One of the greatest follies of the modern world is the so-called “progressive” Left’s constant use of phrases like “trust the science” as a conversation-ender – as if this was some kind of verbal atomic bomb with the power to wipe out any possible opposing argument.
This was displayed very clearly during the Covid era, for example, when we saw medical absurdities being enforced by law, like having to eat a ‘€9 substantial meal’ at the pub to save oneself from a respiratory virus. Apparently €8.50 just wasn’t enough to ward off the illness, but €9 was the sweet spot – because “science”.
It goes without saying that this stuff had about as much supporting evidence behind it as Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster, and was closer to bone-through-the-nose medicine man voodoo than actual research. But society at large dutifully went along with it at the time, because a man on the telly with salt and pepper hair wearing a tie told us it was “science”, and therefore unquestionable.
If Professor Tony Holohan had come out during that period and told the public to eat dishwasher tablets to cure the virus, there’s a section of society who would have been up running to the kitchen cabinet before he’d finished speaking.
The same applies to climate change, of course, where any claim, no matter how absurd, must be taken deadly seriously – for example, Green Party Leader Eamon Ryan’s claim that “women” and “LGBTQ+” people are “disproportionately affected by the climate crisis”.
Again: if you doubt the veracity of that statement, you are a “science denier” and an ignorant luddite who should be barred from the airwaves for spreading anti-science “misinformation” (and you’re probably racist too, somehow).
The point is, if you were to take the Left at their word about such matters, you would naturally conclude that they’re simply people who massively over-value education and academic qualifications.
But if that was the case, then why has the research of Dr. Hilary Cass landed her in the crosshairs of progressive activists – perhaps literally?
Dr. Cass, who was the former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, is a British paediatrician who led the Cass Review, also known as the “Independent Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People.”
Commissioned in 2020 by the NHS, this report looked at the impact of transgender “medicine” on children in Britain. It was published earlier this month, and as most people with common sense could probably have predicted, the report was damning. It found that transgender treatments pose a serious danger to children and were “built on shaky foundations”.
However, for having the gall and temerity to publish a piece of supported independent research that questions one of the Left’s core beliefs, this doctor is now being physically threatened, and has received “security advice” that she should avoid going on public transport for her own safety.
“Trust the science – except when it contradicts me. Then get violent and physically threaten a doctor in her late 60s.”
In an interview with The Times of London, Cass went on to accuse many of her critics of spreading “misinformation” about the research, including Labour MP Dawn Butler, who had claimed in the House of Commons that “over 100 studies have not been in this Cass report”.
Dr Hilary Cass has criticised the spread of “disinformation” around her report, including from a Labour MP, as she revealed she had been told not to travel on public transport over safety fears ⬇️ https://t.co/xgkFkwfOoM
— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) April 20, 2024
Cass said that this claim was “completely wrong”, explaining that the list of studies cited by Butler had “absolutely nothing to do with either our report or any of the papers.”
“If you deliberately try to undermine a report that has looked at the evidence of children’s healthcare, then that’s unforgivable,” she said, adding: “You are putting children at risk by doing that.”
This seems somewhat reminiscent of last year, when I published an article about how the Irish government’s own published research in 2021 found that puberty blockers’ long-term impact on fertility and physical development of young people was “largely unknown” – even as they were sending children for such treatments.
EXCLUSIVE: The Irish government’s own published research in 2021 found that puberty blockers’ long-term impact on fertility and physical development of young people was “largely unknown” – even as they were sending children for such treatments.#gripthttps://t.co/dJ8xWbhT9B
— gript (@griptmedia) July 6, 2023
In 2021, a document entitled “LGBTI+ Youth in Ireland and across Europe” was produced by the Health Promotion Research Centre and NUI Galway, and published by the Irish government’s Department of Children and Youth.
This research found that the evidence around giving puberty blocking hormones to young people was severely lacking, dubbing the need for greater understanding in this area “urgent.”
When I then asked Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman about this, he said he was “not disputing” that there is limited evidence about the safety of hormone blockers for “trans children.”
Irish Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman says he's "not disputing" that there is limited evidence about the safety of hormone blockers for "trans children." Question by @Ben_Scallan.#gript pic.twitter.com/HrcshNlJ2p
— gript (@griptmedia) September 7, 2023
And yet, we are proceeding with such treatments anyway, and have been doing so for years.
It’s clear that ‘trust the science’ is a hollow line the far-Left uses to defend any absurd position they like, but which they promptly throw out the window the second a piece of research like the Cass report contradicts their worldview.