Former Mermaids boss defies UK ban on puberty blockers

The former Chief Executive of controversial pro-trans group Mermaids, has committed to helping children access banned puberty blockers despite them being labelled an “unacceptable safety risk”.

Since leaving Mermaids, Susie Green co-founded Anne Trans Healthcare, which states on its website: “We believe in gender-affirming care without barriers – free from judgement, delays, and unnecessary obstacles.”

If a child requests puberty blockers, the organisation promises to “guide you every step of the way”. This is despite the Health Secretary’s recent announcement of an indefinite ban on the sale or supply of puberty-blocking drugs to gender-confused children.

Loopholes

Green, who took her 16-year-old son to Thailand for sex-change surgery to circumvent UK law, told The Times that she will continue to direct children to puberty blocker drugs “despite a UK-wide ban”, calling the ban “cruel, prejudicial and frankly inhumane”.

She previously boasted that she would evade a ban in Great Britain by importing puberty blockers via Northern Ireland. After the UK-wide ban was announced, NHS England explained that it closed “a loophole that posed a risk to the safety of children and young people”.

However, outspoken activist lawyer Jolyon Maugham KC, took to social media to publicise a further gap in the law for unscrupulous operators to exploit, explaining: “you can get your EU prescription fulfilled at an EU pharmacy and lawfully bring those puberty blockers back into the UK”.

It is thought Green intends to encourage children to travel to the Republic of Ireland to access the banned treatment. Stephanie Davies-Arai, of campaign group Transgender Trend, said this “scheme should be stopped for the protection of vulnerable children”.

‘Unacceptable safety risk’

Announcing the ban earlier this month, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “It is a scandal that medicine was given to vulnerable young children, without proof that it is safe or effective”.

It was introduced after an independent report by the Commission on Human Medicines found there was “currently an unacceptable safety risk in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to children”.

Dr Hilary Cass, who conducted an in-depth review of NHS child gender services, welcomed the ban, stating: “It’s not based on discrimination. It’s based on science and certainty about safety and effectiveness.”