Doctors resign from the British Medical Association because it supports puberty blockers

The union opposes a ban on puberty blockers for children. In an open letter, hundreds of doctors accuse it of ignoring evidence-based medicine and not representing the views of its members.

Hundreds of British doctors are going public to express their anger at the British Medical Association’s (BMA) decision to oppose the ban on puberty blockers for minors. As LifeSiteNews reports with reference to the Times and the Telegraph, many doctors are even resigning from the BMA.

Source:Transition News, 04 Sep 2024

The background: On 1 August, the BMA called on the government to lift the ban on puberty blockers for minors and to pause the implementation of the Cass Review of the National Health Service (NHS). This is a comprehensive NHS review into the medical care of children with so-called “gender dysphoria”, which revealed significant concerns about the safety of puberty blockers.

The doctors have now called on the BMA to drop its opposition to it. They argue that the BMA is “lobbying against the best available evidence” and “contravening the principles of evidence-based medicine and ethical practice”.

Initially, 1000 senior doctors from across the UK reportedly responded by publishing an open letter to the BMA chairman, Professor Philip Banfield. There are now 1400, 900 of whom are BMA members. Among other things, they accuse the 69-member council of having decided its policy in a “secret and opaque” meeting. The letter goes on to say:

“We are writing as doctors to say ‘not in my name’. We are deeply disappointed that the BMA Council has passed a motion to ‘criticise’ the Cass review and is lobbying for the recommendations to be rejected. (…) This does not reflect the views of the wider membership, whose views you have not sought. We know that no information is published on the voting figures and voting behaviour of Council members. This is a failure of accountability to the membership and is simply unacceptable.”

For example, according to the Telegraph, one doctor stated on social media: