The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) has indicated that it will prevent children in Northern Ireland from taking part in the controversial “Pathways” trial under which participating children will be given puberty blockers.
Opponents of the scheme have characterised it as scientific experimentation on vulnerable children.
Children involved in the trial will be divided into two groups, with one starting puberty blockers 12 months earlier than the other.
The stated aim is to assess what impact puberty blockers have on bone density, brain development, fertility and mental health.
Northern Ireland’s involvement in the programme was suspended in February by health minister Mike Nesbitt, who said that participation would not proceed while a legal challenge against the scheme was ongoing.
Last week that legal challenge came to an end, leading to doubt as to whether Northern Ireland would participate.
A spokesperson for the UUP, speaking to the Belfast News Letter, said, “Our concern is straightforward. The evidence base for these drugs in children is weak, the potential long-term harms are not fully understood, and vulnerable young people should not be the means by which that uncertainty is resolved.
The spokesperson added, “We recognise that these are deeply sensitive and often distressing circumstances for young people and their families. They deserve compassion, dignity and timely access to high-quality psychological and therapeutic support.
"We believe that care should prioritise those services, while ensuring that decisions affecting children are guided by common sense, the best available clinical evidence and independent expert advice, with the welfare of the child remaining the overriding consideration.”
The UUP confirmed that it would not be supporting any proposals from other parties within Northern Ireland to participate in the scheme.
While the Northern Irish Executive is currently dominated by Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), under the unusual political system of the province, the UUP actually holds the health ministry.
Sinn Fein has indicated support for joining the Pathways scheme, while the DUP, like the UUP, is firmly against it.
