The use of puberty blockers for the treatment of gender dysphoria or gender incongruence in transgender minors has been prohibited by the UK’s National Health Service.
Non-transgender children and young people who are not trans have not been given a statement from the NHS restricting the use of puberty blockers.
A spokesperson for the NHS confirmed to ABC News that the organization hopes to have a study into the use of puberty blockers completed by December of this year, with registration requirements still undetermined.
The organization claimed that it made the decision after considering the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s evidence-based analysis.
An NHS director told ABC News in a statement that “we have come to the conclusion that there is not enough evidence to make the cure regularly available at this time” in a statement.
The NHS is now prescribing puberty blockers to less than 100 young people in England, and the BBC has confirmed that they will continue to do so.
According to the organization, professionals will also be able to submit an individual funding request for the treatment of their patients through NHS England’s Individual Funding Request procedure.
During the presentation in Piccadilly Circus, a rebel holds a “No Trans Exclusion” sign. During Trans Pride 2023, thousands of people marched through central London.Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Doctors told ABC News that families and their care providers occasionally consider using puberty blockers to slow down the growth of stereotypical characteristics, including the development of breasts and facial hair, as well as changes in a child’s voice, when children with gender dysphoria or sex incongruence reach puberty.
Puberty blockers are a decades-old process that has been commonly used on children who go through puberty earlier than what is common, according to doctors and researchers who have previously told ABC News in a previous meeting.
The Endocrine Society, an international organization of more than 18,000 doctors, calls the medicine “fully reversible”. When blockers are stopped, puberty continues with little to no confirmed side effects, according to health experts.
According to Endocrine Society guidelines, “Puberty blockers give families more time to decide their future plans for sex and gender-affirming care” and “allow more time to explore gender identity.”
The Endocrine Society says the risks of using puberty blockers include reduced bone mineral density, headaches, hot flashes, fatigue, and mood abnormalities.
A National Health Service (NHS) sign is shown February 19, 2003, in London, England.Graeme Robertson/Getty Images
According to experts who spoke with ABC News, they haven’t seen any fertility issues in people who temporarily use puberty blockers. But, the Endocrine Society labels it as a risk based on the frequency with which puberty blockers are used.
All treatments, therapies, or vaccinations come with some kind of risk, and gender-affirming care is no exception, according to physicians. Knowing the risks and benefits of care, as well as the advantages of not treating a condition, is, according to doctors, helps families make informed decisions.
Before administering puberty blockers and hormone therapy, according to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the Endocrine Society, doctors may fully inform patients about the potential for reduced fertility.
Major medical associations in the United States, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and others agree that gender-affirming care is safe, effective, beneficial, and medically necessary.
Studies show transgender youth are more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation and attempts, often due to gender-related discrimination and gender dysphoria.
With puberty blockers, gender dysphoria and social functioning significantly improved, and self-harm and suicidality significantly decreased.
In the U.S., at least 23 states have restricted gender-affirming care, according to the Human Rights Campaign: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.
However, several states have had their policies blocked by legal challenges.
These U.S. laws have a negative impact on transgender youth’s mental and physical well-being, according to those who oppose them.
Trans youth should wait until they’re older to make health decisions, say those who support these laws.
