The UK’s new Health Secretary Wes Streeting is expected to give his reasons for considering a permanent ban on puberty blockers being prescribed to children for gender-based reasons this week, amid discontent within his Labour party about his plans.
Mr. Streeting took to social media to defend his support for an emergency ban on the drugs’ use which was imposed by his Conservative predecessor and is currently being challenged in the courts.
He cited the landmark Cass Review into the UK’s gender identity services as saying there was currently not enough evidence about the impact on young people of using puberty-suppressing hormones, which are occasionally used for children with gender dysphoria.
The Health Secretary said the evidence that puberty blockers were safe for such use “should have been established before they were ever prescribed” and argued that the use of such drugs for gender dysphoria was clinically very different from their prescription to much younger children to prevent very early puberty.
“We don’t yet know the risks of stopping pubertal hormones at this critical life stage. That is the basis upon which I am making decisions. I am treading cautiously in this area because the safety of children must come first,” Mr Streeting asserted.
“Some of the public statements being made are highly irresponsible and could put vulnerable young people at risk. I know there’s lots of fear and anxiety. I am determined to improve the quality of, and access to, care for trans people,” he added.
The Guardian reports Mr. Streeting is understood to be leaning towards a permanent ban, subject to consultation and the outcome of a judicial review. He is expected to issue a written ministerial statement to parliament on Thursday (July 18).
Wendy Francis, National Director of Politics for the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL), said: “I commend Mr. Streeting, for acknowledging the excellent work done in the Cass Review. Australia should urgently follow suit before more children are harmed. This is not about “left” or “right” politics. The UK’s Labour Party is acting on the evidence. Australia’s Labor Party should do the same.”
According to Ms. Francis: “Australia currently follows the outdated affirmation-approach to sex confusion in children, just as the UK did prior to the Cass Review. This approach, which endorses puberty suppression in children and cross-sex hormones, has now been discredited worldwide. It is time for the Australian Government to catch up to the rest of the world and look at this objectively. This is about the long-term health and well-being of vulnerable children, who have every right to trust the healthcare advice they receive.”
Last month, the ACL brought 19-year-old detransitioner Chloe Cole to Australia to tour with Dr. Andrew Amos and Ms. Courtney Coulson in several capital cities, raising awareness about the harms of gender transition.
“The long-term effects of puberty suppression can include sterility, loss of cognitive function and sexual function. Children are being funnelled down this pathway of gender-transition, fraught with medical complications, and without real opportunity for holistic care. We will campaign on this issue until we see a change. It is simply not acceptable to turn a blind eye to the harms caused by medications in the name of ideology,” Ms. Francis declared
The ACL is calling on the Australian Government to ban puberty blockers for minors until an independent medical inquiry is initiated into the treatment of gender-dysphoric children.
