Overview
- The Bayswater Support Group, psychotherapist James Esses and detransitioner Keira Bell sent a pre-action legal letter to the MHRA and HRA demanding the trial be halted, with a response due by December 19 and a potential injunction threatened if recruitment is imminent.
- The PATHWAY study, part of a £10.7 million programme led by King’s College London, plans to enroll about 226 under-16s randomized to immediate puberty suppression or a one-year delay, with two years of treatment and monitoring including bone scans and brain imaging.
- The MHRA and HRA approved the trial following ethical review, even as a 2024 UK-wide ban prevents prescribing puberty blockers to minors outside research in line with the Cass Review’s findings of weak evidence and safety concerns.
- The Department of Health and Social Care and the HRA defend the trial as necessary to address the evidence gap, citing multiple safeguards, clinical oversight and parental consent; researchers expect recruitment in the new year with results in roughly four years.
- Opponents call the study unlawful and risky, citing potential impacts on fertility, bone density and brain development, and senior Conservative figure Claire Coutinho publicly urged that the trial be stopped.