@TimesRadio chose several snippets of my conversation with Andrew Neil to share and I want to take a minute to walk through them, sensibly.

💬Pubertal changes are irreversible!

Yes indeed they are, whether they are brought on by natural body development or whether they are induced by hormones given by medicine. .
Why is it acceptable for a transgender child to endure a puberty that contradicts their gender identity, yet providing them with hormones to align their body with their true self is loudly condemned by those who may not yet understand? Doesn't everyone deserve to look and feel 'normal' and to fit in.
This is what is so tragic in trans youth who have made the decision to go through the puberty that aligns with their gender identity. Puberty blockers would prevent a trans girl’s voice from breaking and they would prevent a trans boy from developing breasts. They would prevent the very irreversible pubertal changes that Andrew describes. They would mean that, as an adult, they would be non-identifiable as trans - what a relief in this harsh and sometimes very cruel world we live in.
Puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones for children who are transgender mean that their bodies get to align with their gender. The changes are irreversible and that is what trans youth want and need, and that is what the medical research (and not just opinion) shows is safe and effective.

⬇️ Continued in comments 💬Age 11 is too young!!

Puberty starts early, and it is getting earlier. How come it is OK for a cisgender child to have puberty at 11 but not OK for a trans child? Let’s be clear, the trans children that are lucky enough to have an early puberty that matches their gender identity have to have several factors all aligning. They have to have had a solid understanding of their gender identity from a very early age. They have to have supportive parents, and they have to have a supportive doctor. Those three factors rarely align, and that is the tragedy. But when they do, the lives of these people can be improved - in 2020 a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that transgender adults who took puberty blockers as adolescents experienced significantly less lifetime suicidal ideation than trans people who wanted these medications but could not access them.

📖: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC70…

This is how it really is:

Puberty blockers are a copy of the natural hormone that prevents signals going from the brain to the testicles / ovaries telling them to produce hormones - so they block puberty. They are safe and life-saving for anyone who needs to stop those hormones for whatever reason (precocious puberty, the wrong puberty, endometriosis, infertility, cancer). 1/7 And for trans kids who are lucky enough to get puberty blockers right at the start of puberty - they cause immense relief. But do they stop gender dysphoria, do they solve a trans kid’s problems, do they give a trans kid a normal adolescence? No they don’t (hence the ‘we need more studies to show they are effective’). But why not? 2/7

🧵1/4 - It’s been just over a week since the Cass review was published and I am left with so many questions, but, one I find myself coming back to time after time is; where is the @gmcuk?

As many of you know, in July 2021 I underwent a comprehensive evaluation of my Fitness to Practice medicine relating to my care of three young transgender patients. The final outcome, determined in the High Court, found my 'fitness to practice was not impaired' as a result of the care I gave. That is, the care I gave in these cases was correct and appropriate. 🧵2/4 - As part of my evaluation, the @gmcuk did submit their position and stated that the WPATH and Endocrine Society guidelines were 'the paradigm' with which care should be compared and contrasted. Unlike the Cass review, both established organisations endorse the usage of puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones for transgender youth wishing to undergo medical transition.

"I'm entitled to my opinion!" Actually, you're absolutely right.

Contrary to popular opinion, you are allowed to disagree with transgender people.

A thread 🧵

1/6 Yes, if you personally feel that same-sex couples shouldn't get married, or people can't change their gender, or religion is stupid, then you are entitled to think that.

2/6

Trans employees - know your rights. (A thread🧵)

Here are key laws to keep in mind:

1️⃣ The Equality Act 2010.

This law prohibits discrimination against transgender individuals, ensuring they are treated fairly and respectfully at work.

1/6 2️⃣ Gender Recognition Act 2004.

This law allows transgender individuals to apply for legal recognition of their acquired gender. You get a Gender Recognition Certificate, confirming your gender identity and granting you legal protections.

2/6

1/4 I am a GP, I am self-taught in trans healthcare. I treated an 11 year old with blockers and a 12 year old with testosterone. This was fully scrutinised by a Medical Practitioners Tribunal and they determined this was good and necessary care. 🧵 2/4 So why is the NHS saying that we should not let kids socially transition, prevent them from accessing blockers at the start of puberty, certainly no hormones until they are adults?

@JasonHSchaub many thanks for writing this simple and balanced explanation of how @NHSEngland can quickly start providing appropriate care to transgender youth. birmingham.ac.uk/news/2023/chan… ‘Healthcare providers should be following the robust, peer-reviewed, international guidance from the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH).’ This guidance is easy to read and simple to follow. It tells all doctors what to do.

I promised to tell you how this all started….

In 2015, I founded @GenderGP and soon after I was told that I would be targeted by the very doctors who so desperately needed more doctors to help to provide care to cope with growing waiting lists. 1/23 🧵 The GMC recognised that the complaints had come from my colleagues and not from patients. I told them this had happened before. 2/23 🧵

petertatchell.net/lgbt_rights/tr…

@ChtyCommission please remember that The Equality Act 2010 says that “you must not be discriminated against because you are transsexual, when your gender identity is different from the sex assigned to you when you were born.” equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-… 🧵 @ChtyCommission please note the recommendations from the Women and Equalities Commission that….. 🧵

publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201516/cm…

1/4 There will be unrest and panic caused by media coverage of draft NHS guidance that seems to seek to prevent UK trans youth from accessing the care that they need. 🧵 2/4 The highly skilled and highly regulated team of specialists at @GenderGP will continue to provide puberty blockers, hormones and surgical referrals to people of all ages as and when appropriate.

1/ I wanted to give you all an update on what has been happening since the end of the GMC investigation into my Fitness to Practice medicine. 2/ I was referred to the GMC in 2016 by Prof Hindmarsh and Prof Gary Butler at UCLH following my treatment of a 12 year old boy who had been started on puberty blockers via GIDS but then had been told he would not be able to start his male puberty until he was 16.

1. I have many anxieties about the future of NHS medical care for trans youth in the UK. Will these ‘Regional Centres’ be providing puberty blockers and hormones or just psychological support and conversion therapy? 2. Who will be providing the care, who will be training the providers, what protocols will they be following? While big International centres are becoming more and more sure that affirmation saves lives, the UK retreats back.

1. So how has my case finally ended? I have been under investigation since December 2016, and unable to work since May 2017. I have been suspended for two months for serious professional misconduct, or if I appeal then I am suspended until the appeal is decided (over a year). 2. They did not take any action on anything except the allegation of not discussing fertility adequately. Not even the conviction because they realised I was in a hard place surrounding that. Here are the fertility facts:

1. The MPTS have found that some of their findings of fact amount to what they term as (non-serious) ‘misconduct’, but they do not mean that my fitness to practice is impaired. 2. However, they have found some findings to be ‘serious misconduct’ and that my fitness to practice is ‘currently impaired’ because of that. I have explained them below. The next stage will be to determine what ‘sanction’ may be appropriate.