The swell against bad gender policy must continue

Dr David Gillespie, federal member for Lyne, has labelled gender affirmation practices as “gender voodoo” at the book launch of Devasted: How gender ideology is tearing Australian families apart. (ADD link)

The MP has been representing the seat of Lyne for the past 12 years. He has 33 years experience as a medical practitioner in country NSW. It is his opinion that gender ideology, especially for children, is not backed by evidence-based research or data and that it breaches the golden rule of medicine, “First, do no harm.”

Dr David Gillespie, who spent 33 years in medical practice before he entered federal politics as a National Party member, said he had been “flabbergasted” to be in Australia’s parliament when “eminent doctors and professors” whom he had thought “sensible people” declared their support for “gender-affirming care.”

Dr Gillespie welcomed “the current groundswell against bad policy, unevidenced medical therapy, [and] the removal of parental rights in favour of voodoo gender theory.”

“It is really a societal nightmare, and we’ve got to keep fighting back.”

He contrasted the bad old days of “leeches and cupping” with the rise of evidence-based medicine, double-blind controlled trials and placebos—“all the things that we built our profession on, but then, all of a sudden, for this particular subset [of paediatric gender medicine], it’s all thrown out the window.”

“It's really a blot on the medical profession… I just didn’t realise how far advanced it got.

“[I don’t understand] why New South Wales Health and other state health departments haven’t responded like the grown ups in the UK, and even in Holland, which is very progressive, and in Scandinavia.”

The UK and many Nordic countries have all banned or paused the use of puberty blockers due to harmful side effects. Senator Pauline Hanson and Senator Alex Antic have tried several times to introduce bills to investigate the harmful use of such drugs but have been thwarted every time by the current Labor government. The Nationals MP also suggested the current trend is a result of the long slow march of Marxism in our culture.

“So if you can turn over, you know, what is a male, what is a female … and it’s arbitrary—boy, that is a powerful, socially destructive policy.”

He said the Gillard government’s “humble little change” to the Sex Discrimination Act—a 2013 amendment imported the idea of “gender identities” unmoored from biological sex—had given “legal substance” to this deconstruction.

“The legal profession is now totally confused and they feel they’re going to get harangued if they speak out against it.”

Dr Gillespie advised those campaigning for reform of gender medicine to try to persuade legislators, although he stressed they had “only so much bandwidth” and many policy areas to focus on.

“If you’re not here, in the [parliamentary] building where the nation’s kitchen ingredients [are put together] you end up being on the menu. So, having a presence in the building counts.”

“So if you can turn over, you know, what is a male, what is a female … and it’s arbitrary—boy, that is a powerful, socially destructive policy.”

He said the Gillard government’s “humble little change” to the Sex Discrimination Act—a 2013 amendment imported the idea of “gender identities” unmoored from biological sex—had given “legal substance” to this deconstruction.

“The legal profession is now totally confused and they feel they’re going to get harangued if they speak out against it.”

Dr Gillespie advised those campaigning for reform of gender medicine to try to persuade legislators, although he stressed they had “only so much bandwidth” and many policy areas to focus on.

“If you’re not here, in the [parliamentary] building where the nation’s kitchen ingredients [are put together] you end up being on the menu. So, having a presence in the building counts.”

Politicians are pressured on every side by lobby groups and special interest factions. It is up to us to communicate clearly, and loudly, when it comes to issues this vital to women’s sex-based rights, parental rights and especially the safeguarding of children.

Thanks to Dr Gillespie, the National party has adopted the policy position to reinstate the definitions of male and female back into the Sex Discrimination Act after the Gillard government removed such protections for sex in 2013.