Should major newspapers publish opinion pieces from popular commentators who write ill-informed columns about medical topics? Or does good journalism matter?

These are the questions I pondered after reading two fact-deprived opinion pieces in The Australian a week ago.

A week last Saturday, Nikki Gemmell shared writing derived from conversations with her mates.¹

She asked if obstetrics is really a job for a man. And questioned the motivation of male obstetricians. She quoted a “female doctor friend” who allegedly believes male obstetricians and gynaecologists “hate women, and like to see them in pain”.