Sweden’s Karolinska University Hospital has announced that it will no longer treat gender dysphoria in children under the age of 16 with puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones. The use of the funds ended on April 1, 2021, and the ban had previously been announced in a non-dated statement.
The decision followed the publication of a study by the Swedish Health Technology and Social Services Impact Assessment Authority in December 2019. The study concluded that the evidence of long-term effects of hormonal treatment was inadequate and accompanied by significant health risks:
“These treatments are potentially associated with far-reaching and irreversible negative consequences such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, infertility, increased risk of cancer and thrombosis.”
The reasons for the rapid increase in the number of cases in recent years were also critically questioned.
As a result, Stockholm University Hospital has stopped all hormone treatments for children under the age of 16. As for children between 16 and 18, hormonal treatments are only permitted if a comprehensive explanation of the possible risks of the treatment has been provided. In addition, the child’s level of maturity must allow for informed consent.
The decision of the Stockholm Hospital also took into account the ruling of the UK High Court in December last year, on which IFamNews reported. The court decided that, as a general rule, children under the age of 16 cannot give informed consent to trans-affirmative drug and surgical treatments. These forms of treatment were merely “experimental“.
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