Last month, Dr Hilary Cass published her long-awaited review into gender identity services for children and young people, commonly known as the Cass Review. The review made 32 recommendations and concluded that not enough is known about the long-term effects of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones on children and young people questioning their gender identity.
When I sat in the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities Committee, I listened to witnesses who had raised concerns about the impact of the prescription of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones on vulnerable young people. I attended a roundtable one evening in the Scottish Parliament where we had the opportunity to hear from de-transitioners. One young woman, who believed that transitioning into a man would help heal scars from a past sexual assault, was rushed into taking testosterone, which significantly deepened her voice and lead to facial hair growth, as well as into having a double mastectomy. She then went on to regret that decision. However now there is no going back, as these medical interventions are irreversible. Had this woman been offered psychological help instead of being rushed into transition, things would have been different.
Even though the review was conducted in NHS England, many of its recommendations can apply to NHS Scotland. Children in Scotland are no different to children in England. Thankfully, NHS Glasgow’s Sandyford clinic has now paused the prescription of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. However, SNP ministers have been burying their heads in the sands and have refused to provide a clear answer on whether they will be adapting the review’s recommendations or at the very least conducting a similar review, applicable to NHS Scotland.
It is important to remember that this is not the first time, the SNP Government has gambled with the lives of vulnerable children and young people. In 2022, they brought forward the now-doomed Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which would have allowed for 16-year-olds to legally change their gender, without the need for a medical diagnosis. Even though large sections of the public were opposed to the bill’s provisions, SNP ministers still went through with it and put the wants of their radical former coalition partners in the Scottish Greens above the needs of women and children. In fact, the Greens were so radical that one of their MSPs, Maggie Chapman, even suggested that eight-year-olds could potentially be able to change their gender.
Former Scottish Green minister Patrick Harvie went on national television to discredit Dr Cass’s findings.
Now that the Bute House Agreement with the Greens is over, there is absolutely no excuse for the SNP Government to continue to move forward with such gender reforms and to continue to ignore the recommendations of the Cass Review. The Scottish Conservatives want to see vulnerable children and young people receive the best treatment tailored to their needs, as was suggested by Dr Cass. My party brought forward a debate on the Cass Review and urged the SNP Government to put politics aside and to implement its recommendations. I hope that John Swinney and his new Government listen to our calls and urgently commit to protecting our children and young people.
