Puberty blocker trial overseer recused due to bigoted posts

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced that it is pausing the Pathways puberty blocker trial for trans youth healthcare.

A week later, the MHRA announced that it was recusing Professor Jacob George from the trial due to his social media posts. Although the medications watchdog didn’t go into detail, it turns out that George has a history of posting transphobic bile.

Except, George isn’t just some guy who was working on the trial. He’s the chief medical and scientific officer of the agency – a role that was created just one month ago. George also happens to be the one who raised the ‘concerns’ that led to pausing the trial.

Are we even pretending that this isn’t a fucking stitch-up any more?

Puberty blocker trial

As a quick recap for the situation – we’re testing puberty blockers in the first place on the recommendation of Dr Hilary Cass. The government appointed Cass to review trans youth healthcare in the UK in spite of the fact that she has no experience in trans care whatsoever.

Her review has been roundly criticised as bunk science based on the foundational assumption that being trans is a bad thing. Nevertheless, her conclusions were used as an excuse to justify the continued halt of the use of puberty blockers in the UK.

That gutting of trans youth healthcare caused a massive spike in suicides. The government lied about it repeatedly.

Meanwhile, the same puberty-blocking medications are still used routinely for children with precocious puberty. For some reason, we’re not at all concerned about the safety of these medications when they’re not given to trans people. Funny, that.

When Cass’ recommended trial rolled around, it was criticised for coercing trans kids to participate in a study in order to access healthcare. Likewise, advocacy group TransActual highlighted that the senior personnel of the study were a who’s who of medical transphobia.

Cue Professor Jacob George.

Anybody checking for bigots?

George entered his position as the MHRA’s chief medical and scientific officer on 5 January, just two months ago.  The newly-minted civil service role would have him oversee the agency’s scientific, research, and innovation activities.

George’s posts characterised trans people as a “militant minority” opposed to women’s rights, and urged:

Citizens, wake up and smell the coffee.

He called the inclusion of Imane Khelif – a cis woman boxer – in the sport a:

denial of biological reality [who] means that women are being put at risk of brain injury

Likewise, George also fawned over notable transphobes like JK Rowling and Ted Cruz, calling the former “a treasure of our time”.

On 27 February, the MHRA quietly announced that it was removing George from overseeing the puberty blocker trial. The agency stated that:

Following the identification of social media posts made prior to his appointment, Professor Jacob George is recused from further involvement on the Pathways clinical trial as a precaution.

Because the abundance of caution in trans youth medicine apparently only extends to making sure an open bigot isn’t in charge once it gets aired on the fucking radio.

Suddenly, the MHRA has issues

On George’s recommendation, just a month into his new job, the MHRA paused its puberty blocker trial. A letter from the agency to the Department of Health and Social Care ( DHSC) cited a need for more stringent bone density monitoring, among others. It also stated that:

Since potentially significant and, as yet, unquantified risk of long-term biological harms is present to participants and biological safety has not been definitively demonstrated in this proposed cohort, at the very least, there should be a graded/stepwise approach starting with those aged 14 as the lower limit of eligibility.

In spite of George’s recusal, the pause is still in place. King’s College London, the trial sponsor, is now in talks with the MHRA to address the ‘concerns’. A DHSC spokesperson said:

‘Political pressure’

To be clear: the MHRA previously approved the Pathways trial methodology, before George was appointed (and before his job even existed). However, the study later met with objections from vocal transphobes in society. Even Hilary Cass identified the fucking stitch-up:

There are no new research findings and the MHRA hasn’t presented any new evidence. It feels to me like they are responding to political pressure rather than to science.

She added that raising the age limit to 14 made no sense:

will make the results invalid. It would make the design really, really flawed and you should not be subjecting children to a flawed study.

And highlighted other, even more nonsensical points in the MHRA’s letter:

There were some bizarre things, that children won’t be able to tell you if they’re bleeding. Well, anyone who can’t tell you if they’re bleeding can’t consent to this treatment. That seemed completely bizarre.

‘No compelling scientific reason’

Likewise, Dr Max Davie, a paediatrician with experience at the NHS Children and Young People’s Gender Service, was more direct in naming Prof George as the issue:

The tweets by Professor George give a clear indication of his personal views on the topic. He is quite at liberty to hold whatever views on gender identity he may, but what he cannot do is allow these views to affect the fulfilment of his public duty.

He added:

To be clear, there is no compelling scientific reason to halt the Pathways trial. While Prof George’s personal convictions are not the only possible explanation for the MHRA’s abrupt volte-face, it is the only one for which we have evidence.

The current pause on the Pathways trial is just another chapter in this whole sordid and biased affair. Trans healthcare is being held to an impossible double standard.

Transphobes know that the government will seize on their every criticism, no matter how spurious. If they can’t halt gender-affirming care entirely, they’ll delay and reduce it, causing death by a thousand cuts.

First, we needed to deny hormone therapy in favour of puberty blockers. Then, we needed to stop blockers in favour of a trial. Now, we need to stop the trial in favour of sweet fuck all.

Meanwhile, it’s the UK’s trans youth paying the price for this open bigotry.

Featured image via the Canary