#StopTheTrial protest: Exposing the ramifications of transgender ideology

Campaigners claim the government’s proposed trial of puberty blockers – on children as young as eight – is ethical, safe and reversible. Those sharing their experiences at the #StopTheTrial protest had a very different story to tell, reports Holly Baines

On Wednesday 17 December, we joined a lively protest urging the Government to recognise the irreversible harm of puberty blockers and stop the proposed puberty blockers trial, which would be available to gender dysphoric children as young as eight.

Outside the Department of Health and Social Security, a counter protest of masked and anonymous pro-trans campaigners had already formed well before the start of the #StopTheTrial protest.

Tragically, this collection of teenagers and young adults have been led to believe that puberty and their God-given sex is wrong – something to be prevented and avoided at all costs.

And they are fighting tooth and nail to ensure the next generation of young children struggling with gender dysphoria are provided these destructive and unethical medications through the puberty blockers trial.

They have been lied to by our doctors, our culture, our politicians and the subversive ideology that says puberty blockers are reversible, that sexual orientation is a personal choice, and that the only way to feel ‘themselves’ is to change their identity and mutilate their bodies.

We, and our clients, had a very different story to tell.

Exposing the ramifications of transgender ideology

While standing with the large group of protesters, several of our clients at Christian Concern and the Christian Legal Centre shared their experiences.

Their stories reveal the wide-ranging ramifications of radical transgender ideology.

Bethany Hutchison and Annice Grundy, two of the Darlington Nurses, exposed how transgender ideology is wreaking havoc in the NHS – and in their work lives.

Bethany warned of the harm the trial would do to vulnerable children, saying “This trial is absolutely absurd and it’s malevolent.”

With the support of Christian Concern and the Christian Legal Centre, these nurses are challenging the hospital where they work over being forced to share a changing room with a biologically male colleague who identifies as a woman called ‘Rose’.

De-transitioner Peter Benjamin said granting access to puberty blockers “is not love” but rather “a very dangerous experiment because it would lead to a whole generation not being able to have children.”

Peter lived as a transgender woman for seven years and underwent irreversible surgery. After becoming a Christian, he reverted to his male identity.

Revealing the irreversible side-effects and life-long health struggle, he said, “Little did I know I was ruining my life… [I] realised what a mistake I’d made in my life by living as a woman. The regrets afterward, it’s messed my life up.”

But now he is transformed and living in his God-given sexual identity: “But I’m back with the Lord now and he’s keeping me strong in my faith…and I’m so glad I’ve gone back to being Pete.”

Saying the puberty blockers trial – which would be available to children as young as eight – Jennifer Melle said, “This is abuse to our young people and our children” and must be stopped.

As a nurse with a spotless record, Jennifer called a convicted male paedophile patient – who identifies as a woman – ‘Mr’ while discussing his treatment with a doctor and has been suspended and villainised by the NHS ever since.

Another Christian Legal Centre client Dr David Mackereth, who had been an A&E doctor for 26 years, lost his job with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after refusing to call a hypothetical 6-foot bearded male client “Madame”.

He said, “What the Government is doing with the puberty blocker trials does not make any medical sense whatsoever… This is an infliction of harm on minors by our government, by our health system.”

Nigel and Sally Rowe also shared how they challenged trans-affirming policies when their sons’ primary school allowed 6-year-olds to cross dress.

After raising their concerns, they were told that if their son ‘misgendered’ the other child, it could be considered a form of bullying.

Thanks to the support of the Christian Legal Centre, their successful legal challenge led to the Conservative Government’s draft guidance on gender-questioning children.

Controversial or common sense?

Counter protesters claimed that those opposed to puberty blockers are a minority.

A size comparison of the two protests tells a very different story, as does the eclectic mix of people who joined forces to stand for a greater cause: the protection of vulnerable children.

The message of the protest was clear and consistent. All those attending, from GB News presenter and ex-MP Miriam Cates to Peter Benjamin sent this message: to protect deeply vulnerable children who are struggling with gender dysphoria, the Government must stop the unethical and unsafe trial of puberty blockers.

Stopping unethical medical experiments on minors is not controversial – it’s founded in the most basic form of common sense.

Protecting the next generation

Each of the stories shared revealed how puberty blockers will only cause long-lasting damage to the vulnerable children who need support, not medical castration.

But even deeper than the danger of this puberty blockers trial is the damage that radical transgender ideology is doing to the future generation.

It has convinced them that sex is not immutable, that state-sanctioned medical mutilation is ‘loving and supportive’, and that they will only be happy when they have escaped the ‘wrong body’ they were born in.

When navigating the aftermath of this deception, our nation needs Jesus and the moral clarity and security of his laws and teachings.

No-one is born in the wrong body.

God’s design for men and women – and for children – is always good and protects the most vulnerable.

The Government must follow the evidence and stop this deeply unethical puberty blockers trial before hundreds of young children face irreversible bodily damage and broken identities.

And as Christians, we must give the truth – and the hope of a new identity found in Jesus Christ – to those so disillusioned with their sex that they truly believe state-sanctioned medical castration is their only hope.