Court overturns Queensland’s puberty blocker ban
Andrew Messenger/Guardian
Queensland’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender patients has been overturned by the state Supreme Court.
Judge Peter Callaghan ruled in favour of a challenge by the parent of a transgender child. As a result the directive is unlawful.
On 28 January director-general David Rosengren ordered that the directive be published after consulting with health service executives for just 22 minutes. As exclusively reported by the Guardian, the legally-mandated consultation was taking place simultaneously with a press conference in which the health minister announced the decision.
Callaghan’s ruling means that the Queensland Children’s Gender Service, based at the Queensland Children’s Hospital, can again take new patients.
The ban, which only applied to transgender children, was widely condemned by health authorities. The federal sex discrimination commissioner Anna Cody described it as “harmful” and “discriminatory”.
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