Trans youth will no longer be prescribed puberty blockers at NHS England gender identity clinics in a “blow” to gender-affirming healthcare.

Trans youth will no longer be prescribed puberty blockers at NHS England gender identity clinics in a new “blow” to gender-affirming healthcare.

Puberty blockers are a type of medicine that prevent puberty from starting by blocking the hormones – like testosterone and oestrogen – that lead to puberty-related changes in the body. In the case of trans youth, this can delay unwanted physical changes like menstruation, breast growth, voice changes or facial hair growth.

On Tuesday (12 March), NHS England confirmed the medicine, which has been described as “life-saving” medical care for trans youth, will only be available to young people as part of clinical research trials.

The government described the move as a “landmark decision”, Sky News reported. It believed such a move is in the “best interests of the child”.

    • MetaCubed@lemmy.worldEnglish
      145·
      8 months ago

      I guess ill be the one to bite.

      How do you consider this good news? All scientific literature indicates that prescribing puberty blockers to trans youth has a large benefit to the state of their current and future mental health, while also causing no harm as once they stop taking them, if they dont further transition, their regular puberty takes over with no decrease in how much they mentally and physically develop (dont forget, these are also regularly prescribed to cis kids too)

      • Shotgun_Alice@lemmy.worldEnglish
        103·
        8 months ago

        They’re a troll, I’ve seen their account in other threads. If you look at their account they have all down votes. Like they’re trying to collect as many downvotes as they can.

      • Gigan@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1114·
        8 months ago

        Please link to all relevant scientific literature. Otherwise I’m going to assume you’re just spouting talking points out of your ass because this stuff hasn’t been studied as extensively as you claim.

          • Tattorack@lemmy.worldEnglish
            33·
            8 months ago

            The person who makes the claim is responsible for backing it up. So yes, if you’re going to make a going you’re going to do all the research.

            Asking for the relevant scientific backing is a perfectly reasonable thing to ask.

      • crapwittyname@lemm.eeEnglish
        410·
        8 months ago

        The second part of what you say (puberty takes over as soon as the blockers are stopped) is not, as far as I’m aware, established. There are huge questions over this. First off, if I decide to come off puberty blockers aged 30, will I then go through puberty? If so, how different will it be to a normal puberty? If not, how long do I take puberty blockers for until I’ve bypassed my puberty? Can we quantify or qualify the potential harms inherent in the treatment? There’re too many unknowns and not enough evidence to support this statement you’ve made. I’ve seen it made before which is why I looked into it.
        I’m not trans myself, but some of the people I love are/were. I love them and I want them to thrive, which is why I’m concerned about the enthusiasm for a seemingly magic bullet which I think has the potential to do a lot of harm if applied without being properly understood.

        • MetaCubed@lemmy.worldEnglish
          21·
          8 months ago

          What the other user said is correct. Generally puberty blocks are limited to use during adolescence, with use being discontinued in the very early 20’s at the latest. They are a measure to buy time for a person to meet an age of greater maturity so they can make the decision to further transition medically or hormonally. They are not intended to remove sex hormones from the body forever (much to my personal dismay)

          • crapwittyname@lemm.eeEnglish
            1·
            8 months ago

            Cheers. I’ll certainly look into that. I’ve not made up my mind (until the medical consensus does), and I’m coming at this from an angle of wanting trans people to have an equal quality of life (and average lifespan) with cis people. Believe it or not.

            • Laurentide@pawb.socialEnglish
              2·
              8 months ago

              The medical consensus already exists. This isn’t some experimental drug; puberty blockers have been widely prescribed to children for decades. We know how they work, we know they are generally safe, and we know that blocking access to them will result in needless suffering and death.

              Here are the “huge questions” you should really be asking:

              If these drugs are so dangerous, why are people only bringing it up now and not sometime in the 40 years since they entered widespread usage?

              Why are people suddenly claiming that a drug we’ve been using for decades has “too many unknowns” and “not enough evidence” for its safety?

              If all of this controversy is really genuine, and not the result of a moral panic rooted in bigotry, then why is nobody proposing a ban on puberty blockers for cisgender children? How can they be “dangerous” and “untested” for one group of children but safe and effective for a different group of children when both groups are taking them for the same purpose (to delay puberty)?

              If you really care about the welfare of trans people, then you should support giving us the healthcare that we and our doctors say we need.

              • crapwittyname@lemm.eeEnglish
                1·
                8 months ago

                If you really care about the welfare of trans people, then you should support giving us the healthcare that we and our doctors say we need.

                I do. And with due respect, you’re just an anonymous poster on an internet forum. Your opinions necessarily carry zero weight. That’s nothing personal because I don’t know you, and I won’t believe your assertions, because that’s not how this works.