Published on March 12, the decision by the National Health Service (NHS) in England to ban the regular prescription of puberty blockers to minors with gender dysphoria (the suffering caused by the mismatch between one's sex as assigned at birth and one's gender identity) starting on April 1 was neither a surprise nor a cause for alarm in the UK. Stonewall, a prominent pro-trans organization in the country, stated with a hint of fatalism, that all young trans people deserve access to high-quality healthcare when they need it.

The closure of the GIDS (Gender Identity Development Service), the only NHS department dedicated to the health of transgender children and adolescents, was decided on in mid-2022. This led to concerns among patients and their families that access to puberty-blocking treatments could become severely restricted.

It will remain possible only in the case of early puberty or within the framework of highly supervised clinical trials. From the age of 16, however, young patients may be prescribed corrective hormone treatments to acquire the specific characteristics of the gender opposite to their birth sex.

It was in the Netherlands in 2000 that puberty blockers were first prescribed for young people as young as 12 with gender dysphoria. These hormone inhibitors were initially designed to treat prostate cancer and endometriosis. The GIDS followed suit, first on an experimental basis in 2011, then, from 2014 onward, on a scale unrivaled in Europe. Up to 2,000 young people were referred to endocrinology departments for treatment with blockers after going through the GIDS.

But in 2018, 10 GIDS practitioners disclosed their concerns to Dr. David Bell, a doctor at Tavistock Hospital, the famous North London adult mental health center that houses the juvenile ward. These professionals believe that blockers are being prescribed too hastily, even as the number of young patients has surged and their demographics have shifted. The majority are no longer children assigned male at birth, but now about two-thirds are teenage girls, many of whom have neurodiverse conditions. Practitioners' testimonials, compiled by Dr. Bell, were leaked to the national press and criticism rained down.

Although they deny it, the GIDS management has been accused of endangering young people's health and falling under the thumb of pro-trans pressure groups. The case of Keira Bell, who was assigned female at birth, received treatment from GIDS and underwent puberty blockers followed by a double mastectomy, only to regret her transition in her twenties, has also tarnished GIDS' reputation. This impact persists even though her legal challenge against the service's practices was overturned on appeal in 2021.

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