The health service in England said there is not enough evidence about their safety or clinical effectiveness to justify prescribing them to children and young people who are transitioning.
The drugs stop normal development in teenagers – such as preventing breast development in girls, and the growth of facial hair in boys. There is no evidence that they won’t have long-term health consequences, including for those who don’t proceed to opposite sex hormones.
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Asked by the DUP’s Diane Dodds at the Heath Committee on Thursday if he would also ban the drugs, Mr Swann replied “Yes”.
The Alliance Party’s Nuala McAllister said “you gave just a one word answer to a question that will actually be very very damaging for a very small number of people in Northern Ireland”.
The North Belfast MLA asked Robin Swann if the drugs would be banned for all under 18s and “not just trans kids” and said it was very important that the minister meets with “LGBT+ organisations” – who she said were “only too aware of the very acute needs of young people in Northern Ireland”. Robin Swann apologised for any upset his one word answer caused.
Dr David Bell – a former consultant psychiatrist at the Tavistock gender identity clinic in London – now closed – said in 2021 that the ideology of some LGBT organisations was damaging the treatment offered to children.
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He told the BBC’s Nolan Investigates Stonewall podcast that LGBT+ groups had promoted “the kind of agendas which I’ve been saying are doing such damage”.
He said that, for example, health bodies signing up as a ‘Stonewall Champion’ – “implies affirmation towards children with gender dysphoria, affirming them as the opposite gender. That is damaging.”
Dr Bell said: “the neutrality which is necessary for dealing with these matters is invaded by an ideological movement”.
Stonewall said it was “deeply disappointing” that their work for “LGBTQ+ inclusion” could “still be thought of as controversial”.
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Medical interventions – which can include puberty blockers and mastectomies – have been described by supporters as “gender affirming healthcare”.
Sinn Fein, who last year called for the drugs to be a legal right, did not speak on the issue. In 2020 Sinn Fein MLA Emma Sheerin said “more must be done to ensure that people can access gender affirming healthcare in an appropriate and timely manner”.
Last year Ms Sheerin suggested that prescribing puberty blockers to teenagers was a matter of “normal healthcare”.
The Alliance Party, the Green Party and the SDLP have – or still do – support the use of the drugs in children with gender dysphoria.
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Last year, UUP leader Doug Beattie raised concerns saying “evidence for using puberty blocking drugs to treat young people struggling with their gender identity is ‘very low’”. The DUP and TUV have opposed their use.
In response to a News Letter question earlier on Thursday afternoon, the health minister said: “I welcome the clarity provided by NHS England, in confirming that children will not be routinely prescribed puberty supressing hormones at gender identity clinics.
"This followed a public consultation and a review of available evidence by NICE. I believe this review will be carefully considered in relation to services provided across the UK including Northern Ireland.”
Belfast Trust – who run transitioning services in Northern Ireland – said: “The Regional Gender Identity Service, Knowing our Identity, (KOI) is a specialist service within CAMHS.
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"KOI has previously offered access to gender affirming endocrine interventions for young people following careful psychological assessment and consideration.
"In March 2020, changes were made to the specification for the Knowing Our Identity Service and as a result new referrals no longer have access to the endocrine pathway”.
by LoveLaughLarne
22 comments
I’m glad.
I (kind of) agree with the decision here, and it’s one that you are seeing a lot of other European countries make.
The medical evidence bluntly doesn’t seem to be there to have doctors prescribe them off-label (although I understand there are ethical issues around running proper trials to see one way or the other as well).
This should not be given to children without knowing what long term effects it has in adolescence
[Recent post similar to this](https://www.reddit.com/r/northernireland/s/AqSGwFsauQ)
I’m glad it’s being banned here in the north, our kids aren’t guinea pigs and really what teenager isn’t struggling with their body image during puberty ffs
For once I think we might actually be ahead of the curve on something.
It’s the right decision and any reasonable person could understand that.
However as if the man was criticised for giving a straight answer to a question. That’ll only dissuade politicians from doing it even further
Woke won’t like it
Forcing trans kids to undergo the wrong puberty is evil. The only reason for this ban is to cause as much harm as possible to trans folk, dressed up in a “think of the children” veneer. This is going to kill kids
Suicide rates for trans teens and adults are already much higher than cis folks. This is going to do so much damage to trans people’s mental state in NI. It’s very difficult to access trans healthcare here, a friend of mine couldn’t even get on the waiting list to the 1 gender identity clinic in NI as an adult. They were told that their waiting list was full and has been since 2017 and it hasn’t moved since, because funding cuts and transphobia has fearmongered its way into UK legislation. Puberty blockers have been used since the 1980s and 40 years on there are no documented serious medical concerns. The regret rate for gender affirming treatment is 1%. Name me another medical treatment that has that low a regret rate. If trans kids and adolescents aren’t supported in gender affirming treatment they are so much more likely to complete suicide. Long term side effects don’t actually matter much if the cohort who needs treatment are no longer alive. Medical professionals need to be making decisions about this with individual patients, not fucking politicians. Fuck Robin Swan, Fuck the DUP and Fuck the TUV.
Sigh
I think this is a shame. It will affect not just Trans kids who are already dealing with mental health issues but kids who are dealing with precocious puberty.
The decision to administer these meds isn’t done lightly it takes time, assessment and more than one doctor to see the child before it’s given.
People also need to realise it’s not being prescribed en mass. A *total* of 83 children were given this drug last year and that includes those getting it for precocious puberty.
This is going to cause more harm than good.
It’s reasonable to regulate these kinds of things but when they’re out right banning things the consequences can have a knock on like IVF is the U.S at the minute.
Surely it would be more reasonable to increase funding for treatments like counseling than to ban the medicines.
This usually pushes people to go the black market route causing more issues.
I am sure there are plenty of cases of children with precocus puberty that need treatment is this going to affect them?
Can we plz stop thinking murphy makes these laws plz its laughable
they dont no how to run a government
>Dr David Bell – a former consultant psychiatrist at the Tavistock gender identity clinic in London – now closed – said in 2021 that the ideology of some LGBT organisations was damaging the treatment offered to children.
Dr David Bell, a Covid vaccine sceptic who compared those championing vaccinations to “fascists and their brownshirts” and writes for Toby Young’s *Daily Sceptic*, best known for spreading misinformation about vaccines and climate change denial? He was their ‘expert’? Fucking hell…
How have so many people got opinions on a subject they know nothing about? Trans issues include a very small percentage of the population, with even fewer specialising in the treatment and pathways. It’s the same every time.
A lot like some random accidentally walking into a university lecture about quantum physics or anthropology and having his five cents. Just…if you don’t know what you’re talking about why stir the pot?
Fucking scumbag morons deciding how queer people live.
Newsletter continues to be an absolute muck rag. Massive surprise.
WTF is a puberty blocker!?
Puberty blockers are not a “right” and should only be given under the strictest of conditions. To many times we’ve seen the results of unscrupulous doctors (especially in the u.s. where this madness started.) Giving these blockers and invasive surgeries to children who then realise they’ve made a horrendous mistake but now thanks to these so called “doctors” it’s too late, the damage has been done. Just so these morally bankrupt filth can make easy money off people’s suffering.
As a trans woman from belfast I could never even get blockers in this country in the first place, there is one qualified doctor who can give a gender dysphoria diagnosis at brackenburn who hasn’t practiced in around 5 years. The queue to get treated is at least 6 years long and not moving. The lack of qualified consultants and treatment is what’s dangerous to trans youth, not reversible puberty blockers.
to the people in here who think banning puberty blockers will stop young people from obtaining them:
wrong. you’re just deleting a channel to obtain them in a safe manner with help from medical professionals. trans people just have to do another thing in an unsafe way to try and live their authentic life. so if you’re lauding this as a correct thing, you’re fucked.
https://www.reddit.com/r/facepalm/s/E72KUsJ31c