Written submission from Mr Hugh Easton (HSC0041)
I'm a suspected victim of prenatal exposure to synthetic female hormones (DES/progestins), and have both physical symptoms associated with intersex conditions (eunuchoidism and hypogonadism) and a nonbinary gender identity. I've encountered problems obtaining healthcare throughout my life, probably in part because the system just doesn't cater for people like me, but also on occasions I've sensed what certainly feels like a reaction of revulsion from healthcare personnel.
The main issue I currently face is that, despite showing clear signs and symptoms of secondary hypogonadism, the NHS is denying me treatment because my testosterone isn't quite low enough to meet the completely arbitrary criteria they've set (although from what I've heard, this is a commonly encountered problem among male assigned people who are hypogonadal for whatever reason, so isn't an exclusively LGBTI issue, just the NHS cutting costs by finding excuses not to treat a particular group of patients with little political clout).
I'm not even sure a standard male HRT would work for me, since I'm not really male or female, but kind of a mixture of the two. Up until now the only interest the medical system has had in people like me is in denying our existence and in trying to ensure that the public don't find out about their mistake, so no one has yet developed any treatment protocols tailored to us.
I'd like the government and the medical industry to:
• own up to the fact that administering pharmaceutical hormones with feminising properties during pregnancy can be a cause of intersex and transgender in the male assigned offspring;
• try to prevent unnecessary exposures to these substances in future;
• and do something to help the people who've already been exposed.
Supporting documentation:
1. The personal story of Dr Dana Beyer, co-author of a study published in 2005, in which 150 out of 500 DES “sons” identified as women rather than men.
2. Four more personal stories of DES exposed people (Facebook account required to access):
3. An article I wrote earlier this year, with examples showing the insanely high doses that were routinely being prescribed during they heyday of DES as a miscarriage preventative, and my explanation for why I think female brain development was a common outcome in the male children exposed to the drug.
https://www.hormonesmatter.com/maternal-des-exposure-intersex-development-males/
October 2018