On March 8th a Westminster Hall debate was held at the House of Commons to discuss a proposed ban on conversion therapy. Unfortunately, almost all the participants in the debate were promoting the idea that gender identity should be treated in the same way as sexual orientation. Doing so would create a chilling environment for Our Duty and for professionals seeking to help people who think they are transgender. Here is the full story:
It was clear to us that the debate had been particularly one-sided, so we wrote a letter to Kemi Badenoch, an Equalities Minister, expressing our concerns.
On March 9th the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee were gathering evidence concerning Freedom of Expression Online and Graham Linehan was invited to give testimony. His speech was well crafted, as one might expect from a writer of his calibre, and delivered on major points of concern.
Graham’s script for this speech is on his Substack page (which is well worth subscribing to):
https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/full-text-of-my-house-of-lords-statement
March 12th was Detransition Awareness Day. This awareness raising campaign by detransitioners seemed to be a great success with many coming forward to share their experiences of being transitioned. As ever, we are grateful for their testimony, particularly when it provides evidence that medical transition should not happen.
In what could be seen as a setback to the campaign to halt opposite sex imitation medicine, a High Court judgment, on March 26th, gave parents permission to consent to puberty blockers on their child’s behalf. Why any parent would want their child to receive such harmful and life-limiting interventions remains a source of bafflement and disgust to many of us.
In Canada, the debate concerning Bill C-6 rages on (background). Our attention was captured by the plight of devoted father Robert Hoogland who is desperately trying to stop his daughter from being harmed by transgender medicalisation. Unfortunately, the authorities in Canada remain unsympathetic to his serious and well-founded concerns.
On March 4 2021, Justice Tammen of the British Columbia Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant for Mr Hoogland for Contempt of Court.
On March 16th Mr Hoogland presented himself at court and was taken into custody.
At his bail hearing on 19th March the judge remanded Mr Hoogland in custody pending trial for contempt in April.
Despite the negative nature of some of the stories this month, we must take heart from knowing that the debate is happening, and more people are becoming aware of the issues at play. This will, eventually, lead to common sense prevailing.
