Children in England are being prescribed sex change drugs by foreign doctors over the internet without any parental consent, an investigation by a British newspaper has claimed.
In the UK, the prescription of puberty blockers to children under the age of 16 has been mostly barred since December, unless expressly signed off by two specialist doctors and later approved by a court.
However, an undercover investigation by the Daily Telegraph found that Europe-based online clinics are using a legal loophole to skirt the regulations. Despite Brexit, pharmacies in Britain are still accepting prescriptions — with a few exceptions — from doctors within the EU, allowing online clinics in Europe to prescribe English patients over the internet.
In the investigation, a reporter posed as a 15-year-old girl who was seeking gender reassignment therapy. The online clinic, GenderGP, was reported to have prescribed the ‘child’ testosterone, after just two consultations over Skype and without any parental consent.
The report said that GenderGP staff did not question the reporter’s belief that she was in fact a male, telling her: “we’re not worried about your truth because there’s no debate about that”.
The prescription was signed by a doctor in Romania, however, the doctor was not even available for a consultation and the reporter was instead told to consult with a doctor in Egypt, who told the supposed 15-year-old girl that it was “excellent” that she planned on never having children.
Read More: Foreign Doctors Caught Prescribing Sex Change Drugs to UK Children Online: Investigation
