Health Secretary Wes Streeting has rejected calls to stop a trial of puberty blocking drugs for gender-questioning children.Streeting permanently banned the prescribing of puberty blockers to under-18s last year.He told MPs he was “uncomfortable” about such drugs being used on young people but said he had given the go-ahead to a clinical trial as recommended by the Cass Review into children’s gender care, because it was the “right thing to do”.Conservative shadow health minister Dr Caroline Johnson, a consultant paediatrician who said she had looked after children with gender dysphoria, asked why the government was funding experiments on “physically healthy children” when Streeting himself had said he was “uncomfortable” about the use of these drugs. Streeting replied: “The reason why, whatever my discomfort in this extremely sensitive area, I have made this decision is because I am following clinical advice and because, as health secretary, it is my responsibility to follow expert advice.”He added: “Am I uncomfortable about puberty-suppressing hormones for this group of young people, for these particular conditions? Yes, I am, because of risks.”But he said he had also been “uncomfortable” when he introduced a permanent ban “because I had to look children and young people in the eye, and their parents, who told me in no uncertain terms that that decision was harmful to them”.Puberty blockers are drugs used to delay or prevent puberty happening.The drugs are not prescribed on the NHS to chil …
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnHealth Secretary Wes Streeting has rejected calls to stop a trial of puberty blocking drugs for gender-questioning children.Streeting permanently banned the prescribing of puberty blockers to under-18s last year.He told MPs he was “uncomfortable” about such drugs being used on young people but said he had given the go-ahead to a clinical trial as recommended by the Cass Review into children’s gender care, because it was the “right thing to do”.Conservative shadow health minister Dr Caroline Johnson, a consultant paediatrician who said she had looked after children with gender dysphoria, asked why the government was funding experiments on “physically healthy children” when Streeting himself had said he was “uncomfortable” about the use of these drugs. Streeting replied: “The reason why, whatever my discomfort in this extremely sensitive area, I have made this decision is because I am following clinical advice and because, as health secretary, it is my responsibility to follow expert advice.”He added: “Am I uncomfortable about puberty-suppressing hormones for this group of young people, for these particular conditions? Yes, I am, because of risks.”But he said he had also been “uncomfortable” when he introduced a permanent ban “because I had to look children and young people in the eye, and their parents, who told me in no uncertain terms that that decision was harmful to them”.Puberty blockers are drugs used to delay or prevent puberty happening.The drugs are not prescribed on the NHS to chil …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
