Newly released figures show that the government would rather fund sex change operations than look after dying children in their last days.
Released under the Official Information Act, Health NZ/Te Whatu Ora statistics show that the taxpayer is funding more than one million dollars each year towards enabling people to surgically change their sex: 1.22 million dollars was spent each financial year from 2020 to 2023 on transgender procedures. This has dropped back slightly in previous years however is still registering above one million dollars.
According to Te Whatu Ora, demand for these surgical procedures is predominantly from people in the 18–25 and 26–35 age brackets.
It says of the 326 patients on the waiting list, 243 have requested a feminising procedure and 83 a masculinising procedure.
While these people, who have perfectly healthy bodies, get government funding, the likes of children who need specialist care in their final days are getting less government support.
Starship Hospital in Auckland is the only paediatric palliative care facility which receives taxpayer funding: $977,000 annually.
Other paediatric palliative care facilities around the country rely solely on donations to keep their doors open.
In a recently released report called Unheard Cries, Rei Kōtuku states that 3000 children in NZ need palliative care services each year… however only 25 per cent of those children receive the care.
It says that most dying children don’t receive the care they require simply because they don’t live in Auckland.
The report says the public is often surprised to learn that children cannot access specialist palliative care in the way that adults do. It says adult hospices only support a small percentage of seriously ill children, as staff are not trained in paediatric palliative care, and while GPs, paediatricians, and nurses do their best, they also lack specialised training.
Rei Kōtuku states in the report that a specialised paediatric palliative care service across NZ would cost around eight million dollars a year.
Family First believes the government and Te Whatu Ora need to get their priorities right. Rather than using taxpayer money to fund genital mutilation surgeries for people who question their gender from birth, they should put that money towards more important things, such as assisting suffering children in their final days.
This article was originally published by Family First New Zealand.
