A controversial impending clinical trial on puberty blocking drugs in Britain will begin on Saturday to recruit hundreds of children as young as 11-years-old.
The so-called “Pathways” trial being run by King’s College London (KCL) will start recruiting some 226 children between the ages of 11 and 16 on August 1st as it seeks to determine the benefits or risks of puberty blockers on supposedly transgender children, the BBC reported.
In 2024, a review from paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass found that previous justification for the use of such hormone-altering therapies in children was “built on shaky foundations” and thus the National Health Service (NHS) should not proscribe them.
Yet, Dr Cass said there should be an exception for clinical trials, despite the potential of permanently damaging participating children. Cass said last month that the study was “essential” to determine “whether these drugs are helpful or not”.
The clinical trial was originally set to commence in January but was delayed following legal action taken by Bayswater Support Group, which represents hundreds of concerned parents.
However, this challenge was thrown out by the High Court on Friday after Mr Justice Chamberlain ruled that the child participants would be assessed for months by doctors who will have “formed the opinion that a child has a reasonable prospect of receiving a clinical benefit from the treatment”.
Hellbound and Down 