Our silence is a telltale sign of a society in decline - Janet Albrechtsen
With the Covid pandemic top of mind, another is going largely unnoticed.
So it was shocking to see The Australian’s Janet Albrechtsen today shine light on what is happening to teenage girls exposed to the on-going contagious and virulent outbreak of LGBTIQA+ ideology.
Here’s what she told us:
A graph in the paediatrics volume of the Journal of the American Medical Association tracks the rate of double mastectomies from a survey of young adults and children at the Centre for Transyouth Health and Development at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in 2018. The highest rate was among 18 and 19-year-olds; the next highest was among 15 and 16-year-olds. Girls as young as 13 had their breasts removed too.
This should spark serious debate about what kind of process supports a young girl having irreversible surgery. And what consent looks like for a 13, 14 or 15-year-old. Our silence is a telltale sign of a society in decline, one that has lost the will and courage to ask uncomfortable questions to protect the most vulnerable.
In December last year Britain’s High Court said what many people are too frightened to suggest: that it is “highly unlikely” a child of 13 or under was “competent to give consent” to puberty blockers and it was “doubtful” that a 14 or 15-year-old child could “weigh the long-term risks and consequences” given the lack of evidence about the long-term effects of puberty blockers. The judges said that even for 16 and 17-year-old children, it might be best for the courts to have an oversight role.
The point Albrechtsen is making is that we are not allowed to talk about this. I’m acutely aware of the cost of speaking out as I am the subject of expensive and protracted legal action brought against me by two drag queens, one who preaches gender fluidity to children. My crime? I wrote in a blog that they were “dangerous role models for children”.
We know that here in Australia at least five teenage girls, two aged 15, have had approval to have their breasts surgically removed so they could identify as boys.
But what is worse is that elites are bullying anyone who wants to publicly debate the ethics of medical interventions on children who are confused about their gender.
Detailing “Five big issues we must be free to discuss”, Albrechtsen said the children’s transgender issue was top of the out of bounds list.
It’s built on the flawed and dangerous foundation that showing respect for trans people must preclude being concerned about medical treatments involving kids or caring about a woman’s right to her biology. The gatekeepers may think they are protecting vulnerable kids who want to transition from one gender to another. But these are complex issues where the long-term consequences of transitioning are not fully understood. Silencing curious minds can’t help kids in the long run.
Last week, the American Booksellers Association apologised for a “terrible”, “serious” and “violent incident”. Steady yourself. The ABA sent its members Abigail Shrier’s book Irreversible Damage: the Transgender Craze Seducing Our Teens. Shrier is concerned about a medical profession that allows young girls with sudden-onset gender dysphoria to alter their bodies.
Inquisitive minds deserve better from the booksellers’ group.
We are living through a mad moment of history driven in large part by the demands of the rainbow political movement and other purveyors of toxic identity politics.
This is why the Christian Democratic Party is drafting a bill for the NSW Parliament to ban experimental gender treatments on children.
“Silence”, “loss of will and courage”, the “vulnerable”; these are key words from Albrechtsen’s column today.
Our inability to respond goes to the heart of why our children are being misled and harmed with virtually no public debate.
How did Australia come to this?
Lyle Shelton is Director of Campaigns and Communications for the Christian Democratic Party. The Reverend Honourable Fred Nile MLC has nominated Lyle to succeed him in the NSW Parliament when he retires in November. To keep in touch with Lyle and the CDP, sign up here.