Trans youth will no longer be prescribed puberty blockers at NHS England gender identity clinics in a new “blow” to gender-affirming healthcare.
Puberty blockers are a type of medicine that prevent puberty from starting by blocking the hormones – like testosterone and oestrogen – that lead to puberty-related changes in the body. In the case of trans youth, this can delay unwanted physical changes like menstruation, breast growth, voice changes or facial hair growth.
On Tuesday (12 March), NHS England confirmed the medicine, which has been described as “life-saving” medical care for trans youth, will only be available to young people as part of clinical research trials.
The government described the move as a “landmark decision”, Sky News reported. It believed such a move is in the “best interests of the child”.
What the other user said is correct. Generally puberty blocks are limited to use during adolescence, with use being discontinued in the very early 20’s at the latest. They are a measure to buy time for a person to meet an age of greater maturity so they can make the decision to further transition medically or hormonally. They are not intended to remove sex hormones from the body forever (much to my personal dismay)
Cheers. I’ll certainly look into that. I’ve not made up my mind (until the medical consensus does), and I’m coming at this from an angle of wanting trans people to have an equal quality of life (and average lifespan) with cis people. Believe it or not.