Health Secretary Wes Streeting Defends PATHWAYS Puberty-Blocker Trial for Gender-Questioning Children
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has affirmed that the PATHWAYS puberty-blocker trial for gender-questioning children will proceed despite his personal discomfort with puberty-suppressing hormones for this group. The trial, set to begin in January, will enrol approximately 226 children aged 10 to 16 from England's gender clinics. Participation requires parental consent and involves close monitoring of health outcomes, including bone density and brain development.
The trial aims to assess the benefits and safeguards of puberty blockers, which are not routinely prescribed on the NHS for gender dysphoria outside such trials. The decision to continue the trial follows clinical and expert advice and has government backing along with agreement from devolved nations.
However, the evidence supporting the benefits of puberty blockers remains limited; the Cass Review concluded that existing research is of poor quality. Critics have voiced concerns over the trial. Dr Caroline Johnson compared it to experimenting on healthy children, while Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch called for the trial to be halted.
Despite these criticisms, Wes Streeting maintains his position from last year when he banned prescribing puberty blockers to under-18s outside of trials, emphasizing the importance of the ongoing research to better understand the effects and safety of these treatments.
