Exposé: Ani O’Brien’s fertility appeal exposes a double standard in her anti-trans rhetoric

Ani O’Brien is asking the public to help pay for fertility treatment, placing her appeal beside years of combative commentary on anti-transgender rhetoric.

The Auckland-based commentator’s Givealittle page seeks $20,000 for treatment for her and her partner. It lists consultations, medication, procedures, testing and donor costs. She also addresses people who value her writing and videos, inviting them to support the appeal while saying she intends to keep her Substack accessible without a paywall.

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Image: Ani O’Brien says she blurred her partner’s face because people target her partner to get to her, according to the fundraising page, which lists the campaign dates as 4 July to 4 October 2026. (Givealittle)

The campaign began on 4 July 2026 and is scheduled to close on 4 October 2026, according to the page.

O’Brien blurred her partner’s face, saying people target her to get to O’Brien.

That explanation appears on the fundraising page, which does not name her partner or identify the individuals she says have targeted her.

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Image: Sandra Souto Pereira’s doctoral thesis, published in May 2024, examines barriers to healthcare for trans and gender-diverse people through interviews with 30 patients and 30 GPs. (Victoria University of Wellington)

Souto Pereira’s Victoria University of Wellington profile identifies her as a former PhD student who researched healthcare for trans and gender-diverse people. Her doctoral thesis examines barriers those communities face in obtaining care.

Published in May 2024, the thesis draws on interviews with 30 trans and gender-diverse people and 30 GPs, examining gaps in practitioners’ knowledge, experiences of dismissiveness and wider obstacles within the health system.

The thesis distinguishes between patients’ descriptions of dismissive treatment and GPs’ explanations involving systemic problems, with its findings calling for targeted improvements to primary healthcare. It also examines how practitioners’ perceptions can affect training, confidence and conversations about patients’ health concerns.

Image: A Companies Register excerpt supplied to thisquality lists Angharad Rachel O’Brien and Sandra Souto Pereira as directors at the same Auckland address, with company identifiers redacted by thisquality as irrelevant to the article. (Companies Register website)

A Companies Register excerpt supplied to thisquality for this story lists Angharad Rachel O’Brien and Sandra Souto Pereira together as directors at the same Auckland address.

The supplied crop shows both names under the directors heading, although it does not include the company’s name or number.

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thisquality has chosen to redact sensitive information.

Image: The shared directorship establishes a connection between O’Brien and Souto Pereira but does not identify the partner in the blurred photograph or establish whether either woman shares the other’s public views. (File)

The register establishes a connection between the two women. It does not establish that Souto Pereira is the partner in the blurred photograph.

It is to be acknowledged, a shared directorship also does not establish whether either woman agrees with the other’s public positions.

O’Brien has called for puberty blockers to be banned for gender-related treatment and opposed transgender women competing in women’s sport. In her writing on puberty blockers, she portrayed adults in the trans community as using children as political vehicles and described the situation as “sad and pathetic”. She has also said transgender adults should be free from discrimination, subject to what she considers other people’s rights. Her March 2025 article reproduces a January submission to the Ministry of Health and frames her proposed ban as a question of children’s safety and wellbeing.

In her submission on the Integrity Sport and Recreation Bill, published in 2023, O’Brien argued for sport to be divided by sex and sought changes to how legislation treated women and rainbow communities. She recommended separating sexual orientation from gender identity in the bill.

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In a separate article defending her public record, O’Brien rejected the characterisation of her campaigning as anti-trans and said her concerns centred on the effects of self-identification policies on women’s rights, spaces and participation in sport.

The hypocrisy open to scrutiny is in her language: O’Brien asks strangers to respond with compassion to her family’s medical needs while speaking contemptuously about people campaigning for gender-related care. Her proposed ban concerns young people and her appeal concerns adults.

That distinction matters, but it does not erase the disparity in tone.

Image: Givealittle identifies O’Brien as the fundraiser’s creator and verified bank account holder, with the appeal stating donations will support fertility treatment even if the target is not reached and the supplied records providing no evidence of misuse. (Givealittle)

The fundraiser says donations will go towards fertility treatment. The supplied records provide no evidence of misuse.

Givealittle identifies O’Brien as the campaign’s creator under the name ‘Ani (Angharad) O’Brien’ and says payments go to a verified bank account in her name, while the appeal states that contributions will support ongoing treatment even if the fundraising target is not reached.

Editorial note: This article draws on publicly available material and a supplied Companies Register excerpt. The assessment of hypocrisy is editorial opinion based on the statements linked above. The excerpt does not establish the identity of the partner pictured in the fundraiser, and the material reviewed provides no evidence of misuse of donations.

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