The Government has been warned by an eminent group of pubic figures that a conversion therapy ban is “unnecessary and will lead to significant, harmful unintended consequences”. Camilla Turner in the Telegraph has more.
A cross-party group of MPs and peers as well as psychiatrists, psychologists, doctors and consultants has written to the Prime Minister to express their “grave concerns” about his proposals.
They warn that such legislation also risks criminalising therapists who do not “unconditionally affirm” a child’s desire to transition.
The previous government had proposed banning conversion therapy but it was never implemented because of concerns that parents, teachers and therapists could be criminalised for questioning a child’s belief that they were born in the wrong body.
Labour has now resurrected these plans, with the Government earlier this month launching a new Office for Equality and Opportunity, stating that one of its “key immediate priorities” will be “delivering a full, trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices”.
The new cross-departmental body will be spearheaded by Annelise Dodds, the Equalities Minister, who has previously vowed to make it easier to change gender.
But the letter’s 140 signatories – which include Graham Stringer, a senior Labour MP, and Dr. David Bell, the former Tavistock Centre governor – warn that if such a ban goes ahead, a “slippery slope towards criminalising parents awaits us”.
They point out the “serious and harmful unintended consequences” of the plans, adding that medical interventions known as “gender-affirming transition” have been revealed as a “major medical scandal”.
Earlier this year, Dr. Hilary Cass’s landmark report into the treatment of transgender children, advised that under-18s should not be rushed into treatment which they may later regret.
The report by Dr. Cass, a paediatric consultant, called for the “unhurried” care of those under-25 who think they may be transgender, an end to the prescribing of powerful hormone drugs to under-18s and early help for primary school children who want to socially transition.
The letter, organised by James Esses, a campaigner, states that: “Whistleblowers in this field have been vindicated by recent events, such as the final report of the independent Cass Review, the NHS decision to halt the prescription of puberty blockers, the closure of the GIDS gender clinic at the Tavistock, and the revelations contained within the WPATH files, amongst other things.
“Many confused and vulnerable children who medically transitioned through puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones have suffered irreversible developmental issues, physiological damage (such as loss of bone density, infertility and sexual dysfunction) and significant social and relational harms. Those most at risk are children who do not conform to traditional sex stereotypes.”
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: You can see a list of the letter’s signatories (including my own) here.
— James Esses (@JamesEsses) October 20, 2024
Breaking
Along with over 140 prominent signatories from across professions and political divides, I have written to @Keir_Starmer, demanding that he does not press forward with a proposed “trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices”.
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A rather unfortunate typo in first line.
Labour has stated … that one of its “key immediate priorities” will be “delivering a full, trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices”.
The idea that it’s the government’s job to tell the citizens what spiritual and psychological advice they’re allowed to seek is one of the most evil ideas that the madleft has ever developed. Of course, it’s fully in line with the marxo-fascist totalitarian (Stalinist) antecedents of the Anti-white Party (aka The “Labour” Party). The Anti-white Party is getting darker and darker.
I totally agree.
The government has absolutely no right in banning a human being from giving advice to or receiving advice from a fellow human being.
Initiatives like this are about thought-control, which is the ultimate ambition of all totalitarian systems and comes out of the frustration that whilst they can enslave, imprison and murder any individual member of society, there remains the final obstacle: people might still have unacceptable thoughts. Oh, if only they could control that too, then their power would be total.
“Labour Gender Therapy Plans “Risk Criminalising Parents Who Don’t Want Children to
Transitionmutilate themselves irrevocably””1980s – ‘we just want to marry the one we love….’
2000 – we demand ‘equal rights’ for queers and protection from phobias
2010 – we demand state funded no pride parades for queers and trannies
2013- 2 genders don’t exist, there are hundreds of polygenders
2015 – we want trans rights to protect trans from bigoted phobics
2018- we demand queer-trans story telling sessions at schools and churches
2020 – we demand the state fund child mutilation ceremonies
2021- we demand that all large companies force feed diversity in all firms, and hire ‘diverse’ genders, if not they must be financially punished
2022 – we demand that our theology be taught in all schools as part of ‘biological science’
2023- we demand criminalisation of any criticism of our cult and its practices, enforced by the state
2024 – ‘we are coming after your children’…..and if you object you must be arrested, censored or fired
No pattern here. No slippery slopes. See the benefits of appeasing a fascist mob of lunatics and mental half wits? Can you see the caring, sharing, tolerance and love of this mentally ill fascist queer-trans mob?
2025+ – we demand the right to walk nude in our no pride parades and have public sex with your children while you watch. If you dissent you are a phobic criminal.
etc.
I asked google for a definition of gender;
”Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviours and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct, gender varies from society to society and can change over time.”
Well if that is all the word gender means it hardly matters, you can wear a frilly dress and paint your nails one day and you can wear Doc-Martens and shave your head the next day, eventually your will sort yourself out. But of course, in reality, the term gender is inextricably linked with your sex and it is when people try and change their sex that they are fooling themselves. Your chromosomes XX or XY determine whether with regard to human reproduction you can be the daddy or the mummy. Any attempt to mess about with that biology is likely to end up with you becoming a Eunuch or worse. It is a narcissistic, self indulgent denial of your basic humanity and the fact that we are officially sanctioning such actions indicates we are a nihilistic society heading for the pits.
The previous (Tory) government did not act because (they were worried their legislative measures would be overturned by the courts acting on behalf of international, unaccountable quangos).
OK. I understand that. The Tories would do nothing to upset such international bodies.
I personally think conversion therapy is an abomination. At least in its traditional sense of “curing” someone of their homosexuality. But biological sex and sexual orientation are apples and oranges; It is one thing to naturally develop an attraction to the same sex (absolutely fine in my view). It another thing entirely to be allowed to go through the wholly unnatural process of socially or medically transitioning before a child is mature enough to fully consider the lifelong consequences of doing so.
So, conversion therapy ban, fine. It’s just the bit about “fully trans inclusive” that should raise eyebrows.
So conversion therapy should be banned, yes. But that ban should be confined to conversion therapy in its original sense. There needs to be a crystal clear legal definition of what constitutes “conversion therapy”, and NOT left to a child’s interpretation of parental advice, solicited or otherwise.
I don’t have any major beef with homosexuals or homosexuality or with adults who want to mutilate themselves. I agree there is a difference between irrevocable physical changes and who you choose to have sex with at some given point. But traditionally parents have had a good deal of control and autonomy in how they bring their children up, including pushing them in certain directions. I think we should tread carefully there.
But why does it have to be as black and white as “it’s either continue with conversion therapy or else criminalize parents”? If it is made illegal, then surely words can still be had with one’s own child and a parent is still free to influence (as well they should be) whilst also refraining from subjecting him or her to mentally or physically manipulative conversion therapy practice since that would be against the law?
Who defines what constitutes “conversion therapy”?
It’s a bit bizarre that professional transvocates from Stonewall are supposed to be allowed to talk to children in schools to convince them of their natural wrongness of their bodies which needs to be cured by the following invasive medical procedures:
but that talking to them to affirm that there is nothing and cannot be anything naturally wrong with their bodies is to be outlawed.
One could almost believe this was meant to become a Support Abuse of Vulnerable Children charter.
You have to factor in alarming developments in recent years for example boys being born with micropenises. I have a small dick that wouldn’t impress anyone but a micropenis is essentally the size of a clit or smaller and parents tend to be very hush hush about this for obvious reasons. You can’t even say to your son, keep that dick swingin’ because he has no dick to swing and barely any scrotum to speak of.
I have seen it happen with three familes where the son is born with a micropenis and both the mother and father are distraught. Is he a boy a real boy, is he a nancy boy or effectively a girl? What if a girl can penetrate him more with her clit than he can with his micropenis. Is he still the male part of the equation? These are the questions that we should be discussing.
I think that most people don’t really go along with the gender ideology of today.
So should we all grow a backbone and just say ‘no’? If we all say ‘no’ it would stop quickly?
For instance in sport. Why are women continue to compete if a trans person is in the competition?
Why would anyone use pronouns? It is none of anyone’s business to know your sexuality is it?
Maybe I am naive?
Is there not a blindlngly obvious error in the phrase, “ban conversion therapy?”
By definition it would include anything that assists someone to change their gender whether affirming someone who claims to have been born in the wrong body, or recommending or providing hormonal treatment or surgery. All qualify as conversion therapies. It is a self-destructive concept and deserves to be binned. Also how long before it is extended to religious conversions?