Critics condemn new UK puberty blockers clinical trial as unethical

Critics have slammed a planned puberty blockers trial for using children as ‘guinea pigs’ to prove what is already established – that they are harmful.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting’s recent announcement of an indefinite ban on puberty blockers in the UK included news of a clinical trial that trans activists are identifying as a backdoor to accessing the experimental drugs.

The use of puberty blockers was discredited by the Cass Review, which found they offered no known improvements to gender-confused children’s mental health, but adversely affected bone density and brain development.

Harmful

Sexual health charity Brook has advised on their website that children can still get puberty blockers “if they agree to be part of a research study that will assess the risks and benefits of these medicines for trans and gender questioning children”.

One mum whose son identifies as a woman spoke to the Daily Mail saying: “Haven’t enough children already been damaged, lives ruined? Do they really need that further evidence?”

Lucy Marsh from the Family Education Trust said: “Puberty blockers harm children. They are using them like guinea pigs.” She added: “What happens to the children who sign up for trials and are harmed? Are they putting aside a compensation pot for a drug they know is harmful?”

But the Government said the trial would provide “the evidence needed to decide whether they can be used as a safe and effective treatment”.

Reckless

Times columnist Janice Turner called the use of puberty blockers on gender-confused children “a reckless 13-year medical experiment” and asked: “how do you select child patients to test a drug when 85 per cent of dysphoria cases resolve themselves at puberty — but doctors can never predict which ones?”

Puberty blockers work by suppressing hormones and were designed to help young children who commenced puberty unusually early.