Sweden the has put the brakes on ‘trans’ policies in the medical field. As of February 2023, the public health service has halted all hormone treatments for minors.

From now on, the known as “puberty blockers” will only be available in very rare cases.

The Nordic country had been a reference in its liberal approach to gender reassignment practices, but much began to change in 2020.

“The pendulum has swung”, Christian cultural analyst Olof Edsinger told Evangelical Focus three years ago. Sweden had a first law allowing legal gender reassignment in 1972, opening the path for other gender self-identification reforms in Europe.

Factors leading to the U-turn

But the huge increase of a 1,500% increase between 2008 and 2018 in gender dysphoria cases among girls aged 13 to 17, and the growing number of “detransitioners” (people who regreted the negative effects invasive medical practices had had on their bodies), have forced health experts to raise the voice of alarm.

“The uncertain state of knowledge calls for caution”, Mikael Landen, chief physician at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, said in report on December. Quoted by new agency AFP, Linden added that the profile of those diagnosed with gender dysphoria is complex, as it often occurs in those who already suffer from other diagnoses, such as eating disorders or autism.

In May 2021, another prestigious health institution, the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm, announced it would put an end to puberty blockers with those under 18.

An update of the guide to gender dysphoria care for young people produced by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare also rose the voice of alarm about the lack of scientific results.

Other European countries

The changes also come as the voice of medical doctors, jurists and even associations of parents of teenagers with so-called ‘accelerated dysphoria’ has been more audible.

But parliamentarian majorities in Europe have continued to pass legislation that allows gender self-determination with no need of medical evidence. The most recent examples are the ‘trans laws’ in Spain, Scotland and Finland are confirming.