Pierre Poilievre says minors should not have access to puberty blockers
CBC
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Wednesday he does not support trans kids taking puberty blockers — medicines that are used to pause puberty before a possible gender transition or other interventions, like hormone therapy.
Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill before a Conservative caucus meeting, Poilievre said the decision to pursue transgender treatments should be reserved to adults alone.
"Puberty blockers for minors? I think we should protect children and their ability to make adult decisions when they're adults," Poilievre said.
"I think we should protect the rights of parents to make their own decisions with regards to their children."
Asked to state definitively if he's opposed to puberty blockers for people under the age of 18, Poilievre said he is.
That's a step further than what Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has proposed in her province.
Smith, who announced a series of transgender policies last week, has pitched restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for children 15 and under.
Puberty blockers — hormone-suppressing agents that pause the progression of puberty — are typically prescribed to people in the early stages of puberty to halt unwanted physical changes, such as breast development or facial hair.
They are prescribed to children only after consultation with a doctor.
They may sometimes be combined with hormone therapies, which can have long-term, irreversible effects.
The Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS) has said that "gender-affirming medical interventions may be an important component of comprehensive care" for some transgender or gender-diverse adolescents.
The CPS, citing scientific research, has said access to puberty blockers "has been associated with lower odds of suicidal ideation over the life course."
It has said these drugs should not be prescribed before the onset of puberty for medical reasons — and also because the puberty process is "an important experience through which young people may develop clearer understanding of their gender identity."
Cross-sex hormone therapy is a treatment used to help people with gender dysphoria transition from their biological gender to their desired gender.
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