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Puberty blocker pause not fuelled by ideology, says top doctor https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/other/puberty-blocker-pause-not-fuelled-by-ideo..."Scotland’s pause on puberty blockers was not driven by ideology, the country’s top doctor has said.
Earlier this year, the decision was taken to pause the prescription of puberty blockers to young trans people following the publication of the Cass review, which raised fears about the long-term impacts of the drugs.
Health boards and the Scottish Government pledged to research the impacts.
The document, conducted by retired paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, now Baroness Cass, for NHS England, also lamented the “toxic” nature of the conversation around transgender people.
Speaking before the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee at Holyrood on Tuesday, Professor Sir Gregor Smith, Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer, said the decision had not been impacted by the fraught public debate around the issue of gender.
“In any of the discussions that I’ve been a part of, I’ve never seen evidence of an ideology driving this, but I’ve seen evidence of a real desire to get to the bottom of scientific process about where the evidence lies, either in support or against the use of theses drugs, and trying to determine fully just what impacts they have,” he said in response to a question from Green health spokeswoman Gillian Mackay.
Ms Mackay also mentioned a Holyrood petition which had been filed to reverse the pause, with those behind it claiming ideology had played a part in the decision, the MSP said.
Sir Gregor said: “I’ve never seen any ideology that’s actually been behind as the driver for any decisions in this space from anyone that I’ve had any conversations with.”
Ms Mackay asked why the drugs in question – Gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues – are still being prescribed to those in puberty early, but not for trans young people.
Professor Alison Strath, Scotland’s chief pharmaceutical officer, told Ms Mackay: “We haven’t tested in the age groups that we’re treating and with the dosages we’re treating, they haven’t been testing in the way that the medicines that are licensed for use have been.
“So it is really important that when we’re looking at that, we are understanding whether there’s any additional harm that’s caused, whether the actual product, the doses that we’re using, are efficient and effective.”MORE ON LINK.
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