Episode 151: B.C. doctor fined after refusing to give puberty blocking shot. Plus, no jail for Indigenous man who killed girl.

So back in 2020, a child named Q asked for a referral to a BC gender clinic and this child got that referral and they were prescribed a puberty blocking drug called Lupron.

And the idea behind this drug is that it can give teenagers who are experiencing gender dysphoria more time to figure things out.

So the first shot that this teenager got was given at a walk-in clinic, and it led to a seizure, unfortunately, but it also led to the child saying they felt a lot better.

So the second shot, the family decides they're going to go to the family doctor, which is the doctor who said that he wouldn't do it for religious and cultural reasons.

So this led to the complaint, which...

The child ended up winning.

So this was written by B.C. Human Rights Tribunal Vice Chair Devin Cousineau, who listeners may recall from writing that decision in relation to school trustee Barry Neufeld, who was ordered to pay $750,000 for his comments related to gender and gender identity issues.

So it should be noted that Dr.

A tried here to get an expert in medical ethics admitted who would talk about the history of conscientious objections and things like that with doctors.

But Cousineau found that was not necessary.

Although Kuzino did accept expert evidence from Dr. Elizabeth Sawick, who was qualified to give opinion evidence on barriers to accessing health care for transgender children and youth, consequences of withholding or interrupting gender-affirming care for transgender youth, and the medical uses of Lupron and experience of survey respondents accessing it.

Okay, so here's how the decision went down.

So Kuzino notes that Dr.

A is from Nigeria.

He went to school there.

He practiced in Nigeria and South Africa and then rural BC before he came to this clinic in British Columbia.

He's Christian.

He's baptized.

He was married in the Anglican Church and his religion is an important part of his life.

Meanwhile, Q was a child that came out as trans in 2000 at age 13.

And an endocrinologist said that this child was dramatically affected by the progression through puberty.

and child q is quoted saying i had begun puberty fairly early on so i was already feeling a lot of the effects of testosterone and what testosterone was doing to my body i can't describe in words the amount of pain this caused me so after some mental health concerns q goes to the gender clinic and gets this prescription for lupron so on the day in question uh shows up and after about 90 minutes or maybe two hours, the doctor comes out and tells the mom, essentially, I'm not going to do this injection.

Dr.

A testifies that he'd spoken to another doctor in the clinic who told him, He had the right not to provide a medical procedure he was uncomfortable with.

He said that this doctor who was Muslim had told him that he wouldn't do it either, although that's technically hearsay.

So back in 2020, a child named Q asked for a referral to a BC gender clinic and this child got that referral and they were prescribed a puberty blocking drug called Lupron.

And the idea behind this drug is that it can give teenagers who are experiencing gender dysphoria more time to figure things out.

So the first shot that this teenager got was given at a walk-in clinic, and it led to a seizure, unfortunately, but it also led to the child saying they felt a lot better.

So the second shot, the family decides they're going to go to the family doctor, which is the doctor who said that he wouldn't do it for religious and cultural reasons.

So this led to the complaint, which...

The child ended up winning.

So this was written by B.C. Human Rights Tribunal Vice Chair Devin Cousineau, who listeners may recall from writing that decision in relation to school trustee Barry Neufeld, who was ordered to pay $750,000 for his comments related to gender and gender identity issues.

So it should be noted that Dr.

A tried here to get an expert in medical ethics admitted who would talk about the history of conscientious objections and things like that with doctors.

But Cousineau found that was not necessary.

Although Kuzino did accept expert evidence from Dr. Elizabeth Sawick, who was qualified to give opinion evidence on barriers to accessing health care for transgender children and youth, consequences of withholding or interrupting gender-affirming care for transgender youth, and the medical uses of Lupron and experience of survey respondents accessing it.

Okay, so here's how the decision went down.

So Kuzino notes that Dr.

A is from Nigeria.

He went to school there.

He practiced in Nigeria and South Africa and then rural BC before he came to this clinic in British Columbia.

He's Christian.

He's baptized.

He was married in the Anglican Church and his religion is an important part of his life.

Meanwhile, Q was a child that came out as trans in 2000 at age 13.

And an endocrinologist said that this child was dramatically affected by the progression through puberty.

and child q is quoted saying i had begun puberty fairly early on so i was already feeling a lot of the effects of testosterone and what testosterone was doing to my body i can't describe in words the amount of pain this caused me so after some mental health concerns q goes to the gender clinic and gets this prescription for lupron so on the day in question uh shows up and after about 90 minutes or maybe two hours, the doctor comes out and tells the mom, essentially, I'm not going to do this injection.

Dr.

A testifies that he'd spoken to another doctor in the clinic who told him, He had the right not to provide a medical procedure he was uncomfortable with.

He said that this doctor who was Muslim had told him that he wouldn't do it either, although that's technically hearsay.