Puberty Suppressants Trial Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department of Health and Social Care
Iqbal Mohamed
Main Page: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)Department Debates - View all Iqbal Mohamed's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
Puberty Suppressants Trial
Iqbal Mohamed Excerpts(1 day, 20 hours ago)
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Wes Streeting
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Given that I work for a former Crown prosecutor, I could not possibly disagree with her on evidence.
Iqbal Mohamed (Dewsbury and Batley) (Ind)
I thank the Secretary of State for his response to the urgent question. One thing we should all agree on is that the human rights of all, including trans people, must be protected and delivered by the Government and supported by us all. The reason we are here today is to discuss the risks and potential adverse consequences of the proposed pathways trial. The trial compares the timing of treatment initiation, rather than using a placebo. There is no arm that provides psychotherapy as a treatment option without puberty blockers, and there is no arm to assess children who do not receive any of those options. Will the Secretary of State consider ensuring that all the various arms and channels are tested as part of this trial to get a complete picture, rather than a partial picture, which may be misleading?
Wes Streeting
May I thank the hon. Member for the way in which he put his question? It is so important to emphasise that right across this House, there are many people who oppose this trial, but who do want to see trans people well supported and protected and to respect their identities. That is important for everyone to bear in mind.
The hon. Member talks about placebo. For obvious reasons in this case, a placebo would not be appropriate, because it would be very obvious whether a young person was receiving the real medication or the placebo, but the trial design has included a control group. The way in which the trial is established will help us to distinguish between the benefits of receiving or not receiving this particular medication, and there will be really close oversight of the impact on development, but he is right that we need to judge these things on the question of risk. That is what led Dr Cass to make her recommendation, and that is why I support it.