A doctor advising a young girl on whether to take cross-sex hormones told the child some side effects of taking testosterone, including vaginal atrophy, were reversible or would not last forever, and said there was “scientific debate” about whether the treatment could have an impact on her fertility.
The doctor, who works for one of Australia’s largest public gender clinics, also says gender diversity is a “normal variation of human development” and refuses to admit it could be influenced by “external pressure”.
The case emerged as the latest development in a highly complex family law matter in which the parents are divided over whether their child can medically transition to become a boy.
One parent opposes the prescription of the cross-sex hormones, previously telling the child they will “grow out of it”. The other supports the transition, and is trying to claim full parental responsibility.
The matter is on the brink of becoming a “royal commission” into the Australian model of care for gender dysphoria, the Federal Circuit and Family Court heard on Tuesday, as lawyers debate the legitimacy of Britain’s Cass review which found Australia’s guidelines on gender-affirmative medicine lacked rigour and independence.
The Australian is bound by a strict suppression order that prevents – among other things – the publication of either parent’s gender, or the name of any clinicians that have treated the gender dysphoric child.
The doctor was asked by barrister Belle Lane, acting for the parent opposed to the child’s transition, how she could be sure whether a child’s gender identity would remain into adulthood before prescribing them medical treatment.
“You don’t have any test that gives with absolute certainty that a child’s gender identity will continue through their adult life,” Ms Lane said.
The doctor responded: “No such test exists and gender identity changes over time. There is no specific test to determine how someone will feel in the future about their gender identity but that doesn’t mean we … take it on face value.”