Kemi Badenoch says ‘no child is born in the wrong body’ as she calls for NHS puberty blocker trials to stop
"This trial is borne of the discredited," wrote Badenoch's letter to Wes Streeting
By Aaron Sugg
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called for the NHS puberty blockers trial to be stopped, writing to health secretary Wes Streeting: “No child is born in the wrong body.”
It was announced last week (22 November) that the NHS is launching a two-year study called the Pathways trial to examine the effectiveness of puberty blockers for under-16s, causing significant online debate.
Badenoch, who has a record of opposing LGBTQ+ rights, was elected leader of the Tory Party in 2024 after Rishi Sunak resigned following the party’s loss in the July 2024 general election.
Kemi Badenoch slammed the new study as “activist ideology masquerading as research”
In a letter posted to social media and addressed to the health secretary, she said she “cannot believe” the new study, calling it “activist ideology masquerading as research”.
The statement, signed by Badenoch and shadow health secretary Stuart Andrew, said: “This trial is borne of the discredited, yet still seemingly entrenched, belief in some quarters that a child can be ‘born in the wrong body’ or go through the ‘wrong’ puberty, and that a normal puberty can be ‘paused’ without causing irreparable harm to children.”
Speaking directly to Streeting, the politicians added: “You are no longer head of education for Stonewall; you are the Health Secretary. That change of job title should come with a change of judgment.”
No child is born in the wrong body.
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) November 25, 2025
I cannot believe we are back to square one, with NHS England backing an experimental trial of puberty blockers on healthy, vulnerable children, ignoring the damage already done.
The No1 rule of medicine is "do no harm".
This is activist… pic.twitter.com/WXDNs9fNgQ
“An ideology that has permanently damaged so many children” – Badenoch and Stuart Andrew to Wes Streeting on the new puberty-blocker research
“Your job is to promote the health of the nation, not indulge an ideology that has permanently damaged so many children,” Badenoch and Andrew wrote.
Streeting has said the trial follows recommendations from the Cass Review, which led to a ban on puberty blockers for under-18s in the UK.
Calling gender dysphoria a “psychological condition”, the politicians wrote: “This trial continues the shameful habit of treating normal childhood challenges as illness, or that psychological conditions are signs to young people that their healthy bodies are somehow wrong and must be corrected with drugs or surgery.”
“Stop this trial from going ahead before more damage is done” – Badenoch and Andrew calling for the Pathways trial not to go ahead
“The number-one rule of medicine is simple: do no harm. We call on the government to honour that principle and stop this trial from going ahead before more damage is done to children who are too young to understand what they are doing to themselves,” the letter continued.
The £10 million puberty blockers trial is being led by researchers from King’s College London, headed by Professor Emily Simonoff as chief investigator.
Participants will have to undergo more than 13 hours of medical assessments, complete around 50 forms – including questions on trauma and suicide – and be physically examined before accessing treatment.
“Children who are too young to understand what they are doing to themselves” – Badenoch on transgender youth
The study will monitor issues such as bone density, brain development, and mental health and wellbeing over time.
Badenoch said in a post on X that she is “calling for Wes Streeting to step in and stop this trial before more damage is done to children who are too young to understand what they are doing to themselves”.
Trans advocates have criticised the NHS’s tests, health director for TransActual Chay Brown said it is “an intentional plan to delay, obstruct and obfuscate transition-related care”.
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