'Streeting still has time to stop this puberty blockers trial'

NTER Health Secretary Wes Streeting. Not long ago, he backed the ban on puberty blockers following the Cass Review, which found that evidence for these treatments was — to put it nicely — flimsy. Thousands of distressed teenagers went through the Tavistock Clinic and many now live with irreversible consequences, including sterilisation, stunted development, lost fertility and profound regret.

- Esther Krakue

We do not need a philosophical debate to know puberty blockers can cause irreversible harm. We have the testimonies. And we have the lawsuits. Yet here we are again.

Last month, regulators approved a fresh experiment; a new clinical trial called PATHWAYS that will put another 200 or so children on puberty blockers. Some of the participants will be as young as 10 and all of them will be taking the drugs either immediately or after a short delay. There will be no placebos and long-term “followup” will only last up to two years.