Former prime minister praises England's ban on puberty blockers for kids: 'Massive step forward'
Former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss touted the country's decision to ban puberty blockers for children through the National Health Service, citing concerns about the long-term impacts.
Truss warned kids are "damaging" their bodies, their fertility in particular, and their futures during "Fox & Friends," as the long-term implications of taking the hormones as an adolescent remain unknown.
"Children have been taking this treatment in the U.K. and around the world, and they are potentially damaging their fertility, they're damaging their bodies. They don't understand the consequences of those decisions, and this has happened because it's been pushed by gender ideologues… putting pressure on the health service here in the United Kingdom and around the world," Truss told Ainsley Earhardt Wednesday.
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Truss, who served as prime minister in 2022, said she'd like to see the drugs banned more broadly since people can still obtain them through the mail or privately.
"It's incredibly damaging for young people before they're able to make those decisions, to take these drugs that are altering these bodies, and in the future, they may not be able to have children. Their future may be damaged."
England's National Health Service (NHS) banned the use of puberty blockers for children, citing safety concerns and limited research on the long-term effects. It will now only be available to children in limited ways, such as clinical trials.
"We have concluded there is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of puberty suppressing hormones to make the treatment routinely available at this time," the NHS said on Tuesday.
This comes after NHS England had previously ordered the London-based gender identity clinic at the Tavistock and Portman Trust to shut its doors amid safety concerns.
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Meanwhile, Truss said she spoke to some moms who are concerned about how their children are being impacted by gender ideology overall. She said there is no longer any "privacy" in schools because boys who identify as girls use the female restrooms.
"Unfortunately, because of the pressure from the trans extremists, our schools are responding by having unisex restrooms, and we're seeing these drugs being prescribed to the under-eighteens that have been hugely damaging," Truss said.
Liz Truss addresses supporters in August, 2022. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira, File)
"So this is a massive step forward in Britain that these drugs will no longer be prescribed by the National Health Service," she added, saying "single-sex spaces" like bathrooms and locker rooms must also be protected.
"We know that being a teenager is difficult enough as it is, but what I really worry about is the pressure, particularly on teenage girls, to take these drugs, but also to conform to this crazy ideology, which all of us know just isn't true."
London mayoral candidate Amy Gallagher, a mental health nurse, echoed Truss' sentiment on the matter, warning the side effects are irreversible for kids.
She said that government whistleblowers have been sounding the alarm for 20 years on children taking the hormones, citing safety concerns stemming from the lack of research.
"The evidence is very, very clear. There's huge amounts of side effects. Osteoporosis has effects on bone density. It has effects on mood, and we're now seeing that it may even have links to cancer," Gallagher said.
"And we really need to think about the term ‘puberty blockers.’ Why are we blocking the puberty of perfectly healthy teenage boys and girls? And because of this kind of idea or ideology around gender? This should never have happened in the first place."
Fox News' Hannah Grossman contributed to this report.
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