by Sally Beck, TCW
LAST year, the Conservative government banned puberty blockers as it said they carried an ‘unacceptable safety risk’, but the Labour government has now launched a trial that will give any number of children as young as nine access to the controversial drugs. Critics say the trial has ‘no ethical grounds’, is essentially a way to circumvent the law and that we already know the benefits, which do not outweigh the risks.
The University of York carried out a systematic review of puberty blockers and found no evidence that they improved body image or gender dysphoria. It found limited evidence for positive mental health outcomes. The Cass Review, an independent study of NHS identity services carried out by Baroness Hilary Cass, a British paediatrician, and former chair of the Academy of Childhood Disability, identified that they can harm brain development, reduce bone density and fertility, and stunt growth in height and genitals.
Campaigner and psychotherapist James Esses says we already have all the information we need on the effects of puberty blockers on children’s physical, social and emotional well-being. He said: ‘I don’t think there are any grounds for puberty blockers whatsoever.’