Green Party representative Ash Jones has described the Health Minister’s appointment of Hilary Cass to review Gender Identity Services as a ‘betrayal.’
Jones said: “The Health Minister has clearly put appeasement of anti-trans hysteria above the wellbeing of transgender patients by appointing Hilary Cass to yet another unnecessary ‘review’ of local Gender Identity Services.
The Cass Review of British transgender healthcare provision has been widely criticised in peer reviews from around the world, and the British Medical Association is currently undertaking its own evidence-led evaluation.
The Cass Review in Britain has been used as justification for a blanket ban on puberty blockers for trans youth (and only trans youth), despite it not advocating this outcome; Mr Nesbitt and his Executive colleagues in Sinn Féin, DUP, and Alliance have introduced this ban for trans youth locally.
What’s more, NI Gender Identity services have just been extensively reviewed over the last 6 years, with clear recommendations in place. Mike Nesbitt’s announcement of a Cass-led review is not only unnecessary; it is a retrograde step and a betrayal of the good-faith engagement of the trans community, healthcare providers and professionals. He is clearly attempting to shore up conservative support within his own party and the media and is happy to throw transgender people under the bus for the ease of his political career.
If the Minister was interested in evidence-led policy and reform of local services, he would not be appointing the author of a discredited review which has materially harmed transgender youth in the UK and beyond. Instead, he would be proceeding with the review recommendations from 2022. We do not need another review: we need healthcare.
ENDS