Do children in the UK get 'gender affirming' medical care?

[Brideandpredjudice]

I've been closely following the US case of the Vanderbilt clinic and I'm just wondering whether 'gender affirming care' (that seems to be what they're calling it?) is given to under 18s in the UK? If so what type?

I'm not sure of the guidelines in this topic so may need to check what can be said. But I have read of cases in the US where children are having drugs and surgeries that will change their lives forever, and even sterilise them. That is heartbreaking to me and I can't imagine why anyone would think a minor is mature enough to know whether they'd like to have children in 20+ years time.

I'm keen to learn more to if anyone has any useful links etc that would be great as I'm sure a lot of the information I've seen online can't be 100% trusted.

You could start here www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/3145470-Break-it-down-for-me

Thank you, I can see that's a long thread with lots of info to read through!

Here’s a pro trans resource:

genderkit.org.uk

technically surgery is only for 18 and up only but referrals can be made at 17 and private surgeons may exercise personal discretion re age (if they have the insurance and a hospital and anaesthetist willing to work with them).

in practice, minors who can access funds travel to Europe where surgeries are cheaper and rules are laxer. Poland and Spain are popular.

the NHS protocol is that cross sex hormones can start at 15 after one year on blockers but again, with cash offshore services can be accessed.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10854047/Doctor-struck-prescribing-sex-change-drugs-private-online-GenderGp-clinic.html

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-61999764

Uggh,

How ANYONE can think that this is a good idea is beyond me.

So sorry for those children who are clearly being enabled to self harm by the adults in their lives .

It's been a long running thing, which is why theres so much information. If we could break it down to a few sentences, maybe
Sterilising kids is a mindfuck
Stop telling children as young as 2 that they might have a gender and conflate that with sex
Adults can do whatever the hell they like within laws, leave the kids alone.
Keep men however they identify out of womens sports, hospital wards, prisons, changing rooms, women's groups however they manifest.

But then we get questions like "you got receipts for that, can you prove it" so we send them to the very long thread and if they really want to know, they read it all.

technically surgery is only for 18 and up only but referrals can be made at 17 and private surgeons may exercise personal discretion re age (if they have the insurance and a hospital and anaesthetist willing to work with them).

I suspect anyone performing SRS on an under 18 in the UK would be struck off.

Parents who want that tend to go abroad (like Suzie Green taking her 15YO to Thailand).

Oh, sorry, I meant top surgery.

genital is very much 18 plus both here and most other countries (now).

Serbia is the current preferred choice for FtM genital surgery.

So are parents taking their under 18s to Serbia for surgery? Or is it adults going there.

Surely the parents need to be held accountable for this?

Here is a video of Susie Green (the head of mermaids), and her mother, talking about Susie's son (now known as Jackie). Jackie was taken to Thailand as a 15 year old for a 16th birthday op (I think Thailand have increased the age limit to 18 since then).

Most FtM don’t have genital surgery anyway and if they do it’s after hormones and top surgery, so v unlikely anyone would reach that point before 18.

Parents are definitely taking teenagers abroad for top surgery, albeit not many.

It’s cheaper to have top surgery in Poland anyway, even with travel and accommodation for two (one to act as a carer) factored in, so perhaps that makes it easier for teens to convince parents?

Parents have been frightened into believing their kids will end their own lives if they don’t facilitate transition (despite there being no evidence of this and the actual rates of suicide for trans identifying teens are more or less the same, thankfully low! numbers as recorded for gay and autistic teens)

Gender affirming care doesn't just involve using a knife.

There are loads of kids on puberty blockers, the drug used to castrate paedophiles. And loads being directed to online suppliers that send them the drugs in fake packaging so that the parents don't know what it is. Also, being sent breast binders behind parent's backs.

It has all been doumented on here for years.

Oh, sorry, I meant top surgery.

Let's call it what it is, a double mastectomy. Major surgery that take 4-6 weeks to recover from and that up to 60% of patients suffer chronic pain after.

No argument here, I was being lazy and used a short cut, which was wrong.

Here’s an account of an Irish young adult going to Poland for a second surgery after being displeased with the original double mastectomy performed by a London based private surgeon:

www.tudsu.tv/2021/03/31/travelling-for-surgery-during-a-pandemic-trans-healthcare/

I just can't believe this is happening. I've read up about so called puberty blockers and it's terrifying!! They're selling them as harmless and reversible even though they have no evidence to prove that it's even true.

The tide is turning.
Sweden and Finland have halted their use and the Cass report in the UK has made it clear that there is no properly documented clinical evidence to justify their use, despite all the ‘they’ve been used for decades!’ puff that comes out of the lobby groups.

Don’t despair, things are better now than they were, more people are seeing the issues.

Some feminists have been shouting into a void for decades (and so
much has happened since I started really paying attention about 5 years ago)

twitter.com/ForwomenScot/status/1439851763704729600

Over fifty under eighteen girls referred from Scotland to English hospitals for double mastectomies.

www.transgendertrend.com/puberty-blockers/

A young female friend of mine started testosterone at 17. I don't know how she obtained it. She was in care, and had adult oversight that was fully aware of it.

I’ve never understood the blockers are harmless mantra. It blocks / stops puberty. Puberty is not just body development it is brain development. How is that acceptable? Plus how can you create an adult body out of a child’s? Plus doesn’t leave you infertile? How can a child consent to that?

It's atrocious.

What I can't understand is this-
A child comes to an adult and says they hate their body, this ir normal teenage behaviour.
The adult then, instead of encouraging self confidence in the child, agrees that they need to change their body. How on earth can this be even remotely beneficial?

Jazz Jennings had the "ideal" treatment - puberty blockers then cross sex hormones, then MtF "gender affirming" surgery. With the highest rated doctors and surgeons. Jazz is now clinically obese, being treated for depression, has had to shelve plans to attend Harvard because of poor mental health. He's now early 20's, has had penis and testicles removed. I think it's likely that the obesity is related to this - his brain systems haven't matured, it's likely his hunger centres are damaged, likely that his hypothalamic function is disturbed. In olden times, eunuchs/castratos were often described as obese and placid.

I feel so much for Jazz, as it was all done in the media spotlight, it would have been very hard to stop the process as whole family are so invested.
And he had a "past life regression" done under hypnosis to explore the cause of his weight and mood problems - he described a "past life" of being a gay man who got abuse for being gay and had to hide his true self.

I really hope he finds happiness.

I agree. I really feel sad for Jazz. The adults (parents, teachers, doctors etc) should’ve protected Jazz’s healthy body and protected the rights of ALL little boys to be as pink, as glittery, as swishy as they fancy without the need for a medical pathway that leads to genital amputation.

I'm from the US and I am really concerned about giving children intense hormones as a preliminary treatment way before 18. Most OB/GYN doctors refuse to give younger women surgical options for contraception.