Jamie Stone

I thank the hon. Member for her intervention, but she will understand that it is my job as Chairman of the Petitions Committee to present a fair description of both sides of the discussion, which is what I hope to do. James Esses, who started the petition, is a psychotherapist, and he impressed on me the benefit that good psychiatric intervention could have, without medicalisation. Puberty, he argued, is rarely a picnic for anyone—it can be confusing, uncomfortable, and sometimes miserable—but it is an essential developmental stage, and suppressing it pharmacologically could alter physical and cognitive development in ways we do not yet fully grasp. His argument is not to remove care for children experiencing gender incongruence, but to focus efforts on careful psychological support. Others question the trial’s purpose, noting that puberty blockers have already been paused for new NHS patients with gender incongruence, following concerns about safety. They fear that authorising a new trial implies a level of confidence that the evidence base does not yet justify, arguing that enough data exists to recognise the potential harms, from reduced bone density to uncertain impact on brain development. Continuing could erode the safeguards that protect young people.