December 12, 2024
The Department of Health and Social Care for the UK Government announced today, December 12, 2024, that the existing emergency measures banning the sale and supply of puberty-suppressing hormones will be made indefinite, following official advice from medical experts.
The Catholic Medical Association applauds the UK Government for acting forthright by course correcting to protect children with gender dysphoria. Following the example of the UK, initially the world advocate of such procedures on children, CMA has also been reviewing the growing body of evidence that reveals the harms caused by these interventions. As a result, CMA has been a leading medical organization sounding the alarm about the dangers of “gender-affirming care” embraced by several major US medical associations.
Dr. Tim Millea, chair of CMA’s Health Care Policy Committee, commends the UK government officials for their decision, stating, “The recognition that these interventions are harmful, especially to minors, is clear to the UK and other European countries. A decision like this is long overdue in the US. It is time for American medical organizations to remember that physicians are expected to follow science and not ideology.”
The UK based its decision on the independent expert advice from the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) that confirms there is currently an unacceptable safety risk in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to children. It recommends indefinite restrictions while work is done to ensure the safety of children and young people.
The NHS stopped the routine prescription of puberty blocker treatments to children under 18 in March 2024, following the Cass Review into gender identity services that revealed insufficient evidence to show they were safe. Instead, the UK Government and NHS are taking a more holistic approach to improve children’s gender services, focusing on mental health care, while further research is conducted.
“Children’s health care must always be evidence-led. The independent expert Commission on Human Medicines found that the current prescribing and care pathway for gender dysphoria and incongruence presents an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people,” said Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting. “Dr Cass’ review also raised safety concerns around the lack of evidence for these medical treatments. We need to act with caution and care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people, and follow the expert advice.”
The UK’s legislation will be updated to make the order indefinite and will be reviewed in 2027 after further clinical trials on the safety and efficacy of such treatments are conducted. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will be undertaking work in response to the recommendations of CHM, including developing standards.
“Puberty blockers are powerful drugs with unproven benefits and significant risks, and that is why I recommended that they should only be prescribed following a multi-disciplinary assessment and within a research protocol,” said Dr. Hilary Cass, author of the independent review of gender identity services for children and young people. “I support the government’s decision to continue restrictions on the dispensing of puberty blockers for gender dysphoria outside the NHS where these essential safeguards are not being provided.”
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