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”.

  • harderian729@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2620·
    9 months ago

    I wonder what the statistics are of “trans youth” figuring out they’re actually not trans as they get older.

    • Betch@lemmy.worldEnglish
      91·
      9 months ago

      Basically non-existant but of course when it does happen it gets repeated over and over again. The main reason why anybody detransitions is because of how they get treated during their transition.

    • Ultraviolet@lemmy.worldEnglish
      193·
      9 months ago

      Extremely uncommon. But on the off chance it happens, they just stop taking the puberty blockers and everything proceeds as normal.

    • chetradley@lemmy.worldEnglish
      192·
      9 months ago

      I’m assuming you’re asking in good faith. I found this type of question to be especially controversial due to the legislation against gender-affirming care, especially puberty blockers. In researching further:

      As others have stated, cases where permanent gender-affirming care was given, such as HRT (hormone therapy) and GRS (genital reconfiguration surgery), instances of regret are incredibly rare, and almost always predicated by lack of support for the individual. They are far outnumbered by instances of trans people undergoing puberty incompatible with their gender, which is itself damaging and irreversible.

      The type of care discussed in this article, GnRH (puberty blockers), has been shown to not have long term consequences, and is only used to delay puberty and the potential long term effects, giving them enough time to make an informed decision about their transition. From the Mayo Clinic:

      GnRH analogues don’t cause permanent physical changes. Instead, they pause puberty. That offers a chance to explore gender identity. It also gives youth and their families time to plan for the psychological, medical, developmental, social and legal issues that may lie ahead…

      When a person stops taking GnRH analogues, puberty starts again.

          • FluffyPotato@lemm.eeEnglish
            161·
            9 months ago

            Not in that study. The link you provided only has the abstract but it’s not even about how common detransitioning is.

            It has a sample size of 25 so it couldn’t even draw an average with that but according to the study it’s goal seems to be to document the motives for transitioning for people who go on to transition and the ones who don’t.

            • Neuromancer@lemm.eeEnglish
              329·
              9 months ago

              It obvious you’re not trying to have serious conversation since you didn’t read the study and are conflating detransitioning with people who outgrow it. If you don’t understand a topic well enough to talk about it then don’t. I’m done

        • chetradley@lemmy.worldEnglish
          61·
          9 months ago

          It’s also the worst type of wrong: the type that has the potential to seriously harm people. Hopefully they retract it instead of continuing to double down.

    • thesporkeffect@lemmy.worldEnglish
      255·
      9 months ago

      I was going to downvote and move on, but instead…

      I have family and friends that are trans, so I have been able to kind of follow their outcomes over the years.

      1. Human gender identity and sexuality does seem to fluctuate somewhat, but it doesn’t seem to me to be random. Some people fully identify as one gender but like to perform as a different one. Other people don’t vary at all. In cases where people “change their mind”, it’s usually because they get discouraged about being able to successfully transition, or they experience severe harassment/workplace discrimination. Just in my anecdotal experience, it’s never because they just randomly decide they no longer want to be trans

      2. No one is getting permanent gender affirmation treatment until they are old enough to know and have been in discussions with doctors for years. I’m sure there are exceptions where some poor 5 year olds parent(s) treated them without medical oversight but it’s not common and no one wants this.