The gender fever was supposed to have broken in Britain. But this summer, the government is launching an unethical experiment on children who believe they were born in the wrong bodies.
The UK government confirmed last week that children as young as 11 are going to be enrolled in a clinical trial of puberty blockers, called the Pathways trial, which was suspended in February after regulators raised concerns about “unquantified risk” of “long-term biological harms” to children taking part.
In response, the trial simply instituted new protocols: clearer guidance on when treatment should be stopped, more detailed information for participants about what it will do to their fertility and bone health, and a minimum age requirement.
And so, the way is cleared for the National Health Service (NHS) to use human children as guinea pigs—girls from the age of 11, boys from 12.
A judicial review—brought by a coalition of therapists, parents of trans-identified children, and detransitioners earlier this year—is scheduled to be heard in the High Court on July 26. But with recruitment for Pathways to begin on August 1, there is little chance the case will be concluded in time to stop it.
