Harvard Professor raises concerns about puberty blocker use

A Harvard University professor of medicine Marc B. Garnick claims there is “woefully little safety data” for the use of puberty blockers widely issued for gender incongruent children.

Australian gender clinics prescribe the dangerous drugs to children, sometimes after just a few consultations. The same clinics falsely claim the drugs are fully reversible and safe to use. 

Australian journalist Bernard Lane, who has been independently covering gender clinic news on Substack, reports that Professor Garnick says “puberty blockers should be confined to rigorous research studies”.

In a letter to the editor of The Times, Professor Garnick cites a range of safety issues with adult cancer patients on the same hormone suppression drugs, and warns that “woefully little safety data are available for the likely more vulnerable younger population [given these drugs as puberty blockers].

“The prudent and ethical use of such [hormone suppression] agents in the younger population should demand that every pubertal or pre-pubertal child be part of rigorous clinical research studies.

“[These studies should] evaluate both the short-term and longer-term effects of these agents to better define the true risks and benefits rather than relying on anecdotal information.”

Having researched these hormone suppression drugs for more than four decades, Professor Garnick says “physicians are still learning and continue to be concerned about the safety of these agents in adults”. 

The safety concerns include significant bone density issues, as well as brain and blood issues.

Kirralie Smith, spokeswoman for Binary, said this is another reason why a Royal Commission into gender clinics is urgently required.

“Australian children are being placed on ‘affirmation’ pathways that put them in harm's way,” she said.

“Children are being steered toward life-long and life-altering drug dependency for a psychological issue.

“It is harmful and abusive and must be investigated immediately.”