this post was submitted on 13 Mar 2024
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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”.

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[–] [email protected] 135 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (72 children)

God damn Tories. What do they know about “best interests of the child” that a doctor doesn't already know? Less than nothing is the answer.

If a young person is suffering from gender dysmorphia to the point of considering gender affirmation procedures, then I think it'd be in their best interest to not exacerbate that condition. Delaying the onset of puberty via puberty blockers until they're at the age where that can legally consent to such procedures isn't exactly novel.

Even if they eventually decide not to undergo those procedures, all you habr to do is take them off the blockers and they'd undergo puberty as normal. There's not all that much downside for an awful lot of upside for those in need.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 3 months ago

What you fail to take into account is the pink haired lesbian man haters dragging kids into alleyways and stopping them from having puberty. This is a totally real thing. A child can't even walk to school without being accosted by pink haired lesbian man haters armed with syringes and a copy of a Dworkin book.

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[–] [email protected] 93 points 3 months ago

Oh, great. Vulnerable children and desperate parents searching for prescription medication on the black market. What could go wrong?

Mission accomplished.

[–] dugmeup 92 points 3 months ago

Right wing conservatives can go pound sand. Talk about the government pushing itself between a doctor and patient care.

A landmark bullshit decision.

[–] drmeanfeel 90 points 3 months ago (1 children)

All right wingers want for Christmas is increased suicidality of anyone unlike themselves

[–] Snapz 27 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Or probably more accurately if you look at right wing scandals, people that think similarly to them but are brave enough to live their truth and not try to hide behind a bible and pay their reality away.

Conservatives are cowards. They mainline fear 24/7, they feel list without it.

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[–] Korne127 80 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Best interest of the child my ass. I knew and know so many trans kids that suffer(ed) so much from such awful transphobic laws.
That's just purely disgusting and will have horrible consequences for so many people. I am so sorry for every trans kid in England that suffers from this. :(

[–] UnderpantsWeevil 35 points 3 months ago (6 children)

40 years of Hollyweird / Music Industry / Olympics trainer agents pumping their youngest stars full of this shit in order to squeeze an extra year or two of revenue out of them? Fine. Cool. Good. No problems detected.

Some trans youth have a legitimate medical need for deferring puberty, while they come to terms with their gender and sexuality? Fuck you. Prohibited. Go directly to jail.

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[–] [email protected] 69 points 3 months ago (5 children)

So does this also apply to precocious puberty or is this purely a fuck you to trans people?

[–] [email protected] 35 points 3 months ago

They're going to have to pull an Alabama and do some matching legal and mental gymnastics.

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[–] [email protected] 56 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Time to start some really large clinical trials.

Which wouldn't be a bad idea anyway, tracking long-term outcomes.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 3 months ago (21 children)

GnRH was discovered in 1971, and has been available since the '80s. We have a pretty good idea of their long term effects. There could be more about effects on transgender youth in particular, but everything done so far shows it's safe.

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[–] Phegan 50 points 3 months ago

TERF island strikes again

[–] TIMMAY 45 points 3 months ago (20 children)

I dont want to speak to the social aspect of this issue, but I have to imagine that blocking puberty has some crazy side effects. How long has this medical technology been in use and where can I find studies about it? Again, I know this is sensitive and I am just curious from a biological standpoint.

[–] [email protected] 126 points 3 months ago (10 children)

blocking puberty has some crazy side effects.

I'm a provider at a children's hospital. I specialize in orthopedics and rehabilitation, so I mostly deal with the musculoskeletal system. I have colleagues who would be able to provide a much better and more in depth explanation, but I will do my best.

Even in orthopedics "hormone blockers" are used fairly frequently. For example the same drugs that people use to transition are utilized to moderate the epiphyseal fusion of growth plates. Puberty is also frequently delayed to moderate the hormone levels of juvenile cancer patients. Or even more increasingly common, to halt the symptoms of precocious puberty in young women.

The vast majority of juveniles prescribed hormones to delay puberty are for non gender affirming care like cancer. The problem with moderating what medical providers can and can't treat is that you are assuming you know more about medicine than the a person who went to medical school.

You may be trying to protect kids, but what ends up happening is an interference of medical care, and usually not the type you intended. If hormone drugs become more monitored, providers may be hesitant, or have a more difficult brine prescribing it.

The dangers of delaying puberty are very small, when you stop the prescription puberty begins again. Usually the only side effect is excessive growth due to a delay if epiphyseal fusion. In regards to gender affirming care, I will remind people that their providers are looking at total outcomes. Meaning they are factoring in things like the higher potentiality of self harm and suicide.

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[–] [email protected] 37 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Precocious puberty has been a thing forever and the first medications for delaying it by regulating hormones have been around since the 1980s. I think that should be the jumping off point for research. However afaik the same sorts of drugs are also commonly used to treat cancer in adults.

Here is an article about their use in treating trans people with links to various studies https://transfemscience.org/articles/puberty-blockers/

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[–] assassin_aragorn 26 points 3 months ago

How long has this medical technology been in use and where can I find studies about it?

Decades. It was there when I was a kid, so like 20 years ago. And it wasn't new medical technology at the time.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil 23 points 3 months ago

I have to imagine that blocking puberty has some crazy side effects.

Sort of the joke. Puberty is what has the crazy side effects.

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[–] Buffalox 41 points 3 months ago

I thought quackery was illegal, but apparently not when it's *fundamentalists in politics.

*Fundamentalists as in fundamentally sociopaths.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (6 children)

Whoever decided this can shove a cactus up somewhere.

Fuck you for hurting the most vulnerable;
disgusting decision by disgusting people.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Another Tory L as usual.

Can’t wait till the day comes when they’re out of the gov for good.

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 3 months ago

welcome to TERF island

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