The 100-Year Life Health Education and Government
British MPs and the paediatrician Hillary Cass have been debating last week’s extension of a ban on puberty blockers for minors with gender dysphoria. Several Labour and Green MPs called the extension discriminatory, while Baroness Cass of the Cass Review said it was “based on science and certainty about safety and effectiveness”.
The existing ban is to be extended indefinitely and won’t be reviewed until 2027. Puberty blockers prevent the body from releasing sex hormones. They’ve been in use since the 1980s to treat hormonal issues in children including a condition known as precocious puberty – when a child can go through puberty as early as 6 or 7 – and endometriosis.
The treatment had been used for gender dysphoria since the 90s. Wes Streeting, the health secretary, cited the Cass Review in support of his decision, saying it raised “safety concerns around the lack of evidence for these medical treatments”.
The review, published in April, does not call for a ban on puberty blockers but does reiterate advice in a letter to NHS England in 2023 that they only be given “in a research protocol”. It urges an expansion of other kinds of treatments and more research on potential side effects.
The British Medical Association has criticised the ban and echoed the call for more research.
The impact on trans youth is impossible to predict, but a joint response from over 14 UK LQBTQ+ organisations said “the Government’s approach will further harm and alienate trans children and young people and their families, who already experience significant barriers and discrimination when accessing the services that are meant to support them”.
