Our Royal Children’s Hospital delivers extraordinary, lifesaving care to the children and families throughout this community. It has cancelled the annual event on “Children and War.” The discussion will take place on Wednesday. Chief hospital staff, along with outside medical experts, such as Dr. Sue Wareham, president of the Medical Association for the Prevention of War, will participate.
The decision to cancel the event reportedly followed pressure from a group opposing antisemitism, according to comments from two doctors affiliated with the hospital. Organizers initially emphasized that the event was not intended to focus specifically on the ongoing war in Gaza. It became clear that discussions surrounding Gaza would be unavoidable.
Event Cancellation Sparks Concern
Conservative Sue Wareham said she was deeply disappointed that the work would be cancelled, commending hospital leadership for choosing staff safety despite facing outside pressure. She noted that the purpose of the event was to focus on the ways war affects children. She underscored the difficulty in looking past the human rights crisis happening in real-time in Gaza.
“I understand that there wasn’t any discussion at all, with the organisers before cancelling it, which is quite extraordinary,” – Sue Wareham
His worries are compounded by disturbing data recently released by the United Nations. They stated that more than 45,000 children have become injured and 21,000 are currently experiencing disabilities as a result of the continuous assault in Gaza. All of this data underscores the desperate need for a conversation centered around enhancing child health and wellbeing in war-torn areas.
The decision to cancel has come under fire from all sides—even from pro-cancellation councils—with critics calling it “disappointing and wrong.” As critics of this narrative claim, staying silent on the plight of children in Gaza reduces understanding and activism to save them.
Leadership’s Justification
Dr. Peter Steer echoed the hospital’s leadership when he said the number one duty is making sure you have a safe workplace for your providers. He stressed that the cancellation should not be seen as reducing the significance of the issue under discussion. Rather, it was a wise step to dampen future liability associated with controversial content.
“My first and overriding responsibility is to create the circumstances in which our staff are safe,” – Dr. Peter Steer
He cautioned that moving away from this focus would foster adversity that jeopardizes staff and their mental health.
Dr. Wareham expressed deep concern regarding the implications of canceling such an important conversation. She questioned what it says about society’s humanity when discussions about children’s suffering in specific conflicts cannot occur in a health context.
“What does that say about our humanity when the plight of children in one place cannot be discussed from a health perspective?” – Sue Wareham
Broader Implications for Dialogue
The cancellation definitely puts up some troubling red flags with respect to free discourse on important, controversial issues especially those that impact at-risk populations such as children. And with bad news from war zones piling up, Dr Wareham expressed sorrow that these conversations have gotten more complex.
“It’s not too late for us to come together as adults with a unified vision that no child is an enemy, to do better,” – Sue Wareham
She lamented that she was upset at having to say this, as though this sort of conversation should be discouraged rather than encouraged.
“I felt quite distressed then because it seems that we would have had permission to talk about children in war, anywhere else, except Palestine,” – Sue Wareham
The Royal Children’s Hospital’s decision cuts through to a deeper and complicated contemporary environment in which healthcare dialogues are increasingly invoked within political minefields. Faithful public discourse in a time of constant change. Institutions should avoid monetizing data and loyalty in ways that undermine the mission to protect the welfare of those they serve.
