This article was originally published by the OUTInPerth. You can find the original article here.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has announced that she will push again for a senate inquiry into transgender healthcare based on the decision from England’s National Health Service to stop prescribing puberty blocker medication outside of research trials.
Hanson took to social media to announce the motion she’ll be putting forward to the senate and said those who do not support her were “too blinded by their ideological obsessions”.
“Any political party or senators that refuse to support this reasonable and fair inquiry are clearly too blinded by their ideological obsessions to be trusted with the safety, health, and wellbeing of our nation’s children.” Senator Hanson said.
The motion calls on the senate’s Community Affairs Reference Committee to launch and inquiry and deliver a report by October looking into a range of issues relating to transgender health care.
Senator Hanson’s motion lists investigation into the adequacy of puberty blocker medication as a treatment option for people under the age of 18 experiencing gender dysphoria, and if information from Australian hospitals relating to the brain development, bone mineral density, future fertility, sexual function, mental health outcomes and future fertility is accessible.
The inquiry would also look into if Australia’s current practices in treating young people experiencing gender dysphoria are ‘best practice’ when compared to the current policies of nation’s which have made restrictions on the use of medications of this type, listing England, Finland, the Netherlands, and Norway as places that have “revisited their stance on gender-affirming care”.
Senator Hanson would also like to see the processes and criteria used by Australian health services in deciding to initiate puberty blocker treatment reviewed with an emphasis put on “the exploration of complexities and the consideration of alternate treatments.”
The inquiry would extend beyond the issue of puberty blockers and also investigate; “social transition as the beginning of the child gender affirmation process, including pressures on educators and health professionals to affirm preferred pronouns and identities.”
It’s not the first time Senator Hanson has put forward a call for an inquiry into transgender health care. Today’s motion will be the fourth attempt from One Nation to establish an inquiry in federal parliament.
At the same time One Nation’s WA representative Ben Dawkins will be putting forward a motion in the state parliament calling for MPs to acknowledge a range of statements about sex and gender being based in biology and calling for recognition that access to some spaces should be based on sex established at birth.
Graeme Watson
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