Professor Chris Whitty says Cass Review is a 'hugely important report'; Photo: Heathcliff O'Malley for The Telegraph
Cass's landmark review into gender identification services for children should be a warning about “getting ahead of the facts”, said Professor Sir Chris Whitty.
In In his first speech on the topic, the chief medical officer warned that the debate over transgender issues had become “too vitriolic.”
In a report last week, Dr Hillary Cass, a pediatrician, found that the evidence for allowing young people and children to change gender was built on a weak foundation, and there was no convincing evidence of the long-term results of treatments such as puberty blockers, which are prescribed children.
The review also warned of pressure on families, including parents who felt pressured to allow their children to transition for fear of being labeled transphobic.
Children's welfare is a “central concern”
Sir Chris told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “I think Cass' report was extremely important and I think it said three things. I mean the first thing, and this is the most important thing to start with, is that we are talking about children, and the welfare of children should be the main concern. All other questions should come second after this.
“Secondly, Dr. Kass noted that the evidence base here is very weak, and I think this is a very clear adjustment in any field of science. actually medicine, where people are getting ahead of the evidence, especially where there are potential serious side effects or long-term consequences of treatment… I think this is really an opportunity to completely rethink this.
“And, of course, the last thing – One of the reasons why research in this area has been so sparse is the acrimonious nature of the debate on both extremes. And I think we really need to quiet this debate right away.
“This is to help children who are often going through difficult times, and we need to start there rather than with this very acrimonious debate.”
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Dr Kass's report totaled 388 pages , and took four years to prepare amid growing concerns that doctors are allowing children to change gender and “socially transition” in schools without asking questions.
“Caring and compassion”
Both main political parties welcomed the recommendations as Rishi Sunak backed the pediatrician's call for all cases to be treated with “great care and compassion”.
The Prime Minister highlighted the sharp rise in illness among children in recent years, particularly among teenage girls. are questioning their gender, while Wes Streeting, Labour's shadow health secretary, admitted after the review that he was wrong when he said “trans women are women.”
Elsewhere in his BBC Radio 4 interview, Sir Chris defended Mr Sunak's smoking ban, which MPs will vote on on Tuesday, amid Tory criticism of the Government.
Sir Chris said he was confident of proposals that, including a complete ban on disposable e-cigarettes and an annual increase in the smoking age, would “result in lower smoking rates.”
Pointing to the increased risk of strokes, heart disease and lung cancer that smokers face, he added: “It's a really serious health problem. And the reason this is doubly problematic is that the vast majority of smokers wish they had never started, but they become addicted at an early age and then become trapped and that addiction takes away their choice.
< p>“This is one of the reasons why the argument that if you are pro-choice, you are pro-cigarettes is so surprising. Because it's a product designed to take choice away from you.”
'Absolutely nuts'
Senior Conservatives, including Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, Mr Sunak's predecessors, have expressed their opposition to his policy, saying: Mr Johnson called it “absolute madness.”
Sir Chris said: “We expect that over time [this] will lead to the almost complete disappearance of smoking, which will be a huge public health achievement…
“Smoking is an obvious problem, we must strive for complete smoking cessation, and that is why this bill is before Parliament today.”
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