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<\/p>\nA group of peers have urged Wes Streeting to halt an NHS-backed puberty blocker trial, saying that it will put children on a pathway of \u201clifelong medical support\u201d.<\/p>\n
About 250 girls and boys aged between 10 and 16 will be recruited to a trial of hormone-suppressing drugs from the new year, run by King\u2019s College London.<\/p>\n
But 11 cross-party members of the Lords have written a letter to The Times urging the health secretary to intervene and get the trial halted.<\/p>\n
They said: \u201cMost children with concerns about gender grow out of it. But once placed on puberty blockers, the majority proceed to cross sex hormones \u2014 and then to the Wild West of our adult gender clinics. We know the resultant harms: reduced bone density, possible impact on brain development, loss of fertility, sexual dysfunction, a requirement for lifelong medical support, often serious pain and medical complications.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can anyone justify placing a further cohort of vulnerable children on a pathway to this future?\u201d<\/p>\n
The letter was signed by 11 members of the House of Lords, including the Conservative peer Baroness Jenkin of Kennington and the Labour peer Lord Glasman.<\/p>\n
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Lord Glasman<\/p>\n
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER RICHARD POHLE<\/p>\n
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Baroness Jenkin of Kennington<\/p>\n
ROGER HARRIS PHOTOGRAPHY<\/p>\n
They argue that the new trial of puberty blockers should not begin until existing NHS gender clinics for adults comply with a request to provide data that shows the outcomes of patients who have previously had puberty blockers.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Times View: Puberty blockers trial must not go ahead<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cUntil this work is complete and the results known, the puberty blockers trial should be halted,\u201d they wrote.<\/p>\n Ethical concerns about the trial have mounted as it emerged that children taking part would be asked if they wanted to freeze their sperm or eggs.<\/p>\n The Pathways trial protocol says that all those participating must be advised about fertility preservation options before starting on the drugs, as the hormone blockers may affect their ability to have children in future. <\/p>\n Female participants will also have regular pregnancy tests and be warned not to get pregnant, as the medication used in the trial is not safe for use during pregnancy.<\/p>\n Puberty blockers are a type of medication called gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues (GnRHa), which pause the physical changes of puberty such as breasts, periods or facial hair.<\/p>\n The trial document says children taking part \u201cwill be encouraged to ask questions and explore fertility preservation options\u201d before commencing the drugs.<\/p>\n It says: \u201cThe risks to long-term fertility will be discussed with each CYP [child or young person] considering GnRHa by a clinician in or attached to their gender service who has specific training and knowledge about fertility risks and options available to them \u2026 The information will include options around sperm donation and egg retrieval.\u201d<\/p>\n The protocol says children wishing to freeze their eggs or sperm will be referred to fertility clinics from the NHS gender service, \u201ceither directly by paediatric endocrinologists or by their GP\u201d.<\/p>\n Girls wanting to safeguard their fertility would have to go through egg freezing, which involves daily injections for about two weeks to help stimulate eggs to mature, then a procedure to collect the eggs, which are then stored in a freezer and can be used in IVF cycles in the future. <\/p>\n Research suggests that puberty blockers alone generally do not cause permanent infertility, but they do pause reproductive development, meaning sperm or egg production stops temporarily. Most children who begin on puberty blockers also go on to take cross-sex hormones as adults, which suppress reproduction and lead to infertility. <\/p>\n Puberty blockers have been banned for use treating gender dysphoria in the UK since last year, due to fears they harm bone and brain development. <\/p>\n The Pathways trial was recommended in last year\u2019s Cass Review, as a way to fill an \u201cevidence gap\u201d about how best to treat gender dysphoria in children. However, campaigners have called for the trial to be halted, saying there is already sufficient evidence that puberty blockers are harmful.<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, wrote to Wes Streeting, the health secretary, last month and told him that the trial \u201cis borne of the discredited, yet still seemingly entrenched, belief in some quarters that a child can be \u2018born in the wrong body\u2019 or go through the \u2018wrong\u2019 puberty, and that a normal puberty can be \u2018paused\u2019 without causing irreparable harm to children\u201d.<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch<\/p>\n JORDAN PETTITT\/PA<\/p>\n Streeting said this month he was \u201cuncomfortable\u201d with the trial<\/a>, but he had similar feelings about the permanent ban on the supply of puberty blockers to children experiencing gender incongruence or dysphoria.<\/p>\n![\"Conservative](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/\/721affd4-5d81-4e43-a4b1-b25c9cfe3282.jpg\")
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