Little Wing
The coalition's ban on Puberty Blockers.
Well she’s walking through the clouds
With a circus mind
That’s running wild
Butterflies and zebras and moonbeams
And-a fairly tales
Song: Jimi Hendrix.
Puberty Blockers.
There are a few topics that I have shied away from because I don’t know enough, even though I have a few views.
I recently thought of writing an article on the menopause because we men are not told about these things and get left to work it out as we go along. You can probably already see why I decided not to mansplain that one.
Puberty Blockers, which have been in the news this week, fall into the same sort of category.
On the one hand, I agree that we should be wary of giving those under 18 a treatment that will inhibit their development; on the other hand, the mental health aspect is important, better that a drug is taken than we see a potential suicide and rates among LGBTQ people are significantly higher than the rest of the population.
Besides, I generally take the view that people should be able to do what they want, provided it doesn’t hurt anyone else. I’m cautious of people who want to tell others how to live and what their motivation might be.
Either targeting a vulnerable community under the pretext that the bigotry is driven by a crusade against wokeness, rather than simply looking for someone to attack, or perhaps the desire to ban stems from your interpretations of a religious book.
This week, Health Minister Simeon Brown said Cabinet had agreed to ban puberty blockers until the outcome of a major clinical trial in the United Kingdom, expected in 2031. That’s a mighty long time for someone to wait; it’s the same as the entire length of the Second World War.
There should be intelligent debate about this, but let’s take the lead from scientists and those who work with people in this situation, and not from a religious extremist who wishes to impose his puritanical views on others or an old crocodile who is always on the hunt for his next victim.
On 1 News, medical practitioners seemed happy with the drug, but our diminutive Health Minister, Dr Simeon Howser, M.D., was taking a wait-and-see approach - for a really, really long time. I posted:
1 News asking Simeon Brown about puberty blockers seemed a bit personal.
Maureen commented, “Listened to him this morning, he just kept repeating this study in the UK, other than that, he had no valid reason. I did see a post saying the study is dodgy and has largely been debunked. Simeon needs to front up and be honest about the real reason behind their decision, other than their one-eyed views, and that they made a pact with Winston and had no choice.”
Colleen said, “It amuses me that some politicians seem to think they know more than the experts, same in education.”
Wendy wrote, “Next up: reproductive rights.” And it didn’t seem that far-fetched. Who knows what would be banned if Simeon got his way?
Claudia noted, “Puberty blockers have been used for many years with little to no issues for those taking them, trans youth are being told they have to put a safe treatment on hold for 6 years just to appease right-wing politicians who see them as easy targets for prejudice.”
Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March responded, “We know from queer people that gender affirming healthcare can be life-saving. The government should focus on addressing the core issues that our health system faces... rather than waging culture wars on trans people.”
Yes, we want to be careful about the long-term effects of such medication, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Can’t we at least have an intelligent debate on this, rather than use it as an opportunity to create anti-woke memes?
It’s not like Doctors have been handing puberty blockers out to kids like candy, this from the NZ Herald:
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues are not currently approved by Medsafe for use in delaying puberty in young people with gender dysphoria or incongruence. Their use for delaying puberty is considered “off-label” and prescribers use them under section 25 of the Medicines Act, which allows authorised prescribers to prescribe any medicine (approved or unapproved) for a particular patient in their care.
Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) condemned the decision, saying it will have a “devastating impact on the lives and wellbeing of our transgender and gender diverse young people”.
Dr Elizabeth McElrea, GP specialist in gender affirming care and PATHA vice president, said: “The ban will lead to a deterioration in mental health, increased risk of suicidality and increased dysphoria in gender diverse children and young people, and will put them at a higher risk of experiencing marginalisation and discrimination.
The prescribing of puberty blockers is always undertaken with the utmost care and consideration. They have been prescribed safely for decades for transgender children, and banning their use will lead to profound distress in this already vulnerable group.”
This is not as simple as the hee-haws that Winston is appealing to or that Brown is preaching to would have you believe. This decision has consequences for a vulnerable section of our population who don’t seem to have been considered in its making.
PATHA Executive Committee member Avery Zavoda said, “In no other area of care would life-saving medication be withheld from a vulnerable population for six years. This will have a traumatic impact on a generation of transgender children.”
She also noted that Winston Peters announced the ban hours before the Minister of Health, confirming that this is a political decision rather than a scientific one.
Surely this is more important than providing Winston with headlines, social media clicks, and an opportunity to put the boot into a vulnerable community for votes.
Let’s be honest, this isn’t being done for health reasons.
Right, who’s for an article about menopause? Perhaps another day, although when I was managing people, it was something that, in hindsight, I ought to have known more about.
Have a great Friday, all you lovely people. It looks like a cracker here in Tamaki Makaurau.
Ngā mihi,
Nick.
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To end today, here’s The Main Squeeze with Little Wing. Jimi sure could play, SRV too, but Max is up there…
Jacinda preached ‘kindness’, Winston prefers ‘not our kind - ness’. And it gets votes, what is wrong with a lot of us?
I absolutely agree politicians should not be meddling in areas where they have no understanding. But, they do that all the time I suppose, influenced by religion and fear - where the very area of meddling is likely to one they are so uncertain of for themselves.