The US should follow England in banning ‘irreversible’ puberty blockers for children under 18, senators and doctors told DailyMail.com today.
England’s National Health Service revealed on Tuesday that it would no longer prescribe the drugs to patients with gender dysphoria under the age of 18 after it found there was not enough evidence on how safe they are or whether they are clinically effective.
The UK government welcomed what it described as a “wonderful decision” and said it was “in the best interests of children”.
Now, American doctors and politicians have told this website that it should serve as a ‘wake up call’ to the healthcare industry in America – which continues to support the use of hormone drugs for trans children. Some also urged doctors to be more careful when prescribing puberty blockers.
Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, who is also a doctor, said: ‘For many children the NHS decision will be too little too late, but I am proud to see science and, frankly, common sense prevail in the UK.
‘Now let my message to America and the radical gender ideologues be clear: Wake up.
Chloe Cole, 18, who transitioned to a man at 13 before later regretting her decision at 16, says breast removal operations on trans children are ‘like experiments from the Nazi era’. She also regrets taking puberty blockers at the age of 13
Kansas senator and doctor Roger Marshall said common sense prevailed in Britain and urged the US to follow suit
‘The irreversible and irreparable harm these drugs do to children is dangerous and is medical malpractice to administer and prescribe to children.’
The US is increasingly becoming an outlier with its treatments for transgender youth. Other European countries, including Sweden and Denmark, have also rolled back their use for under 18s.
Dr. Jane Orient, an internist in Arizona, also described the UK decision as a ‘wake up call’ for the US.
She said: ‘Puberty blockers for children are drugs meant to be used for those going through Cancer treatment or premature puberty.’
She added that they have not been thoroughly studied in trans children for safety or efficacy.
Dr Orient added: ‘They may be touted as reversible, but they almost certainly are not.
“They delay growth, and they also delay intellectual development, so the result is probably not only sterility, but also disruption of the brain.”
Known medically as gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues, puberty blockers were invented to stop early puberty in very young children – when it hits when they were as young as three years old – and for cancer patients.
But they are now also used ‘off label’ for transgender care in children because of their ability to delay the physical changes of puberty – such as the development of breasts or a deeper voice.
Many doctors caution against their use in this group – saying there are few studies on the long-term effects of the drugs.
But there are suggestions they can cause everything from ‘irreversible changes’ to the body to stunting growth and lead to fertility problems.
Dr. Erica Anderson, a psychologist and transgender woman in California who helped advise Britain’s review of its gender confirmation treatment, said she was ‘surprised’ by the country’s health service’s decision to go so far as to no longer offer puberty blockers.
However, she added: ‘We should be extremely careful when it comes to how we view gender issues by young people.
“In individual situations, we have a child who is persistently trans and who deserves the support we can give them.
‘But what has happened, and it is not well understood internationally, is that there has been a departure from the practice where we wait until a little later in puberty to initiate puberty blockers.’
She said: ‘Early innovators who used them with gender issues with children used to wait until (around 13 to 14 for birth girls and 15 to 16 for birth boys).
“But in America, people also rally around their use in the beginning—and that’s where some of the issues come in regarding bone mineralization, genital development, and, of course, fertility.”
She added: “We don’t have that kind of research, we don’t have that kind of solid evidence of the safety and effectiveness of puberty blockers.”
Elon Musk also tweeted about the news
Puberty-blocking prescriptions continue to rise in the United States
More and more children are also prescribed hormone therapy
About 300,000 children under the age of 18 are estimated to be transgender in the United States.
There are no good estimates for how many are on puberty blockers, but data shows a total of 17,800 prescriptions for puberty blockers or hormone treatments among children from 2017 to 2021.
Doctors may offer the drugs along with other treatments such as hormones, which can make the body appear more masculine or feminine, as well as surgeries.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says transgender care — including puberty blockers — is essential for children whose gender does not match the one they were assigned at birth and can reduce the risk of suicide.
Other top medical organizations in the United States, including the American Medical Association and the Endocrine Society, also support their use in children.
The FDA approved the drugs in 1993 for use in children with precocious puberty, allowing doctors to prescribe them ‘off label’ to treat gender dysphoria.
Dr. Marshall also argued that the issue had become overly politicized in the United States.
He told DailyMail.com: ‘The left wing’s embrace of child mutilation surgery and hormone cocktails as puberty blockers for teenagers is morally wrong and a slap in the face to our profession as doctors and all of us who take an oath to ‘above all’ does no harm’.
‘These dark days in American history will have long-lasting and devastating consequences.’
Damage from the drugs includes delayed growth, weaker bones, sterility and reduced IQ because the development of the brain is slowed down.
The Mayo Clinic says it can also lead to the genitals not developing properly, and says this can lead to sex-affirming surgeries not being available later in life.
Many doctors have claimed that the effects of the drugs are reversible and that puberty starts when the treatment is stopped – although other doctors now argue against it.
The UK has closed its gender health identity clinic, the Travistock Center (pictured), which was run by the NHS
A growing number of detransitioners – who regret having the irreversible procedure – have also come forward in recent months, claiming they were not challenged enough as children.
An American patient who received the drugs at age 13, after expressing gender dysphoria at age 12, said she later regretted taking them.
Chloe Cole from California said she was forced to take the drugs – and warned last year that other minors were being pushed into similar treatments.
A former patient who received the drug in the UK yesterday said it was ‘crazy’ that children were ever allowed to take the drug.
Keira Bell, who previously took the NHS to the High Court, claiming she had not been challenged enough before being prescribed puberty blockers at 16, said more investigation was needed into how these drugs were ever considered safe initially.
“It is insane that these drugs were ever offered on a national publicly funded health service which is supposed to be completely evidence based and a service that provides safe safety and care,” she told a local publication.
Other doctors, who spoke to DailyMail.com on condition of anonymity, also praised England for the move and warned of the harm the drugs can do to children.
The National Health Service (NHS) move in the UK means that puberty blockers will now only be available via clinical research trials in the country. They could also be obtained from private clinics.
The NHS took the step following a public consultation on the use of the drugs and an independent review of gender identity services for under 18s in the country.
The review – commissioned in 2020 – was prompted by an increase in referrals to gender identity clinics for more than 5,000 children from 2021 to 2022, compared with less than 250 a decade earlier.
The NHS decision is not an outright ban on the drugs, just a new routine for prescribing.
The approximately 100 children already receiving the drugs will be allowed to continue their treatment until its completion.
The health service also plans to launch a clinical trial of the drugs before the end of the year to further assess their risks and effects.
UK Health Secretary Maria Caulfield welcomed the move, saying: ‘We have always been clear that the safety and well-being of children is paramount, so we welcome this landmark decision by the NHS.
“Ending the routine prescribing of puberty blockers will help ensure that care is based on evidence, expert opinion and is in the best interests of the child.”
Jay Richards, a researcher at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington DC, said: “It is good news that the NHS has announced that it will no longer prescribe puberty blockers to minors for ‘gender-affirming interventions’ – which in reality are often gender-erasing.
‘Partisans of gender transition have argued for years that these drugs are reversible pause buttons for gender dysphoric children.
‘In fact, they are very often irreversible fast-forward buttons. They can harm children’s physical and intellectual development and put them on a different timeline than all their peers.’
A spokeswoman for the Endocrine Society added: “More research data is always welcome to ensure the highest quality medical care is provided to transgender and gender nonconforming individuals.”
“Several European countries have taken this approach.
‘Making gender-affirming care available via clinical trials is not a problem as long as the process does not unnecessarily delay or limit access to evidence-based care.’