U.K. National Health Service to Stop Prescribing Puberty Blockers to Kids
The National Health Services announced Tuesday that U.K. gender clinics will no longer prescribe puberty blockers to children.
Puberty blockers will now only be available to minors who are participating in clinical research trials. The ruling follows a public consultation of the issue and a 2020 NHS England-sanctioned independent review of gender transition surgeries and hormone therapy for minors.
“Ending the routine prescription of puberty blockers will help ensure that care is based on evidence, expert clinical opinion and is in the best interests of the child,” Health Minister Maria Caulfield said in a statement to The Independent.
Conducted by pediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, the investigation came amid a surge in youth referrals to the Gender Identity Development Service (Gids) operated by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. Cass’s report, which concluded that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to support gender “treatment” to such a large number of patients, prompted the shutdown of the facility. Gids is set to finally close at the end of the month.
Gender-transition advocates claim puberty-blockers merely “pause” the onset of bodily changes such as breast development in girls or facial hair in boys, leaving no lasting effects. However, some research suggests that the “pause” leaves children permanently altered as their bodies fail to develop adequate bone density and other secondary characteristics associated with puberty.
In June, NHS announced as an interim policy that it would not routinely offer puberty-blocking drugs to children at gender identity clinics, citing lack of evidence about long-term complications. Outside of a research setting, NHS said the drugs would be administered on a case-by-case basis. With Tuesday’s decision, the policy became fixed.
“Outside of a research setting, puberty-suppressing hormones should not be routinely commissioned for children and adolescents,” NHS said at the time.
