Banning Gender Transition Treatment Is Leading Kids to Do Exactly What You'd Expect

"From the US' eighteenth amendment to Australia's sin taxes, history shows us that prohibition rarely curbs demand, but instead simply drives it underground. That's exactly what's happening in the UK, after the Tavistock gender clinic - the country's only dedicated gender identity clinic for young people - shut its doors in 2022 at the behest of the NHS. When it did, it became far more difficult to get ahold of hormonal medications used in hormone replacement therapy, London-based newspaper The Times reports."

"That seems to be the goal for conservative policy makers, who cite concerns over the safety protocols at Tavistock, and the long-term safety of puberty blockers and hormone meds more broadly as their reason to cut youth off from these health services. But with Tavistock out of the picture, transgender teens seeking gender affirming treatment have turned to a robust black market which has sprouted in its wake."

Prohibition often drives demand underground rather than curbing it. The UK's only dedicated youth gender identity clinic, Tavistock, closed in 2022 at the NHS's behest, sharply reducing access to hormonal medications used in hormone replacement therapy. Conservative policymakers cited concerns about safety protocols and long-term effects of puberty blockers and hormone treatments to justify cutting services. With Tavistock gone, transgender adolescents have turned to a burgeoning black market for gender-affirming care, sourcing drugs from online suppliers in Russia or India, illicit drug dealers, or home-produced preparations. Self-reported figures from clinics and clinicians indicate substantial self-medication, frequently without parental approval or medical oversight, and likely understate the true prevalence.

Read at Futurism