Yesterday, we told you about Northern Ireland moving to permanently ban the use of puberty blockers in children as part of 'gender-affirming' care. It's the right move.
We don't know what damage puberty blockers cause in children, but we do see some of the problems: infertility, bone loss, malformation of reproductive organs. The risks aren't worth it, especially when many children outgrow their 'trans' identity.
But some people aren't happy about the ban. They point to the fact some people still use the puberty blockers for on-label treatment, like precocious puberty (when puberty starts before age 8 in girls or age 9 in boys).
Thankfully, J.K. Rowling is here to set the record straight:
Lupron has severe side effects even when used on-label. Studies show girls who were given it for precocious puberty suffered serious issues as a result of the drug, including bone thinning and chronic pain.https://t.co/gx8xNObMh3 https://t.co/jYSJk0Dvtn
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 12, 2024
For years, Sharissa Derricott, 30, had no idea why her body seemed to be failing. At 21, a surgeon replaced her deteriorated jaw joint. She’s been diagnosed with degenerative disc disease and fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition. Her teeth are shedding enamel and cracking.
None of it made sense to her until she discovered a community of women online who describe similar symptoms and have one thing in common: All had taken a drug called Lupron.
Thousands of parents chose to inject their daughters with the drug, which was approved to shut down puberty in young girls but also is commonly used off-label to help short kids grow taller.
The drug’s pediatric version comes with few warnings about long-term side effects. It is also used in adults to fight prostate cancer or relieve uterine pain and the Food and Drug Administration has warnings on the drug’s adult labels about a variety of side effects.
More than 10,000 adverse event reports filed with the FDA reflect the experiences of women who’ve taken Lupron. The reports describe everything from brittle bones to faulty joints.
In healthcare, providers often have to do a risk v. benefit assessment. That is, do the benefits of a treatment outweigh the risks? For example: chemotherapy is very hard on the body, but the benefits of chemo -- shrinking cancer cells to prolong a patient's life -- often outweigh the risks.
There's also the concept of on-label and off-label treatment. On-label treatment is what medication is designed for (think Ozempic and diabetes control) while off-label treatment is something the medication does that isn't its primary purpose (like Ozempic used for weight loss in non-diabetics).
Lupron clearly has risks, even when used for on-label treatment of things like precocious puberty.
It's not a safe drug to give to kids who merely think they're a different gender. The risks -- as mentioned above -- do not outweigh the benefits, especially when most kids outgrow the desire to change gender.
A drug developed for terminally ill men, also used to chemically castrate convicted pedophiles, is being given to women and children.
— Genevieve Gluck (@WomenReadWomen) December 12, 2024
By 2019, the US FDA had received over 25,000 adverse event reports for Lupron products including more than 1500 deaths.https://t.co/rZp2aDPJ4b
See?
Lupron has historically been given to pedophiles to chemically castrate them. The fact that anyone thinks it is okay to give to children is absolutely mind-blowing and evil.
— Gays Against Groomers (@againstgrmrs) December 12, 2024
Evil is even too mild a word.
They can’t experiment on kids anymore. CRYYYYYYYY. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
— Hazel Appleyard (@HazelAppleyard_) December 12, 2024
Pay very close attention to the people crying about the ban.
And blindness and brain swelling. pic.twitter.com/0ii7Z3qJLL
— Jeff Cleghorn (@jeffcleghornga) December 12, 2024
Good Lord.
My daughter started her periods when she was 9, and I never for one second considered putting her on puberty blockers. She said she wished she was a boy so she wouldn’t get periods, but of course I didn’t take that seriously (I’m not deranged). With help, she got through it, and…
— Tess of the Terfavilles 💚🤍💜 (@theresa_palfrey) December 12, 2024
As do most teens. Puberty sucks, but kids can get through it.
One of this writer's sons once said he wondered what it would be like to be a girl. She told him he was a boy and loved just as he is, and it never came up again.
I was on it twice in my late 20’s to treat endometriosis, adenomyosis, and fibroid tumors, and it’s a really tough treatment to manage. And what it does to your bones that doesn’t show up until your 50’s . . . I can’t understand anyone prescribing it for a teen.
— Feral Goddess (@LadaMokusa) December 12, 2024
Bones get weaker as we age anyway; elderly who fall often break hips or femurs or other bones.
These drugs make it worse.
If only we'd known then what we knew then. https://t.co/STcfeH3ogp
— Progressive Misogyny (@JustMisogyny) December 12, 2024
Some of us have been warning this the entire time.
While the Left screamed we wanted kids to commit suicide and were on the 'wrong side of history.'
Who are these evil people who keep promoting puberty, blockers, and other poisons to castrate children, it’s absolutely disgusting https://t.co/kHloW7Q5mU
— Ohio Bot Farm (@ohiobotfarm) December 12, 2024
Leftists. That's who.
I took it for endometriosis and had to have bone scans for years. Pain in my joints and suicidal ideations that I had could have been caused by this. Psych meds they put me on could have been avoided. Boniva for bone deterioration could have been avoided. This should be taken off… https://t.co/4L42HzdEVe
— Tori (@_Spicy_Olive) December 12, 2024
The trans movement is creating people who will rely on doctors and pharmaceuticals for the rest of their lives, and none of those meds are exactly cheap.
Wait, what? Aren’t all of these hacktivists telling all of us that there are no side effects, and this is completely reversible??? https://t.co/oyDryDeclz
— Primary-Tillis-2026 (@toldyaso2022) December 12, 2024
They sure are.
The Party of Science and all that.
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