transition or suicide” narrative relied on by activists. The article—titled “What are the facts regarding trans youth and suicide?
Complaint to global psychiatry body alleges Australian college is shutting down debate on gender medicine Original
Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash Going global A complaint that Australia’s college of psychiatrists has tried to shut down critical debate about “gender-affirming care” has been referred to the ethics committee of the World Psychiatry Association (WPA). A group of 13 psychiatrists claims that “punitive action” by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) against critics of the puberty blocker-driven, gender-affirming treatment model is “unprecedented”.
Silent treatment Original
Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash A good argument can be made for setting 26—roughly the age of cognitive maturity—as the minimum age for transgender surgery, according to a prominent American plastic surgeon. Dr Scot Glasberg, a past president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and its research arm the Plastic Surgery Foundation, made the remark on July 5 at a London conference on “Rethinking Youth Gender Medicine”.
Carry on regardless Original
Photo by Sabina Fratila on Unsplash The Health Council of the Netherlands has acknowledged the weak evidence for paediatric medical transition, the side-effects and uncertainty of hormonal interventions, as well as the unknown rate of patient regret, but concludes that treatment should continue.
Shouting down the science
Photo by Ole Kloth on Unsplash Shameful Pride Finland | Pride celebrations in Helsinki at the weekend included trans rights activists holding aloft a banner urging “Out with transphobia, down with Kaltiala. To Hell with Tuisku, Kettula, Ruuska and Heino”. These are the names of Finnish researchers whose scientific work has cast doubt on the dogmas of “gender-affirming care”. A photo of this activist call-to-arms was published by the widely read newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.
Flourishing amid uncertainty
Photo by Jordan Whitt on Unsplash The old expression “throwing the baby out with the bathwater” refers to accidentally discarding something valuable while trying to get rid of something unwanted. It is a useful metaphor for the current debate surrounding gender care. Most clinicians would agree that we needed to challenge and discard the old “bathwater” of pathologising homosexuality, enforcing rigid gender roles, disparaging gender nonconformity, and assuming that clinicians always know best.
Do No Harm Original
Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash What follows is, in my opinion, a well-articulated and moderate case for restricting further use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones with gender-distressed minors. Cory Bernardi, a minority party member in the Upper House of South Australia’s Parliament, delivered on Wednesday the second reading speech for his Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (South Australia) (Childhood Gender Dysphoria) Amendment Bill.
Gender fraud Original
Photo by Stormseeker on Unsplash One for the ages International | The new “rapid-onset” subtype of gender dysphoria should be recognised in the diagnostic manual DSM, according to a paper by clinical psychologist and researcher Dr Ken Zucker.
Transcaptive Original
Photo by Cecilie Bomstad on Unsplash The first step in reforming the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) is to make sure that its capture by the gender-identity worldview becomes widely known and understood. For this reason, we should welcome the recent series of articles in The Australian newspaper sheddinglight on this dark corner of trans activism where the regulator allows trans activists to misuse its complaintsprocess.
Too close for comfort
Photo by Rangi Siebert on Unsplash Signs of capture Officials in Australia have been dismissing complaints about gender-ideology bias while sending emails with “she/her” pronouns and a hyperlink to a radical trans website run by the lobby group ACON.
Guidelines in the balance
Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash Opinion | Australia has been promised interim advice on puberty blockers by the middle of 2026. Are these drugs effective for gender distress? Is it safe to suppress the natural puberty of teenagers?
Enough!
Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash Vanessa Spiller After 24 years of membership, I have left the Australian Psychological Society (APS), Australia’s peak professional body for psychologists.
Vanishing act Original
Photo by Fahrul Azmi on Unsplash Lost connection Singapore’s new and restrictive guidelines for youth gender dysphoria have disappeared from government webpages. A Ministry of Health (MOH) circular, with two separate treatment guidelines for children and adolescents attached, was uploaded last week to official, public webpages, including the Healthcare Services Act (HCSA) site.
Singapore joins the cautious club Original
Photo by Digby Cheung on Unsplash Red light Singapore has issued its first set of treatment guidelines for youth gender dysphoria, advising doctors against any hormonal or surgical interventions with patients under 18. The guidelines note the lack of high-quality evidence in the field and the concern that puberty blockers may lock in gender distress, making a transgender identity “inevitable” and preventing the re-embrace of birth sex.
Harm, in gender's name Original
Photo by Olivia Hibbins on Unsplash An obvious and unambiguous harm that arises from the capture of mental health therapeutic norms by gender theory, is the sterilisation, puberty blocker-induced sexual dysfunction, and the genital and mammary mutilation of minors.
Germany's AfD: Pause the blockers and hormones now Original
Photo by Sid Saxena on Unsplash ‘Halt the hormones’ The fast-rising German Opposition party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), has called for an immediate moratorium on puberty blocker drugs and cross-sex hormones for minors. “The Federal Government admits it has no idea of the risks of irreversible transitions among vulnerable young people with a high burden of co-morbidity,” said the AfD health policy spokesman Martin Sichert.
Gay history hijacked Original
Photo by Kilian Seiler on Unsplash Hidden agenda United Kingdom | The UK government’s promise of a “trans-inclusive” ban on unethical conversion therapy is misleading, according to the LGB Alliance. In its latest policy bulletin aimed at MPs, the alliance says: “Any act that might be considered a conversion practice is already illegal.
UN expert warns Australia over whistleblower psychiatrist
Dr Jillian Spencer, who had an unblemished record at her children’s hospital, felt she could not remain silent about risky gender medicine Case to answer The apparent targeting of the Australian whistleblower psychiatrist Jillian Spencer may breach international treaty rights to freedom of expression and scientific inquiry, according to United Nations independent expert Reem Alsalem.
Psyops
Photo by Jose A.Thompson on Unsplash We’re psychologists, not script-writing medicos, and so we don’t need to know that the evidence for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones is so weak that there is no firm basis for claiming these interventions improve the mental health of minors. My paraphrase, but that, in effect, appears to be the official line from the Australian Psychological Society (APS).
Inside job
Photo by Hirzul Maulana on Unsplash Comment In its new statement on gender dysphoria, the Australian Psychological Society promises it will “inform members of relevant advancements in the field”. But this is a document doctored to exclude the most significant development of recent times—the 2024 UK Cass report and a brace of gold-standard systematic reviews since 2018, all exposing the lack of good evidence for the “gender-affirming care” of minors.
Transition blues
Photo by Oliver Hae on Unsplash False advertising The mental health of young people appears to get worse after they undergo the hormonal and surgical interventions promoted by gender clinics as “lifesaving”, according to an unusually comprehensive study.
Transition blues
Photo by Oliver Hae on Unsplash False advertising The mental health of young people appears to get worse after they undergo the hormonal and surgical interventions promoted by gender clinics as “lifesaving”, according to an unusually comprehensive study.
Portugal on track to ban blockers
Photo by Shobhit Sharma on Unsplash What children are owed Children have a right to “full development” and the protection of their future life choices, according to a Portuguese draft law that would ban puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for gender-distressed minors.
Portugal on track to ban blockers
Photo by Shobhit Sharma on Unsplash What children are owed Children have a right to “full development” and the protection of their future life choices, according to a Portuguese draft law that would ban puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for gender-distressed minors.
Detransition in the spotlight
Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash Detrans clinic America | A non-profit medical clinic for US detransitioners is in planning, a historic meeting of 70-plus detransitioners hosted by Genspect in Washington DC has heard.
UK dismantles the Dutch protocol Original
Photo by Gaurav Jain on Unsplash Teen hormones on hold United Kingdom | The National Health Service (NHS) has announced it will pause new prescriptions of cross-sex hormones for minors, the BBC has reported. A small number of teenagers would be affected, according to the NHS. Activist group TransLucent said it would consider litigation against the decision.
Shutdown Original
Professor Riittakerttu Kaltiala: poor outcome data led her to reverse course on paediatric gender medicine Approved, until it wasn’t A talk to familiarise Australian family doctors with a safer treatment approach to youth gender dysphoria will not go ahead as planned after a medical college buckled to activist pressure.
Unfinished business Original
Photo by Jakob Rosen on Unsplash A group of 23 consultant psychiatrists has urged the UK government to pursue a follow-up study of the 9,000 minors seen at the London-based Tavistock gender clinic rather than persisting with the contentious clinical trial of puberty blockers. “There will be a lot we can learn from this cohort [of ex-Tavistock patients] and this should now be the priority,” the psychiatrists wrote in a letter to The Times newspaper on Monday.
Sleight of hand
Photo by Eva Wilcock on Unsplash There has been recent speculation within Australia and internationally that the numbers of young people identifying as trans or non-binary and who present to gender clinics and hospitals for gender transition interventions are declining.
Sleight of hand
Photo by Eva Wilcock on Unsplash There has been recent speculation within Australia and internationally that the numbers of young people identifying as trans or non-binary and who present to gender clinics and hospitals for gender transition interventions are declining.
Consensus shatters Original
Photo by Simon Maage on Unsplash Put down the knife The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) has become the first major US medical association to adopt a cautious stance on paediatric gender medicine, citing the weak evidence base and potential long-term harm to young people.
It's the biggest scandal of my time in medicine Original
Photo by Aedrian Salazar on Unsplash It must be confusing for mainstream people trying to make sense of the increasing coverage and complexity of the transgender issue in Australian society. They are well aware of past inequalities for women, the gay community and various racial groups both in the legal sense and in terms of their treatment in wider society.
High-risk meds
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash The prospect of gender clinicians having a legal defence against medical negligence actions will be influenced by Australia-wide treatment guidelines now being drafted, according to a report to the state government of Queensland. The independent review’s report, published on December 19, confirms that the evidence for the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones with gender-distressed minors is of low quality.
Laura's test case for Latin America
Photo by Flavia Carpio on Unsplash Rush to diagnosis Colombia | A young woman whose history of sexual abuse, depression, anxiety, self-harm and an eating disorder was allegedly ignored by gender clinicians has launched a test case against one of Latin America’s most famous private hospitals. Known as Laura, she was given testosterone at 15, followed by puberty blockers and a double mastectomy; she has since detransitioned.
Laura's test case for Latin America
Photo by Flavia Carpio on Unsplash Rush to diagnosis Colombia | A young woman whose history of sexual abuse, depression, anxiety, self-harm and an eating disorder was allegedly ignored by gender clinicians has launched a test case against one of Latin America’s most famous private hospitals. Known as Laura, she was given testosterone at 15, followed by puberty blockers and a double mastectomy; she has since detransitioned.
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