UK Has Banned Puberty Blockers for Kids; Here’s What Canadian Provinces Say

Testoserone medication for gender transitoning seen in a file photo. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

The United Kingdom recently decided to ban puberty blockers for minors due to safety concerns, but Alberta remains the only Canadian province planning to do the same.

Following the UK ban announced on March 12, the health ministries of Quebec, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories told The Epoch Times they will not consider a ban. The other provinces and territories did not respond by publication time, though Ontario said earlier this year it won’t consider a ban.

“We have concluded that there is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of PSH [puberty suppressing hormones] to make the treatment routinely available at this time,” the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) said in its decision.

Puberty blockers, which pause the physical changes of puberty, will only be permitted as part of clinical research trials in the UK. The NHS said cross-sex hormones can still be prescribed to those 16 years and older.

The Canadian Medical Association said it is “deeply concerned” about the UK decision to ban puberty blockers for minors.

“Medical associations from coast to coast are deeply concerned about any government proposal that would restrict access to evidence-based medical care for patients, including for the transgender population,” a March 13 statement said. “There is no one-size-fits-all approach for patients experiencing gender dysphoria. Restricting choices and appropriate care for patients can lead to permanent harm.”

The statement was signed by 12 presidents of provincial medical associations.

Safety Concerns about Puberty Blockers

Concerns about the effects of puberty blockers include how they may impact the brain.

NHS’s review of the drugs, known as the Cass Review, said in its interim report last year that impacts to the development of the teenage brain are unknown. It explained that adolescence is a period of major change in brain structure, including maturation of the frontal lobe, which controls decision making and other important functions. The report raised the question of whether catch-up in development is possible later on.

It said the short-term impacts of headaches, hot flushes, weight gain, tiredness, low mood, and anxiety “may make day-to-day functioning more difficult for a child or young person who is already experiencing distress.”

It expressed concern that the vast majority of youth who take puberty blockers go on to take cross-sex hormones. “The reasons for this need to be better understood,” it says.

Endocrinologist Dr. William Malone raised the alarm over this in a gender dysphoria resource document for medical providers. He said without puberty blockers, most trans-identifying youth will “desist” and become reconciled with their biological sex.

Researchers at one of Europe’s top medical schools, Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet, published a study review of puberty blockers and hormone treatments in the peer-reviewed journal Acta Paediatrica in April 2023.

“Against the background of almost non-existent longterm data, we conclude that GnRHa [puberty blocker] treatment in children with gender dysphoria should be considered experimental treatment rather than standard procedure. This is to say that treatment should only be administered in the context of a clinical trial under informed consent,” said lead author Dr. Jonas F. Ludvigsson in a news release on the institute’s website in April 2023.

It raised many of the same concerns as the Cass Review, and said the psychosocial health benefits cited by transition advocates are uncertain. “Studies do not allow separation of potential effects of psychological intervention independent of hormonal effects,” it said.

A 2020 review published by UK health authorities also said many studies do not report well on comorbidities, such as other mental health issues, and how they are treated, which could affect outcomes.

“The studies included in this evidence review are all small, uncontrolled observational studies, which are subject to bias and confounding, and are of very low certainty,” it said.

It is a known side-effect of puberty blockers that they cause a loss of bone density while being taken. But the review calls into question suggestions that this bone density is regained after children stop taking the medication.

“While controlled trials may not be possible, comparative studies are needed to understand this association and whether the effects of GnRH analogues [puberty blockers] on bone density are seen after treatment is stopped. All the studies that reported safety outcomes provided very low certainty evidence,” it said.

The UK decision comes shortly after an alleged file leak from the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) that raises questions about medical treatments for children. A 241-page report includes internal emails, documents, and an 82-minute video where WPATH members discuss concerns about their practices, including informed consent. It was publicized by the non-profit Environmental Progress, founded by Michael Shellenberger.

In the video, Dianne Berg, a child psychologist, said children and youth cannot fully understand the effects of transgender medical care as it is “out of their developmental range to understand the extent to which some of these medical interventions are impacting them,” according to the report.

Canadian endocrinologist, Dr. Daniel Metzger, also spoke in the video to an internal WPATH panel, saying that professionals are “often explaining these sorts of things to people who haven’t even had biology in high school yet.” He added that even adults have limited knowledge about the treatments.

Other Countries Limit Puberty Blockers

The UK isn’t the first country to backtrack on providing medical interventions like puberty blockers to youth.

Finland shifted in 2020 to relying more on psychotherapy for those struggling with gender dysphoria. It did not block puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones, but no surgical transitions are given to those under 18 years.

Sweden followed Finland in 2022, advising against prescribing puberty blockers, hormones, and surgeries for those under age.

Youth in Denmark are mostly referred to counselling support rather than being prescribed puberty blockers. “Bottom” surgeries for minors have also been disallowed in the country.

In January, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that the province would be banning puberty blockers and hormone therapies for those 15 years of age and under. Her government will also ban surgical interventions for those aged 17 and under.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said he is against giving puberty blockers to minors. He confirmed this view to reporters on Feb. 7, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the same day that the government should not take such options away from parents and children.

“The fact that Premier Smith and Pierre Poilievre want government to take away the option for parents and their vulnerable youth, in consultation with their doctors, to make the right decisions for them is anchored in ideology and is not about protecting the most vulnerable,” he said on Parliament Hill.

“Our government will do whatever it takes to protect the most vulnerable.”

CBC Targeted for Documentary

Shortly after the UK announced its decision to ban the medication for youth, the CBC French service, or Radio-Canada, released a documentary looking at gender medical care in Quebec.

Radio-Canada’s “Trans Express” found that clinics in the province were fast-tracking teens into gender transition by using puberty blockers. It found that some girls were given medications without medical referrals or parental consent.

Activists responded by smashing the windows of the media’s headquarters in Montreal, saying it was a “dishonest attack” on the transgender community.

“It represents an ideological shift that legitimizes the far right’s transphobic demands, and it will fan the flames of violence against trans communities, currently increasingly targeted,” reads an anonymous statement published on the website Montreal Counter-Information.

Radio-Canada said it did not want to comment on the vandalism at the time.

“A police investigation is currently underway. We consider the insinuations published on [Montreal Counter-Information] baseless and misguided,” director of public relations and television promotion Marc Pichette said.

Victoria Friedman, Matthew Horwood, Brad Jones, and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.