Gay marriage supporters want a doctor who appeared in an ad for the no campaign stripped of her medical licence.
A petition calling on the Australian Medical Association to ‘review the registration’ of Pansy Lai gathered more than 6,000 signatures in just two days.
The Chinese-born paediatrician was one of three mothers who spoke against legalising same-sex marriage in the upcoming postal vote.
Gay marriage supporters want pediatrician Pansy Lai (pictured) stripped of her medical licence for appearing in a controversial ad for the no campaign
The Sydney doctor claimed in the Coalition for Marriage ad that classes about gay relationships were compulsory in countries where same-sex marriage was legal.
She was speaking of the controversial Safe Schools program, of which she is a vocal opponent since speaking out last year.
The petition, on a site run by left-wing activist group GetUp!, claimed Dr Lai ‘willfully spread misinformation and non-scientific evidence in order to promote the discrimination of LGBTIQ people in Australia’.
The outright attack on Dr Lai’s livelihood raised concerns among other no vote supporters that other doctors could be targeted if they voiced their beliefs.
The petition alleged she broke her Hippocratic Oath and Declaration of Geneva by speaking out against gay marriage and campaigning for the no vote.
The petition called on the Australian Medical Association to ‘review the registration’ of Pansy Lai, one of three mothers who spoke against legalising same-sex marriage
It gathered more than 6,000 signatures in just two days claiming she ‘willfully spread misinformation and non-scientific evidence in order to promote the discrimination of LGBTIQ people in Australia’
It accused her of violating a clause vowing to not allow a patient’s sexual orientation, among other attributes, to affect her medical duty.
‘It is clear that Dr Pansy Lai has misused her privileged position as a medical practitioner in the harmful and hateful ‘no’ campaign,’ it said.
She ‘directly caused harm’ to the LGBTIQ community by appearing in the ad, the petition claimed, and accused her of not supporting her young patients.
Dr Lai did not identify herself as a doctor in the Coalition for Marriage ad, or give her name, and was only identified by the media after the video aired.
The petition said young people who identify as LGBTIQ were 10 times more likely to die by suicide, and had an 80 per cent chance of being bullied at school.
Dr Lai did not identify herself as a doctor in the Coalition for Marriage ad, or give her name, and was only identified by the media after the video aired
The campaign has the support of the Australian Christian Lobby, which believes: ‘Changing the marriage law will have consequences for what is taught in our kids’ classroom’
It said Dr Lai, as a paediatrician, had professional obligation to support young people who identify as LGBTIQ and appearing in the ad ran counter to this.
The petition on the GetUp!-hosted site CommunityRun was started by Melbourne IT professional and self-identified ‘anarcho-socialist’ Lev Lafayette.
The 49-year-old on Sunday shared a photo of himself on Facebook with Parliament House in the background.
The caption read: ‘Don’t tell anyone but there’s an anarchist in the Federal parliament house!’
Many comments left by those who signed the petition slammed Dr Lai, who is not an AMA member, for appearing in the ad and agreed she should be deregistered.
‘Homophobia and bigotry have no place in our society, and especially not with a medical professional who is working with vulnerable young people,’ one wrote.
The petition on the GetUp!-hosted site CommunityRun was started by Melbourne IT professional and self-identified ‘anarcho-socialist’ Lev Lafayette
Many comments left by those who signed the petition slammed Dr Lai, who is not an AMA member, for appearing in the ad and agreed she should be deregistered
‘It is overly obvious that this DOCTOR is Biased against LGBT persons In her Bias .. She clearly would be discriminant towards any patients who identify as LGBT or are having difficulty with their sexual orientation apart from Heterosexual,’ another wrote.
‘Her participation in this campaign is a betrayal of her oath & the young people she is supposed to help,’ a third insisted.
Other signatories slammed her alleged support for gay conversion therapies, claims Dr Lai denied last week.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Coalition for Marriage for comment.