Critics have raised the alarm over a loophole in the Government’s new puberty blockers ban, warning it could enable scientists to use children as test subjects for “harmful” gender drugs. The Mail has the story.
A mother whose son said he was transgender and was given hormones to become a woman, a former Tavistock and Portman trust doctor and the Family Education Trust have all spoken out against Labour’s plan.
On Wednesday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced an indefinite ban on puberty blockers for children after the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) said they presented “an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people under 18 years without significant additional safeguards”.
However, this is not a blanket ban. Despite acknowledging there will be some who oppose it, Streeting said plans for a clinical trial would go ahead, meaning children can sign up to have puberty blockers for research purposes.
After the Health Secretary’s announcement, the Government said the CHM recommended that “the planned puberty suppressing hormone trial will recruit children and young people under 18 years who have not had previous exposure to GnRH agonists [another term for puberty blockers]”.
The Government concluded that while “there is evidence of persistent unsafe prescribing practices regarding these medicines”, a clinical trial would offer a chance to safely monitor the effects of puberty blockers and “give government and the NHS the evidence needed to decide whether they can be used as a safe and effective treatment”.
Jane – not her real name – spoke to MailOnline on the condition of anonymity because she fears her son, now 20, might cut her out of his life if he knew how she truly felt. She said the loophole amounted to using children as guinea pigs.
She said: “It’s all making the right noises while not doing very much. Haven’t enough children already been damaged, lives ruined? Do they really need that further evidence?” …
Even with the ban, children are already getting advice on getting around it.
On its website, sexual health charity Brook has already advised that young people can still get puberty blockers “if they agree to be part of a research study that will assess the risks and benefits of these medicines for trans and gender questioning children”.
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