The Queensland state government in Australia has halted puberty blocker and hormone therapy prescriptions for minors and launched an investigative review of transgender drugs on adolescents. Queensland is the first Australian state to place restrictions on transgender prescriptions for patients under 18.
The decision and the resulting investigation followed the discovery that Cairns Sexual Health Service (CSHS) in north Australia had been providing unauthorized treatment to 42 children, some as young as 12. Seventeen of those children received hormone therapies or puberty blockers. CSHS is alleged to have ignored necessary consultation before giving drugs to minors. Instances included the absence of parental consent as well as delayed blood tests or bone mineral density tests.
On Jan. 28, Queensland announced that all puberty blocker and hormone therapy prescriptions were no longer permitted to be “prescribed or otherwise given to a New Patient for Gender Dysphoria” by any Queensland hospital or health service provider. However, patients already receiving prescriptions were permitted to continue receiving them.
“There is contested evidence surrounding the benefits of Stage 1 and Stage 2 hormone therapy for children and adolescents with gender dysphoria emerging from studies throughout the world, said Tim Nicholls, minister for Health and Ambulance Services in Queensland, in a media statement. “France, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden have all tightened regulations around prescribing hormone therapy to children and adolescents. More recently, the Government of the United Kingdom has changed legislation to restrict the prescription and supply of puberty blockers to children.”
Jillian Spencer, a former psychiatrist at the Queensland Children’s Hospital who was fired after she expressed concern about gender dysphoria treatment through medical interventions, applauded the decision in an interview with The Australian.
“I’m absolutely thrilled that, finally, some members of the government have shown courage and are leading the way,” Spencer said.
Michelle Pearse, CEO of Christian-conservative advocacy group Australian Christian Lobby, believes the decision is a step forward in protecting Australian children from experimental drugs.
“For too long, ideologically driven practices have put vulnerable children at risk,” Pearse said. “Puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones are experimental treatments with potentially irreversible effects. The Queensland Government’s action is a critical step toward protecting children and implementing scientifically backed, evidence-based care. … This decision sets a powerful precedent for other states to put children’s welfare above ideology. No child should be subjected to life-altering medications that block natural puberty and pose serious long-term risks.”
Photo: Alamy