The Truth About Transgender Medicine
In a new study (2024), the Mayo Clinic has found mild to severe atrophy in the testes of boys on puberty blockers, leading the authors to express doubt in the claims that these drugs are 'safe and reversible'.
Banning the Blockers. In this Quillette article, Bernard Lane gives an overview of the use of puberty blockers as a routine treatment for gender distress and the resulting medical scandal.
March 2024. A major medical scandal in the UK and US has had almost no media coverage in NZ.
The WPATH files are documents leaked from the internal chatboard of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). They shine a light on how so-called “gender-affirming care” or “transgender medicine” is leading to widespread medical malpractice on children and vulnerable adults. WPATH is extremely influential in shaping UK treatment protocols in the NHS. Thousands of children and vulnerable adults are being treated under these protocols. The leaked files reveal that treatments may do more harm than good, and suggest that some clinicians who are members of WPATH know this. (Sex Matters)
In this Free Post article, Finnish specialist, Dr Riittakerttu Kaltiala explains that “My country, and others, found there is no solid evidence supporting the medical transitioning of young people.”
"A Terrible Trap", an article by Charlotte Paul about the dangers of puberty blockers, was published in the December 2023 issue of "North and South". You can access it on the Libby app by using your library card. In the article Paul says, "We have taught these girls to think they are really boys and thus to be disturbed by the changes of puberty... The only solution looks to be the suppressing of puberty. We adults have encouraged children to think like this."
Genspect NZ was launched at a webinar on 10 November 2023 and its new Gender Care Framework was introduced. Genspect's vision is to move beyond a medical understanding of gender identity and gender distress that typically leads to invasive medical interventions and toward a deeper understanding of gender and identity.
The UK Council for Psychotherapy has issued new "guidance regarding gender critical views" that "accepts that the treatment of gender dysphoria is a complex matter, that psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors may hold differing views on what approach is in the best interests of their clients, and that these views and practices, and their associated professional diversities, should also be respected."
In a BBC Newsnight report, a re-analysis of a landmark study about the efficacy of puberty blockers shows the mental health of 34% of the children deteriorated after 12 months of puberty blockers and 27% stayed the same.
Is NZ's transgender medicine guideline an example of regulatory failure? Jan Rivers has published a 20 page report assessing the PATHA (Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa) guideline for transgender care. “Like a lot of gender ideology research, the quality is very poor,” she says.
Unlawful. In this article, Bernard Lane describes how the NZ Ministry of Health was warned by Medsafe in September 2022 it could be breaking the law by publicising the off-label use of puberty blockers for children.
Questions mount around the use of puberty blockers in children. by Jan Rivers. "New Zealand rates of puberty blocker use are much higher than the UK, where the Tavistock Clinic’s Gender Service (GIDS) was closed due to unsafe practices. In New Zealand, Dr Sue Bagshaw reports that 65 per cent of her clinic’s 100 patients receive them. The Tavistock GIDS clinic prescribed blockers to about 6 per cent."
What America has got wrong about gender medicine. This article in the Economist calls transgender medicine a “tragedy of good intentions” and argues that “Too many doctors have suspended their professional judgement.”
The British Medical Journal has published a balanced investigation into the care of young people with gender dysphoria that reached the conclusion: “If we have the best interests of young people at heart, then surely our duty is to offer evidence informed care? And, if the evidence base is weak, we must provide the necessary support to young people as well as prioritising research to answer questions on issues that are causing a great deal of distress, much of which is amplified by social media. Taking this route is essential: an evidence void not only exposes people to overtreatment but can also be used to deny people the care that they seek, such as through the draconian laws now being introduced in some US states. A better appreciation of the evidence, as well as the limits of medicine, is also the basis of a more constructive dialogue.”
How the Tavistock gender clinic ran out of control. An in depth look at the revelations in Time to Think, the just-published book by Hannah Barnes that gives the inside story of the collapse of the Tavistock’s Gender Identity Service for Children.
In this interview, detransitioner Ritchie Herron describes the catastrophic effects of his gender surgery which he says was "the biggest mistake of my life."
On GB News, detransitioners Keira Bell and Ritchie Herron describe the lack of information they were given about the side effects of surgery and the pressure they felt under to agree to the recommendations of their doctors and therapists.
Keira Bell: My Story - Persuasion
As a teen, Keira transitioned to male but came to regret it. Faced with the loss of her breasts, possible infertility, atrophied genitals and a permanently deeper voice and facial hair, Keira became a claimant in a judicial review against the gender health clinic that had treated her. The case was upheld, with the court noting that it was “very doubtful” that patients aged 14 and 15 could give fully informed consent.
ROGD (Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria) Dr Lisa Littman
Here is the research underpinning Dr Littman’s coining of the phrase, “rapid-onset gender dysphoria” to describe the sudden increase in teens announcing a transgender identity.
Children with gender identity issues are ill-served by adults who shut down the debate
This Observer editorial comments on the interim Cass report into UK gender identity services for children and notes that “The long-term health consequences of puberty blockers are unknown, and there is clinical confusion about their purpose.”
Top trans doctors blow the whistle on sloppy care - Abigail Shrier
In this ground-breaking interview with two leading transgender doctors, they admit that some transgender healthcare has been “sloppy” and one states, “I’m worried that decisions will be made that will later be regretted by those making them.”
Trans doctor who helps teens transition says it’s now ‘gone too far’
A transgender psychologist who has helped hundreds of teens transition has warned that it has “gone too far” — and fears many are making life-changing decisions because it’s “trendy” and pushed on social media.
Another unfortunate experiment? New Zealand's Transgender Health Policy and it's Impact on Children by Jan Rivers and Jill Abigail
In this NZ research paper, Rivers and Abigail analyse the dramatic rise in the presentation of gender dysphoria and gather abundant evidence that the use of puberty blockers is neither safe nor effective.
Evidence for puberty blockers use very low, says NICE - BBC News
A review by NICE – the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (UK) – concluded that the quality of evidence for puberty blockers was “very low”.
The Swedish do a u-turn on gender transitioning
In May 2021, Sweden officially ended the practice of prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors under the age of 18.
What I wish I’d known when I was 19 and had sex reassignment surgery
“I chose an irreversible change before I’d even begun to understand my sexuality...But if you explore the world by inhabiting your body as it is, perhaps you’ll find that you love it more than you thought possible.”