I must make it clear that, while I trust the source who gave me this information, I cannot verify the information independently. I wrestled with this, knowing that the information will cause understandable panic but felt it better being published so people can prepare rather than being blindsided.
Not long after Sinn Fein helped usher in the UK government’s puberty blocker ban in Northern Ireland, it looks like they could be about to see the same introduced in the Republic of Ireland.
I’ve been told that the Irish HSE (Health Service Executive) will call for a ban on the use of puberty blockers in treating trans children when their review goes public next month (October). It is not clear what form this ban will take, nor who it will impact in terms of current service users vs new.
With the introduction of the ban in the north, Sinn Fein found themselves in the ridiculous position of claiming that puberty blockers were so dangerous for trans children that they had to be banned immediately while supporting their use in the south. Now, it seems like they won’t have to worry about that hypocrisy.
The HSE is, of course, also using the Cass Review to guide its own, despite the fact it has been discredited globally.
The Cass Review doesn’t even call for a ban on puberty blockers, but the UK’s religious Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, has been happy to ignore that fact. In the north of Ireland, the UK government reportedly put pressure on Sinn Fein, who seemed content to throw vulnerable kids under the bus, just weeks after saying they supported the use of puberty blockers, in order to comply.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said when asked about her party’s dual-position on puberty blockers, “The suspension on puberty blockers is temporary. It’s on the back of concerns that are safety related in terms of bone density, cognitive function, brain development, potentially fertility issues down the line.
“I take the view that any treatment, any therapy, that is given to anyone, but particularly children and young people, has to be scrutinised rigorously, and the safety of people is paramount. The concerns that are held in the north are equally held by clinicians here in the south — we want and we have to get this right.”
Like the UK, the Irish system has a massive problem with anti-trans activists in positions of power over trans healthcare. One parent told me that many believe the Irish system to be even more transphobic than the UK’s.
An Australian review recently found that these concerns, as expressed by McDonald, are not valid and that puberty blockers are safe and effective.
The British Medical Association, meanwhile, advised against implementing Cass’s recommendations while “The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Endocrine Society both responded to the report by reaffirming their support for gender-affirming care for minors and saying that their current policies supporting such treatments are “grounded in evidence and science”.
Other organisations who have taken serious issue with Cass’s conclusions include: the Canadian Pediatric Society, the Amsterdam University Medical Centre, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, along with Yale and Harvard Universities and a host of others around the world.
With the Irish review set to be released in October, this leaves a small window for people to apply additional pressure to their local politicians. Sadly, however, it seems unlikely that will have any impact, particularly given the machinations at play behind the scenes with it comes to ‘the Trans Issue’.
This article first appeared on Lee Hurley’s The Trans Agenda. Subscribe here.
