Trans youth will no longer be prescribed puberty blockers, NHS England says
https://lemmy.world/post/13067428
Trans youth will no longer be prescribed puberty blockers, NHS England says - Lemmy.World
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”.
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)
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.
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