Overview
- The planned King's College London Pathways study would enroll about 226 participants aged roughly 10 to nearly 16 to test puberty blockers for gender-questioning children.
- Health Secretary Wes Streeting has acknowledged discomfort with the treatment but says the trial will proceed under expert advice and within the research exception to the NHS prescribing ban.
- A cross-party letter coordinated by independent MP Rosie Duffield has drawn dozens of MPs and peers urging the government to stop the research programme.
- Labour MP Jonathan Hinder and Conservative MP Rebecca Paul published a joint op-ed calling the trial immoral and raising concerns about consent and long-term risks for vulnerable minors.
- Opponents have launched a High Court bid to block the study, and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has written to Streeting urging him to cancel it, while the health department cites the Cass Review’s call for higher-quality evidence.