When Harry Became Sally by Ryan T. Anderson

Author:Ryan T. Anderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781594039621
Publisher: Encounter Books
Published: 2017-02-15T05:00:00+00:00

Is Puberty-Blocking Therapy Safe?

Transgender activists insist that a child’s discordant gender identity must be accepted as who the child really is, and affirmed with social transition followed by puberty blockers. They claim that blocking puberty is a cautious and prudent measure, allowing the child time to “explore” his or her “gender identity” without the “undesirable” changes of puberty. But what do we actually know about the effects of puberty blockers as a treatment for gender dysphoria?

Activists and some medical professionals are suggesting that a drug developed and tested to help prevent the early onset of puberty—what’s known as precocious puberty—can be safely used to delay puberty indefinitely. Precocious puberty is often caused by the early production of a hormone known as GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone), which is naturally released by the hypothalamus in bursts, stimulating the pituitary to release other hormones called gonadotropins, which in turn stimulate the growth of the gonads (ovaries and testes). Physicians treat precocious puberty not by blocking GnRH, but by providing more constant levels of a synthetic form called a GnRH analogue. This has the effect of desensitizing the pituitary gland to GnRH and reducing its secretion of gonadotropins, thus slowing down the maturation of the gonads and their secretion of androgens and estrogens, and thereby preventing the premature development of secondary sex characteristics.31 This outcome is beneficial in the case of precocious puberty, since developing too early can cause psychological, social, and physical problems. Administering GnRH analogues to push back the start of puberty to its normal biological schedule is medically appropriate.

The same cannot be said about the use of GnRH analogues to suppress normal puberty indefinitely. Judging from the treatment guidelines produced by transgender activists, one might think there’s a firm scientific consensus that it is safe and effective for treating gender dysphoria. But this is far from the reality, as Hruz, Mayer, and McHugh point out: “Whether puberty suppression is safe and effective when used for gender dysphoria remains unclear and unsupported by rigorous scientific evidence.” Instead of regarding puberty blocking as a “prudent and scientifically proven treatment option,” parents should view it as a “drastic and experimental measure.”32

The use of any experimental medical treatment on children calls for “especially intense scrutiny,” they emphasize, “since children cannot provide legal consent to medical treatment of any kind . . . to say nothing of consenting to become research subjects for testing an unproven therapy.” The rapid acceptance of puberty suppression as a treatment for gender dysphoria with little scientific scrutiny should raise concerns about the welfare of the children who receive this treatment. In particular, we should question the claim that it is both physiologically and psychologically “reversible.”33

All of the major activist groups, and many professional groups, perpetuate the claim that puberty suppression is reversible.34 But doctors don’t know whether this is true or not, because few people have sought to have it reversed (perhaps because of its self-reinforcing effect). Thus, “there are virtually no published reports, even case studies, of adolescents withdrawing from puberty-suppressing drugs and then resuming the normal pubertal development typical for their sex.

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