Children of 12 to be allowed gender drugs to prepare for sex change

[femtastic]

Do you consider this to be a positive development?

Children of 12 to be allowed gender drugs to prepare for sex change

CHILDREN as young as 12 are to be allowed drugs to prepare them for changing sex.

The controversial treatment halts puberty, stunting sex organs and preventing the growth of facial hair and sperm in boys, and breasts in girls.

The injections, previously available only to over-15s with gender identity disorder, are being made available to younger people under an NHS study after pressure from families and doctors.

Doctors admit most children with the problem do not go on to have a sex change, often turning out to be gay. But blocking puberty hormones can make surgery easier if they need it.

Dr Polly Carmichael, who runs Britain?s only GID clinic in London, said several under-16s were prepared to sign up for the jabs, until now available only in the US, Holland and Germany at that age.

She said: ?The majority of our referrals are 15-plus. Of the children aged 12 and 14, there?s a number who are keen to take part.?

The study was approved by the ­National Research Ethics Service, which oversees hundreds of NHS projects.

wrong, wrong wrong.

if someone absolutely knows for definite that they are in the wrong body then i suppose stopping puberty makes sense, but that must be such a minority of cases that im not sure this is a good thing....

I can see, in fact, that this could spare some grief later as Poncey says. The one person we know reasonably well who had a gender reassignment in middle age makes a pretty unconvincing woman physically, if truth be told. She'll never be immediately taken to be female at first glance, and that must be heartbreaking for her despite her obvious relief in other ways at finally having the right' gender.

Life's bloody complicated for some people, isn't it?

but gender reassignment isnt so black and white is it dittany?

do you not believe that some people feel they are trapped in the wrong body?

as part of our training for the police we met some of the transgender community. some of the stories are quite heartbreaking. im not sure that giving 12 yr olds hormones to stop puberty is the answer - but i know in sweden (?? i think its sweden?) they recognise this as a condition much earlier and it does save some grief for people later on - i think they are willing to to begin the process at around 12 if im not mistaken.

i would say proceed with extreme caution at such a tender age. so i guess im on the fence.

Yes, I don't think I can voice an opinion, seeing as I know nothing about the condition and never known a teenage transsexual.

I do wonder whether people who just declare it 'wrong' actually have any knowledge themselves or if they just feel a bit squeamish about the whole idea.

certainly not dittany

these kids should be counselled and counselled some more, if its just that they are gay then they should be allowed to be gay.

im talking about genuine cases of trans gender - there surely has to be some way of talking this through with the children affected - my sister who was gay (i say was because she is dead, not because she changed her mind!) says she knew from early on she was a gay woman.

i believe that some people are lucky enough to know from an early age that they feel different - i think its important to help them to understand exactly what that "difference" is - and treat accordingly.

Not really homophobia/lesbophobia the doctors said that the children go on to find out they are homosexual. Which seems to imply that they originally felt they were the wrong sex and the doctors invovled simply gave them time to figure themselves out. They are not sacrificed the puberty is only halted and once stopped resumes as normal.

saltatrix - if thats the case then i think its perfectly ok. let them work it out, and go with whatever they as individuals need.

if they can just "restart" puberty when they have worked out what they want then i dont have a problem with it.

gender reassignment is way harder after puberty.

The link us to a press report, not the NHS study on which it was based.

Does anyone know anything about this study and its parameters?

I do not think this sounds like a particularly good move, on the information available. Firstly, as dittany points out, diagnoses/assessments at that age do not seem particularly reliable. Secondly (though this may be in the NHS study), what are the consequences of interfering with normal puberty? Thirdly, what social support is offered to ensure that the child, who remains pre-pubescent in a (probably school based) peer group of adolescents, does not become further alienated or incur additional psychological harm?

This is the press release

"We are carrying out this study because there is not much evidence on the use of hormone blockers in young people. The aim of the research is to look at the psychological and physical effects of blocking sex hormones in young people aged 12-15 and find out if taking part in the study improves the young people?s well being. This intervention, which is deemed reversible, is part of a step-by-step approach in the journey to harmonise the body to the person?s enduring self-perception of their gender identity. There will be an in-depth evaluation in collaboration with the adolescent and the family to determine whether the young person meets the eligibility criteria to participate in the study. This intervention is part of an integrated program offering on-going psychological and social support to the young person and the family. The study has a robust system of outcome monitoring and informed consent and has received ethical approval by the National Research Ethics Service."

Gotta love the patriarchy.

i think, ultimately, its up to the young person, who should be given all the information, the possible side effects, everything, and then be allowed to make their own decision, in conjunction with their families, and they should get ongoing psychological and social support.

if its available, its a choice, their choice, not mine.

I'm interested , so are feminists generally against the transexual,transgendered community??

(oh and thanks dittany, i do miss my sister very much)

I'm sorry about your sister, Vicar. I can't begin to imagine how awful that is.

Sue, I don't think feminists are against the trans community. I think there are certain trans campaigners that some feminists have an issue with. Some trans campaigners who are in agreement with the medical establishment get a louder voice than trans people who view their sex and gender in other ways. So the debate becomes polarised. There are a huge number of issues.

There have to be a lot of issues with deliberately delaying puberty. If there is an issue with homophobia and sexism encouraging people to identify as the opposite sex because the barriers to being gay or behaving in ways that are beyond the bounds of gender stereotypes, then part of overcoming that has to be about going through puberty. You have gone through the changes that allow you to form an adult response to sexual, emotional and romantic attachments to others.