Lately, we've seen small glimpses of sanity returning to our culture. Major corporations and universities are rolling back their woke practices. People are making movies with Christian and conservative values that cause critics' heads to spin. Our president is even shown respect when he goes overseas once again. But the United Kingdom just handed us a big dose of common sense and with any luck, other countries, including the United States, will follow.
According to a Wednesday press release from the Department of Health and Social Care, the UK is "banning the sale and supply of puberty-suppressing hormones" indefinitely for children under the age of 18. The move comes after the country placed a temporary ban on puberty blockers earlier this year, following an independent study chaired by Dr. Hilary Cass, the former president of the Royal College of Pediatrics and chair of the British Academy of Childhood Disability, was unable to determine that they were safe.
Existing emergency measures banning the sale and supply of puberty-suppressing hormones will be made indefinite, following official advice from medical experts.
The Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) has provided independent expert advice that 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 under 18s in March 2024, following the Cass Review into gender identity services.
Puberty blockers for the treatment of gender incongruence and/or gender dysphoria in under 18s were banned temporarily in May 2024 after the Cass Review found there was insufficient evidence to show they were safe. Legislation will be updated today to make the order indefinite and will be reviewed in 2027.
The statement also says that support for children and their families who suffer from issues like "gender incongruence and/or gender dysphoria" will take a more holistic approach, and the country will offer "enhanced mental health support."
"Children’s healthcare 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 Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care. Streeting also called the fact that children were given these drugs without thorough research a "scandal." He said that in some cases, acquiring them was as easy as filling out a form online and having a virtual consultation with a doctor.
Cass herself said she supported the government's decision, adding, "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."
While these drugs are not banned for minors in the United States, at least "23 states have adopted laws or policies that ban or severely limit gender-affirming care (GAC) for minors, and several others are eyeing the possibility," according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. A federal ban could become a possibility when Donald Trump officially takes office next year.
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