A GP has been suspended for three months after telling a transgender man he was a ‘biological woman’.
Dr. Raymond Brière – who practiced in Montreal, Canada for more than four decades – was found by a complaints body to have acted in an “inappropriate and disrespectful manner” after telling a patient they were genetically female during an argument about the risks. of hormone drugs.
During an appointment in mid-2022, the patient asked Dr. Brière for a prescription for testosterone therapy to help him transition to a man.
The individual said they were ready to take the next step and had already undergone a social transition by changing their pronouns to he/him.
Dr. Brière initially noted that he had never helped a patient become a man, and then warned that testosterone therapy could make them more aggressive.
Above is the clinic in Montreal, Quebec, where Dr. Raymond Brière worked. He has been in practice for more than four decades and previously had an unblemished record
The patient disputed this and told the doctor that their medical judgment was based on ‘stereotypes’.
Dr. Brière has more than 700 patients in Montreal. The trans man – who has not been named – had been one of his patients since 2018.
Dr. Brière then suggested that the patient could take testosterone through a gel rubbed into the upper part of the arms or in the armpits.
But this was again rejected by the patient, who said he was only willing to use testosterone injections – which can cause a body to ‘masculinise’ more quickly.
The pair then got into an argument over the patient’s pronouns, with the patient repeatedly asking to refer to them as “he/him” while the doctor said they were “biologically female.”
In a recording, which the patient made on his cell phone without the doctor’s knowledge, Dr. Brière that if a genetic analysis of the patient’s chromosomes were performed, it would be determined that the patient was “genetically a female.”
The doctor also told the patient that their sex change was “in your brain” and that their body would remain genetically female, and would still have the two XX chromosomes instead of the XY chromosomes that men have.
He added that: ‘Until today patient, (but) you were a woman, dear madam’.
Dr. Brière also refused to use the pronouns, saying he was only asked to do so because the patient believed his “circle was the absolute truth.”
The patient and the doctor then decided that the patient should consult another doctor.
But while Dr. Brière was arranging the new appointment, they had another pronoun dispute, which ended with the doctor refusing to book the new appointment and telling the patient to arrange it himself.
In a disciplinary document from the Medical College of Quebec, the panel sided with the patient.
Dr. Brière accepted both charges against him: of disrespectful behavior and failure to make an appointment with another doctor.
But he said the patient’s attitude “at best indicates a problem or a lack of mutual trust necessary for the professional relationship.”
According to the disciplinary committee, it is the ‘doctor’s duty’ to build and maintain a relationship of trust with a patient.
They added that if a patient “believes that their gender identity does not match the sex stated on their birth certificate, they may request that they be referred to by the identity they express.”
“The medical encounter must then take place with respect for this gender identity,” they said.
The council added: ‘There is no evidence that the patient is ‘difficult’, i.e. demanding, fussy, meticulous or anxious.
‘On the contrary, he remains calm and listens to the respondent most of the time.’