Doctor who gave puberty blockers to children says 11-year-olds ‘VERY capable’ of making life-changing decisions amid NHS trial: ‘The right pathway’

Gender GP has drawn controversy for prescribing puberty blockers to children, which critics claim are potentially harmful.

Webberley firmly defended the practice, arguing that transgender children face significant distress when going through puberty that doesn't align with their gender identity.

She maintained that children are "very capable" of making important decisions about their gender care at a young age.

Explaining the science behind puberty blockers, Webberley told GB News: "There is a chemical in the brain which stops your ovaries and testicles from producing sex hormones. With young children, that chemical stops you going into puberty too early. We have replicated that and that is what a puberty blocker is."

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She described the distress transgender children experience during puberty.

"If you're a trans girl, you are just about to start a boy puberty. While you may be living as a girl and seen as a girl, you are just about to start a boy puberty. That means your voice will break and Adams apple will grow. That is really distressing," she said.

"That's the same for trans boys, their breasts will develop. These changes for trans children are really distressing."

When challenged by Martin Daubney about children's capacity to make such decisions, Webberley was resolute in her defence.

"Children sometimes have to make life-changing decisions and they are very capable of doing that at that age," she insisted.

Daubney noted that "some have changed their minds" and experienced "big regrets later on".

Webberley countered that regrets often stem from society's unwelcoming attitude toward transgender children.

"It's sometimes just easier to pretend to live a cis gender life," she explained.

She rejected concerns about children being "locked in" to a medical pathway, stating: "They aren't locked in because of the puberty blockers, they are locked in because the diagnosis was right. It's the right pathway for them."

Addressing concerns about side effects, Webberley claimed: "This is a very natural drug. Side effects are not well documented."

She cited expert consensus to support her position.

"If you look at the World Professional Association of Transgender Health, in 2022, 120 world experts came together and reviewed all the medical evidence, all the research and the resounding solution was, puberty blockers are the right thing to do for a trans child going through a distressing puberty."

Webberley also criticised Donald Trump's ban on puberty blockers, calling the former president "misinformed".

"These decisions should not be made in Parliament, they should be made by medics who have the expertise in their fields," she added.

Private prescriptions for puberty blockers have been banned across all UK regions, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting extending restrictions initially put in place by the previous Conservative government.

Currently, one of the few ways for transgender under-18s to access puberty blockers via the NHS in England is through a clinical trial.

This trial was commissioned in March by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

More than £10 million in NHS funding will support new research into children's gender care, including puberty blockers.

The study, led by King's College London, will run until 2031 and follows the Cass Review, which found "poor" quality evidence for beneficial effects of such medication.

Participants will have their physical, social and emotional well-being monitored over two years.