Comment by Isla MacGregor
Cassy O’Connor’s recent call for Premier Jeremy Rockliff to ban the Free Speech Alliance Australia forum at Parliament House on conversion therapy laws is regrettable.
Democracy can only flourish when there is informed, robust and respectful free debate. The Tasmanian Law Reform Institute final report on the issue has not received any scrutiny by the media. Many in the community view that some of the TLRI recommendations seek to restrict the freedom of speech of many in the community, particularly health and legal professionals, teachers and parents.
The TLRI Report has advocated a model of care for young people struggling with gender dysphoria, the ‘affirmative model’, a model of care that has been thoroughly reviewed and abandoned in Finland, Norway and most recently in the UK.
The Free Speech Alliance Australia forum sought to provide some much-needed balance to this debate by providing a platform for those who wish to speak to the fundamental flaws in the ‘affirmative model’ of care. Across Australia, many children diagnosed with gender dysphoria have been fast-tracked through medical transitioning, without addressing other underlying psychological issues. When parents have expressed concerns, they have been threatened with loss of their parental rights, attacked and vilified by activists.
Many health and legal professionals have been threatened with retaliatory action if they publicly speak out. Experts have commented on numerous critical omissions in the Tasmanian Law Reform Institute’s Conversion Practices SOGI Final Report. The report did not discuss any of the real risks and harms which many detransitioners have reported on after being fast tracked through medical transition. An increasing number of those who have detransitioned are taking legal action against clinicians and clinics.
Ms O’Connor has shown that the Greens have little respect for the most fundamental of human rights, freedom of speech. Important child health issues demand robust, respectful and vigorous debate where both sides of the argument can be reported on impartially.
The Free Speech Alliance is committed to raising public awareness of the complexity of this issue. On complex public health and legal issues such as anti-conversion laws, we need to put the spotlight on the elephant in the room – the very real risks and harms from the ‘affirmative model’ of care.
- Isla MacGregor is from the Free Speech Alliance Australia
Source: The Examiner
https://www.examiner.com.au/story/7994838/robust-and-respectful-free-debate-is-vital