London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jun 22, 2026

Why are kids with gender dysphoria being treated like lab rats?

Why are kids with gender dysphoria being treated like lab rats?

A damning investigation in Sweden has found that doctors are ignoring the physical harm and irreversible damage caused by giving puberty blockers to primary school children diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
Wherever you stand on trans issues, no one could fail to be shocked by the revelations coming out of Sweden about the life-changing injuries and harmful side effects inflicted on children by cavalier doctors at the Karolinska University Hospital, all in the name of the great gender debate.

The youngsters treated at the Stockholm hospital had all been diagnosed with gender dysphoria – the unshakeable feeling that their physical characteristics were mismatched with how they felt about their gender – and were subsequently injected with regular doses of oestrogen, testosterone or other hormones to effect a physical transition to their new identity.

Gender dysphoria, it must be pointed out, is not a physical affliction in any way. It is all in the head.

Now, some of those children treated at the hospital are showing signs of osteoporosis, reduced bone density, liver damage, massive weight gain – one child piled on 25kg in just one year – and severe mental health issues. Some of those transitioning to male have changed their minds and want to identify as female again, but are stuck with the irreversible characteristic of a deep voice, thanks to testosterone injections, according to an investigation by the country’s national broadcaster SVT.

This is Dr. Frankenstein territory. How can the supposedly super-progressive liberals of Sweden allow this to happen? What’s even more outrageous is that in the case of one 11-year-old in the programme, the treatment continued for three months after doctors were alerted to skeletal deformation.

These are just kids who have been treated like lab rats. Tweenies and even younger who are crying out for help with their mental health, not hormone injections. It’s mind-boggling to think that a child still in primary school can be making life-altering decisions that will put them on a one-way transitioning journey, yet they have not even experienced puberty. Their brains are not fully formed, they can’t legally drink, smoke, vote or drive a car, yet they are being credited with a self-awareness far beyond their years.

One study in the Journal of American Academy of Adolescent and Child Psychiatry revealed that around 80% of children grew out of gender dysphoria, although research for the UK’s Tavistock Gender Identity Clinic found that those who began medical intervention were less likely to change their minds.

That still doesn’t make a majority, however. So surely it makes sense that if the probability is that a child will change their mind about transitioning, then mental health support should be prioritised as the prime intervention, before harmful drugs are administered?

Where in the Hippocratic Oath – ‘primum non nocere’ (first, do no harm) – is the exception for this scandalous abuse? How can medical professionals treat children like this, so that distraught parents are left blaming themselves, with one Swedish mother heartbreakingly admitting, “Of course you feel anger towards those you trusted. But also towards myself; I am the one who will protect my child, but I have not done that in any way.”?

The SVT probe found that despite most medical professionals recommending that puberty blockers should not be prescribed for longer than two years, over the last five years, one in five children in what Swedish doctors call ‘trans care’ has been given the hormones for three years. Talk about not reading the label.

One of the medical professionals involved, chief physician and pediatric endocrinologist Ricard Nergardh, admitted that administering puberty blockers was “chemical castration.” But, remarkably, it still didn’t stop him or his colleagues from doling them out.

Sure, it’s all new. Gender dysphoria as a diagnosis has really only been on the radar since around 2013. But it’s a boom time for the medical profession, with many who should know better reluctant to suggest to their younger patients that maybe this is ‘just a stage’ they’re going through, in case they attract unwanted attention from the increasingly vocal trans lobby.

However, it’s not just in Sweden that the pressure is on an increasingly compliant medical profession to imperil the mental and physical wellbeing of our children, while playing along with a wrongheaded critical theory on gender.

Questions will be raised in Sweden, no doubt, but they also need to be raised in the UK, the US, Canada and Australia, where gender transition has become the cause du jour. Before any more children are irreversibly damaged.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Taxpayer Support Grows for Higher Digital Levies on Multinational Tech Companies
Bank of England Signals Caution Over Inflation Despite Easing Energy Prices
Lloyds Banking Group Expands Artificial Intelligence Hiring Amid Sector-Wide Automation Shift
Film Producer Corporate Collapse Leaves Creditors Facing Unrecoverable Losses
UK Ten-Year Brexit Anniversary Highlights Ongoing Political and Economic Uncertainty
Nottingham Maternity Scandal Inquiry Reveals Systemic Failings in NHS Care
Met Office Heatwave Prompts Public Health Warnings Across United Kingdom
Concerns Rise Over Fiscal Stability as Political Uncertainty Weighs on UK Borrowing Costs
UK Taxpayers Back Higher Digital Taxes on Global Technology Firms, Survey Shows
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates Steady Amid Persistent Services Inflation
Reform UK and Opposition Leaders Call for General Election Following Starmer’s Departure
Ten Years After Brexit Referendum, UK Faces Ongoing Political Fragmentation and Economic Debate
Nottingham University Hospitals Maternity Inquiry Exposes Severe NHS Failures
Met Office Issues Heat Health Alerts as United Kingdom Faces Record-Breaking Temperatures
Andy Burnham Emerges as Front-Runner for Labour Leadership After Starmer’s Resignation
Keir Starmer Resigns as UK Enters New Phase of Political Leadership Transition
UK Expands Alcohol Ban Enforcement Using Tagging Technology Ahead of World Cup
UK Invests £50 Million in Critical Minerals Supply Chain Security
UK Appoints Special Envoy on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict
UK Introduces Fines for Landlords of Unsafe Rental Properties
Reform UK Leads Opinion Polls as Immigration Debate Reshapes UK Politics
Police Investigate Edinburgh Attacks as Potential Hate Crimes
King Charles to Publish Personal Tax and Royal Household Financial Records
Nottingham University Hospitals Maternity Inquiry Report Set for Publication
Heat-Health Alerts Issued Across London and Southern England Amid Rising Temperatures
UK Economy Shows Pressure From Middle East Conflict Despite Modest Growth
Brexit Anniversary Reignites Debate Over UK Economic and Political Direction
UK Parliament Continues Legislative Work Amid Leadership Transition
Financial Markets Hold Steady After UK Leadership Shake-Up
Andy Burnham Enters Labour Leadership Race With Strong Parliamentary Backing
Keir Starmer Resigns as UK Prime Minister After Two Years in Office
Reform UK MP Lee Anderson to Raise Pension Concerns Over British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme
UK Parliament to Debate Newborn Screening for Spinal Muscular Atrophy Following Public Petition
Met Office Warns of Water Safety Risks During Heatwave as Temperatures Peak in England
Treasury Increases Mileage Allowance Payments for 2026–27 Tax Year to 55 Pence Per Mile
UK Government Raises Electricity Generator Levy to 55 Percent in New Revenue Measure
House of Lords Moves Financial Services and Markets Bill to Committee Stage Amid Regulatory Scrutiny
Westminster Hall to Debate Petition on Pro-Israel Influence in UK Politics
UK Parliament Prepares for Estimates Days Debates as Backbench Business Schedule Approved
Armed Forces Bill Nears Final Stages in UK House of Commons With Military Justice Reforms
Donald Trump Comments on UK Political Situation, Citing Immigration and Energy Policy Concerns
Andy Burnham By-Election Victory Fuels Speculation Over Potential Labour Leadership Contest
UK Economy Shows Resilience but Faces Headwinds from Middle East Tensions, UK Finance Says
UK Parliament Opens Week of Debates on Net Zero, Security and Armed Forces Reform
Met Office Issues Amber Extreme Heat Warning as Temperatures Expected to Reach 35C Across England and Wales
Prime Minister Keir Starmer Faces Mounting Leadership Pressure After Makerfield By-Election Defeat
London Hotel Wins World’s Best Afternoon Tea Award at International Hospitality Guide La Liste
Court of Appeal Rules in Favour of Competition and Markets Authority in Phenytoin Drug Case
Chichester Waste Site Suspended After Environment Agency Finds Serious Fire and Pollution Risks
UK Appoints Chris Elmore as Special Envoy on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict
×