CBritain’s National Health Service (NHS) has announced that children in the UK will no longer be prescribed puberty blockers, confirming that the drugs will only be offered to young people taking part in clinical research trials. Children can receive puberty blockers through several folk remedies.
Puberty blockers are used to delaying Puberty begins by blocking the body from producing sex hormones such as testosterone and estrogen. Hormone suppressants cannot reverse changes that have already occurred, but they may block physical changes such as breast development or facial hair.
“We have concluded that there is insufficient evidence to support safety or clinical efficacy. [puberty blockers] We will ensure that treatment is routinely available at this time,” reads an NHS England policy paper published on Tuesday. NHS England said the decision was taken following a public consultation on the topic, interim policy and an independent review of gender identity services for minors.
In 2021-22, more than 5,000 young people were referred to the UK’s national clinic, the Gender Identity Development Service, compared to fewer than 250 a decade ago. The clinic will close at the end of March.
Dr Hilary Cass, a consultant pediatrician and former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, led an independent study to determine the long-term results of what happens to young people prescribed puberty blockers. stated that there was insufficient evidence.
In contrast, major U.S. medical associations have approved puberty blockers as a medically accepted treatment for transgender and nonbinary youth.
The move has been widely criticized by LGBTQ+ groups. Mermaids, an organization that supports gender diverse children and their families, said the decision was “deeply disappointing and will further limit the support available to transgender children and young people across the NHS”. Stated.
Some government leaders have expressed support. Maria Caulfield, Parliamentary Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care, said: “We have always been clear that the safety and welfare of children is our top priority, so we welcome this landmark decision by the NHS.” She said: “Ending the routine prescription of puberty blockers will help ensure that care is based on evidence and expert clinical opinion and is in the best interests of the child.”
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss is currently pushing for the passage of a bill she drafted that would ban the use of puberty blockers in private clinics and the NHS.
Criticism of the decision
LGBTQ+ advocacy groups largely disapprove of the policy change. A spokesperson for UK-based advocacy group Stonewall said: “All transgender young people have the right to access high-quality, timely healthcare.” “For some people, a key part of this care comes in the form of puberty blockers. Puberty blockers are reversible treatments prescribed by a professional endocrinologist that delay the onset of puberty. , giving young people extra time to evaluate their next steps.”
A recent decision by the NHS cited a lack of research into the long-term effects of puberty blockers, although the treatment has been medically accepted practice since the late 1980s. According to Scientific American. Gender-affirming care is supported by many organizations, including: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
A 2020 study published in Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. found Adolescent suppression during adolescence is associated with lower odds of lifelong suicidal ideation in transgender people.
“Research consistently links gender-affirming medical care (including puberty suppression) for adolescent gender dysphoria with improved mental health outcomes,” said Dr. said Jack Turban, author of the forthcoming book. Free to Be: Understanding children and gender identity. “The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics oppose banning these treatments. It is shocking to see this medical care, which so many adolescents dramatically benefit from, become so grossly politicized. That’s sad.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics previously signed on to support access to health care for nonbinary and transgender youth. Submission of court documents To support the ACLU’s numerous legal challenges to anti-transgender laws passed in the United States
How will this impact transgender youth?
Fewer than 100 young people are receiving puberty blockers through the NHS. Health authorities said those receiving treatment could continue treatment at Leeds Hospital and University College London Hospital.
The NHS added that children seeking care will be supported by neurodiversity, paediatrics and mental health professionals.
NHS England has said it hopes to carry out a study into the use of puberty blockers by December 2024. There are approximately 262,000 people in England and Wales who identify with a different gender to the one assigned at birth. According to census data.
