Puberty blockers will be banned indefinitely
Health Secretary Wes Streeting says a ban on giving puberty blockers to people under 18 who question their gender identity is to be made permanent.
Streeting told the House of Commons that he was extending the temporary ban currently in place across the UK indefinitely following consultation and advice from the Human Drugs Commission, describing the practice as a “scandal”.
The expert group said giving children medicines for gender dysphoria was an “unacceptable safety risk”.
The Health Secretary said the review had found cases where children were prescribed treatment after filling online forms and having only one online consultation with a health care provider.
Puberty blockers are drugs used to delay or stop puberty.
A temporary ban was imposed by the previous Conservative government – and renewed twice by Streeting.
Streeting said it is essential for the government to be evidence-based when it comes to health care.
After publication of the order A historical review from earlier this year In gender care services for children by pediatrician Dr Hilary Cass.
It found a lack of evidence about treating people under 18 with puberty-blocking drugs.
In March, NHS England decided that puberty blockers would no longer be routine treatment for children with gender dysphoria.
Then in May, the Conservative government tightened regulations on the drugs, and imposed an emergency ban on drugs prescribed by private and European physicians.
It was kept in place when the Labor Party came to power and was later challenged in the High Court. Government won that case,
Announcing the indefinite ban, Streeting said: “It is a scandal that this medicine has been given to vulnerable children without any evidence that it is safe or effective.”
But Streeting said a planned clinical trial of the use of puberty blockers by NHS England is going ahead.
He said the ban would be reviewed in 2027 in the light of any new evidence that emerges.
People under the age of 18 who were using drugs before the ban came into force have been allowed to continue using them.
