Email sent to Robert Inglis on 19.06.25
Dear Robert,
I read your story in The Mercury today
Controversial Liberal candidate Julie Sladden should be dismissed, Labor says
Did you read copy of Women Speak Tasmania’s Media Release below sent to the Mercury yesterday or did it not reach you in time for your story?
You will see from our Media Release the context of the letter that both Doctors Julie Sladden and Rachel Bradley signed contains very important information for Tasmanians on recent medico/legal decisions and reports that have direct consequences for the Guidelines currently being used for gender distressed youth at the Tasmanian Gender Service (TGS) and the ‘affirmation planning’ being delivered to primary and secondary school children by trans lobby group Working It Out.
We understand that an election is on but that does not preclude the Mercury from continuing to cover issues in the public’s interest especially as these issues concern child health and safeguarding. Health risks for gender distressed children seeking treatment at the Tasmanian Gender Service that could result in:
“Invasive treatments such as puberty blockers, cross sex hormones and surgery hold known and potential risk of harm. These include sterility, urogenital and sexual dysfunction, effects on bone, brain and cardiovascular health”.’
Needless to say, RTI documents that we received from the TGS and alerted to the Tasmanian media last year, have confirmed that the TGS:
* continues to use the discredited affirmative care model even though the model is currently being reviewed by the NHMRC. This was at the direction of the federal Health Minister Mark Butler earlier this year in response to the Cass Review and pressure from an increasing number of health and legal professionals.
* continues to prescribe a puberty blocker banned in the UK
* is not conducting any ongoing assessment of patients undergoing medical treatments
* After raising concerns over Informed Consent procedures at the TGS in a meeting in March with the Minister for Health Jacquie Petrusma, the Minister informed WST that the TGS is currently conducting a review of their Informed Consent procedures.
While your article appears to be generated by Labor MLC Sarah Lovell over Julie Sladden’s suitability to stand as a Liberal, it was not unexpected to read her attempts at slurring Julie Sladden for a litany of spurious allegations including being: ‘anti-vaccination, anti-Tasmanian, anti-trans and anti-Liberal.’
It is regrettable that slurs such as these get the airing in the media that they do, because they do little other than sool people on in order to further polarise and sensationalise debates. Rather than encouraging impartial reportage of the medico/legal aspects of the controversy as matters in the public interest. But, as we also know, slur tactics used so typically by those hell bent on discrediting whistleblowers. And in this matter, Drs Sladden and Bradley are most definitely the whistleblowers.
The full copy of the Letter from health professionals made available to the Mercury would enable readers to understand just how important this information is to the whole Tasmanian community amidst the rapid increase in young people struggling with gender dysphoria.
Some few years ago WST met with former Editor of The Mercury Craig Warhurst to discuss trans rights activist journalist Kenji Sato’s appallingly biased reportage in numerous interviews he did with WST members. Alarmingly, Craig Warhurst advised us that to report our point of view would ‘hurt’ trans people.
Well, as this debate evolves, what we do know, is, that not reporting this issue is not only hurting gender distressed children and adults, but hurting their families and communities as well.
It leaves the Mercury, and other media in Tasmania, as culpable for withholding information that could have benefitted young people in order to make better informed decisions on their future health and wellbeing.
WST is available for comment on any matters concerning the impacts of sex self ID laws on women, children and LGB people, free speech and hate speech laws.
Kind Regards,
Dr Elizabeth Caballero (retired GP)
Women Speak Tasmania
