Sex Change Drugs Just Approved For Children As Young As Nine

Sex change drugs known as “puberty blockers” could now be given to children as young as nine. Prescribing such medications is reportedly the first step towards a sex change operation.

The puberty blocking drugs will be administered via one NHS trust to children who are “troubled by their gender” and want to undergo a sex change operation during adolescence, according to The Telegraph. Critics of the decision to allow children so young to stunt puberty have called the treatment “horrifying” and want the plan investigated immediately.

Children who have parental permission to take the sex change drugs will experience slowed development of their sexual organs. Medications known as hypothalamic blockers thwart the production of Estrogen and testosterone. When given to a little boy, his voice will reportedly be prevented from deepening and negate the natural development of facial hair as he ages. When the sex change drugs are ingested by a little girl, her menstrual cycle will stop and her breasts will not develop as the normally would.

The hypothalamic drugs reportedly make sex change operations in the future far simpler. Children who enroll in the program will also undergo a mental health evaluation. Physicians at Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust stated that gender dysphoria treatment trials on patients as young as 12 have been “successful” and the process could now become available to younger children.

Dr. Polly Carmichael, who led the trial, had this to say about the sex change drugs and the new age limits:

“We’re talking about stopping puberty in the normal range of puberty, so I guess the younger age might be nine or ten. [Future treatments] would be based on stage not age.”

Those who support the gender dysphoria drug treatment applaud the effort by insisting that when hormone blockers are used responsibly, they are necessary from the “youngest ages” for children who want a sex change later on because they feel the are “trapped in a body that isn’t their own.

Critics of the plan to offer hormone blockers to young children point to research which reportedly shows that the “vast majority” of youth under 16 who say they are “troubled” by their gender do not ultimately opt for gender reassignment surgery or consider themselves transgender but decide they are gay and no longer confused about their sex.

How do you feel about sex change drugs being offered to 9-year-old children?

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[Secondary Image Via: Education News]