Britain Announces “Indefinite” Ban on Puberty Blockers for Gender-Questioning Minors
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – The UK government announced on December 11 that an existing emergency measure banning puberty blockers for minors under the age of 18 will now be kept in place “indefinitely” in light of an “unacceptable safety risk.”
The government said the legislation would be updated on December 11 to make the ban indefinite and that the situation would be reviewed in 2027. Those minors who had started receiving puberty blockers to treat gender incongruence/dysphoria prior to the ban will be allowed to continue.
In a December 11 press release, Britain’s Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said the decision to extend the ban was made following the advice of experts.
“Children’s healthcare must always be evidence-led. The independent expert Commission on Human Medicines found that the current prescribing and care pathway for gender dysphoria and incongruence presents an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people,” Streeting said.
“We are working with NHS England to open new gender identity services, so people can access holistic health and wellbeing support they need. We are setting up a clinical trial into the use of puberty blockers next year, to establish a clear evidence base for the use of this medicine,” Streeting said.
The press release also cites Dr Hilary Cass, author of the independent government-requested review of gender identity services for children and young people. “Puberty blockers are powerful drugs with unproven benefits and significant risks, and that is why I recommended that they should only be prescribed following a multi-disciplinary assessment and within a research protocol,” Cass said.
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