That puberty blockers should not be promoted for children by any charities or celebrities for children.

[WandaWomblesaurus]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-68549091.amp

https://archive.ph/hmIvY

Loads of news today about the NHS stopping puberty blockers being given to children who think they are trans. Puberty blockers are sometimes prescribed for children who have precocious puberty, however a narrative that has been pushed by Mermaids, Stonewall and celebrities like India Willoughby and Emma Watson (who gave a large donation to Mermaids) - that puberty blockers are safe and "lifesaving"

WPATH guidelines in the USA which the UK NHS have followed in procedure have had leaked documents and videos showing that they knew that children didn't have the ability to understand the long term effects.

https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/09/disturbing-leaks-from-us-gender-group-wpath-ring-alarm-bells-in-nhs

https://archive.ph/h0BtF

And a new Finnish Study debunks the idea that children who say they are trans are more suicidal https://archive.ph/h0BtF

However Mermaids, Stonewall and India Willoughby are pushing puberty blockers as safe.

https://x.com/stonewalluk/status/1767603259932361036?s=

https://www.tiktok.com/@mermaidsgenderr*/photo/7345520902936726816?isfrommwebapp=1&senderdevice=mobile&senderrweb_id=7345629783211378209

https://x.com/indiawilloughby/status/1767595379921404151?s=46

AIBU to think that anyone pushing puberty blockers at this point is unethical? And that they should never have been allowed to be given to children who did not need them for precocious puberty where the risks are weighed up against the side effects and they are only used short term?

So this has been an interesting conversation but I'm going to leave this thread. I was genuinely hoping that others would be able to give me pointers to try and understand what appears to be the overwhelming point of view on these kind of threads that this treatment = bad thing. I have never once displayed a view that says I disagree with that only that I don't have the knowledge to say either way so want to leave it up to others to choose and would suggest people on this thread do the same or decide to opt in or out if they or a loved one needs treatment. Whilst many posters have been respectful and, I think, tried to provide that clarity others have been called me childish, said I have said I can read medical reports when I clearly said I can't, and mocked the fact that I'm not an expert. Something I clearly said in my first post. I'm no further forward in my understanding of why people on this thread think the way that they do so if you are trying to convert people to your viewpoint this has been a not huge success. Which kind of tracks with my experience of having read these threads before where anyone with a different view is metaphorically shouted at. Thank you to those who did try to engage in what I was trying to get across. Better luck next time I hope.

Can you tell us who the experts are that should be deciding to ban puberty blockers for use in treating children with transgender identities for gender affirming care in the UK please?

I'm no further forward in my understanding of why people on this thread think the way that they do

Really? I honestly don't understand how this could be the case unless you are actively seeking not to understand.

Do you understand the point about preteen comprehension of what these drugs will mean for them and their inability to consent for example? Because I don't get why you aren't grasping that.

I don't have the knowledge to say either way so want to leave it up to others to choose and would suggest people on this thread do the same or decide to opt in or out if they or a loved one needs treatment.

Sweetheart, you can't choose or opt in or out for a child and neither can anyone else. The NHS has ended this practice. I'd really suggest trying to read the articles linked on the thread.

Please go and read. If you cannot read the studies, go and read a wide range of people commenting on the studies who are also experts. But read a wide range of opinions.

Just as many of the posters who have challenged your comments on this thread have. To be honest, your posts have not indicated that you wanted to engage at all.

So just continue to say ‘I know nothing’ @newyorker74. It’s fine to do that as long as you don’t then object to the experts making sensible decisions.

Plenty of posters have shared links to information but apparently that was too complex. If you’re waiting for someone to give you a 1 to 1 education on the whole issue and take you through the history and evidence bit by bit, you’ll be waiting a long time because that’s a really big ask. We all have to take some responsibility for educating ourselves.

Ok but people have linked information for you

Gosh, that’s some DARVO.

I was genuinely hoping that others would be able to give me pointers to try and understand what appears to be the overwhelming point of view on these kind of threads that this treatment

Helle, and others, have patiently posted plenty of links for you to evidence, from experts, to help you understand.

I suspect that someone has done a number on newyorker where they have made their staff without specific qualifications feel that they can never be able to 'understand' the stuff that those with the qualifications understand. So therefore, non-experts should not bother.

I could be wrong, but that is how this interaction has come across over the pages.

Luckily experts made this decision 🤷‍♀️

@newyorker74

I think you're clearly struggling with this as you've been told that accommodating trans people is the "kind" way to be.

The point is that adults make decisions to protect children all the time. We don't let them get tattoos and there are age related restrictions to a lot of things. We also don't just hand them drugs to experiment with.

And we shouldn't allow medical experiments with drugs that are proven to be harmful on them, even if said children think it is best for them.

Point is that many enlightened societies are rowing back from puberty blockers because they stunt brain, bone and sexual development, which is a high price to pay and very hard for a child to consent to. You're clearly in the US and have been told what the "enlightened" view is to have, but we don't share it because the medical evidence is quite frightening.

I think Jameela Jamil rather wildly claimed that half her class had been on puberty blockers for heavy periods.

The contraceptive pill was probably identifying as a puberty blocker. It's all drugs, innit.

How are you reconciling 'I guess my point is that it's extremely difficult for any lay person to fully understand these studies' with 'maybe this is one of those decisions that should be left to the young person in conjunction with their doctors and guardians'?

How is the young person meant to understand what the average adult cannot?

I don't think I'll ever be the better of seeing that middle aged man pontificating about the prospect of menopause in a nine year old. You don't need to have any special qualifications to know that that is insane stuff.

I'm afraid I dont understand why you think that the NHS would not appoint its brightest and best to conduct a wide ranging review of a contentious issue and then take a decision to ban. Who do you think is more qualified to take a decision - those making a lot of money from prescribing, those selling the drugs, yourself?

Children can consent to medical decisions when they are old enough to understand the implications. That isnt a fixed age but they cant give informed consent to something they havent been fully informed about and where they cant appreciate the consequences. Puberty blockers are not prescribed after puberty, it's not likely to be past 18. Would you support an anorexic starving themself, even if they were 17? Perhaps you have a child taking puberty blockers already and need to justify the child continuing to harm themselves?

anyolddinosaur i think you are correct

Anyway. I'm immensely relieved to see this from the NHS. I am also very intrigued as to what's in the full Cass report.

@newyorker74 I'm a bit confused here. You keep stating that this decision should be made by experts. It has been made by experts.

So, what exactly is your argument?

You also seem to be suggesting that nobody on MN has the ability to accurately analyse the reports. I think you might be surprised.

Leave the experts to expert is my general rule.

Eh, isn't that what's happened here?

Insane

YANBU

every generation lives through a health scandal and this will be ours

shame on us all as a society for allowing this to happen to our kids.

celebrities should not have the power to direct drugs to children’s bodies

we need to stop being afraid to speak out against this

On reflection, this is the most extraordinary point made on the thread.

I think JJ had it confused with going on the pill for bad periods. She kept saying that loads of girls she went to school with had taken them…

Possibly NewYorker thinks they are the wrong kind of experts? 🤔