Following the lead of American trends in what is claimed to be sound medical science, the Tavistock Clinic in London has been treating tens of thousands of youths claiming to have gender dysphoria. This so-called “gender-affirming care” has included the administration of puberty-blockers, cross-sex hormones, and even surgery, just as has been seen in the United States. But this month, the Tavistock Clinic is being shut down. Why? Because parents have complained of the “shoddy” or even dangerous procedures being performed there. And experts who have finally begun weighing in on the matter are pointing out that the efficacy of these treatments is simply not supported by the science, and studies claiming otherwise appear to be dubious at best. (Common Sense)

Over the past three decades, the Gender and Identity Development Service at the Tavistock Clinic in London has seen thousands of British children for gender dysphoria, with a British minister noting a more than 4,000 percent increase of referrals for girls alone in the last decade. But on Thursday, Britain’s National Health Service announced that it was closing down Tavistock for good—and, in effect, rebuking the common American medical approach known as “gender-affirming care” for treating children with gender dysphoria. This can include a mix of puberty suppressants, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries, interventions in minors that can lead to irreversible effects.

For years, whistleblowers have rang the alarm about shoddy care at Tavistock. Psychologists who worked there, like Sonia Appleby and Sue Evans, said that vulnerable children were being prematurely rushed to transition. Parents confronted the head of the clinic. A courageous detransitioned woman, Keira Bell, said that kids at Tavistock were unable to understand the ramifications of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

The British government’s National Institute for Care and Excellence concluded that “the link between transitioning and improved psychological function was, in fact, very weak.” Further, repeated claims by activists that children who are not allowed to “transition” will be at a greater risk of suicide were lacking in evidence.

Great Britain isn’t the only place where this is happening. Sweden recently updated its professional medical guidelines when it comes to transitioning children. They wrote “the risks of these ‘gender-affirming’ medical interventions ‘currently outweigh the possible benefits,’ and the treatments should be offered only in exceptional cases.” That is an even more stark reversal than the one being seen in London. Finland reached the same conclusion as well.

I don’t know if this is just a coincidence or if these other governments were in the loop while the FDA was concluding that puberty-blocking drugs can be very dangerous for children and require new warning labels. Perhaps actual science is catching up with “The Science” simultaneously around the world.

The one place where the message is definitely not sinking in yet is the White House and among some of our major medical associations, including the AMA. The Biden administration is continuing to plunge headlong into this madness, repeating the mantra that “gender affirmation is trauma-informed care.”

Allow me the luxury of repeating myself and pointing out that this discussion centers on the health and welfare of children. If you are an adult capable of providing informed consent, do whatever you want with yourself, providing you are willing to accept the consequences of your decisions. You can shoot yourself up with all of the hormones you like and volunteer for genital mutilation surgery. Have a party, pal. But pushing all of this on children, potentially leaving them infertile and with irreversible surgical damage is unconscionable. And it needs to stop.