The announcement by NHS England that puberty blockers – drugs given to delay the onset of puberty – will no longer be prescribed to children who experience gender confusion has been welcomed by campaigners who say that the drugs can cause irreversible harm.
Puberty blockers can now only be given to children as part of clinical research, the guidance says. Therapist James Esses, who has worked to highlight the issue, described the move by NHS England as “absolutely massive”.
This is absolutely massive.
The importance of this cannot be understated.
At last, children are being protected from irreversible harm. https://t.co/X9hMbSgrVA
— James Esses (@JamesEsses) June 9, 2023
The health authority says that the new guidance comes as part of its implementation of the Cass report – an independent review by Dr Hilary Cass which found that services being offered to children with gender confusion in the now-disgraced Tavistock clinic were unsafe.
Esses said that the decision was “seismic” and would prevent “irreversible harm”.
“The fact that the NHS is holding firm on their intention to prevent the use of puberty blockers outside of the context of clinical trials is seismic,” he told the Telegraph.
“This will hopefully bring an end to vulnerable children being placed down a pathway to irreversible harm,” he said.
The NHS move comes after guidelines for doctors were revised significantly in light of Dr Cass’s review which found services being offered to children with gender dysphoria were unsafe.
A new draft reminds doctors that most children may simply be going through a “transient phase” when they say they want to change sex.
Moreover, the guidelines caution medical practitioners to adopt a ‘watchful approach’ towards children and to be mindful of the possibility of autism and other mental health conditions.
And they are reminded that it is not a “neutral act” for healthcare practitioners to facilitate children who want to transition socially by using their preferred new names or pronouns without consideration of other factors.
Growing controversies about puberty blockers being prescribed to children and teens include concerns that many children were placed on the drugs – with the Economist reporting that while little was known about the effects of puberty blockers “that has not stopped clinics prescribing them enthusiastically.”
The Telegraph reported that David Bell, a former governor turned whistleblower from Tavistock said:
“All the evidence shows that puberty blockers don’t help, and there is clear evidence of physical and psychological harm caused by them, so this change is in line with the evidence we have.
“A very large percentage of children being treated for gender dysphoria have other problems such as autism and depression, and many are upset or confused about their sexuality.”
The NHS had previously said that the effects of puberty blockers were reversible, but it now notes that: “Little is known about the long-term side effects of hormone or puberty blockers in children with gender dysphoria.”
“It’s also not known whether hormone blockers affect the development of the teenage brain or children’s bones. Side effects may also include hot flushes, fatigue and mood alterations,” the health authority adds.
This week, a piece in the Wall Street Journal opined that “ignoring the long-term dangers posed by unrestricted off-label dispensing of powerful puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones borders on child abuse.”
Ignoring the long-term dangers posed by unrestricted off-label dispensing of powerful puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones borders on child abuse, writes @geraldposner https://t.co/JJXUvw7Ywr
— Wall Street Journal Opinion (@WSJopinion) June 7, 2023
NHS England says that a clinical study, run by the new Children and Young People’s Gender Dysphoria Research and Oversight Board, will look at the impact of the drugs which delay puberty by supressing hormones.
It also cautions that the clinical approach should be mindful that gender confusion “may be a transient phase, particularly for pre-pubertal children, and that there
will be a range of pathways to support these children and young people and a range of outcomes.”
“A significant proportion of children and young people who are concerned about, or distressed by, issues of gender incongruence experience coexisting mental health, neuro-developmental and/or personal, family or social complexities in their lives,” it noted.