Britain Indefinitely Bans Puberty Blockers For Children With Gender Dysphoria

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said a clinical trial will be set up next year to better evaluate use of the drugs.

LONDON (AP) — The British government on Wednesday indefinitely banned puberty blockers for children with gender dysphoria after independent experts found there was an unacceptable safety risk in prescribing the medication.

The decision, which will be revisited in 2027, effectively bans a common approach to medical gender transitions for youths. It also goes against standards held by medical groups elsewhere, including the European and World Professional Associations for Transgender Health, as well as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The ban will prevent prescribing medications that can suppress or pause puberty in children with gender dysphoria, providing more time to consider options that could include gender reassignment.

The announcement comes after a judge this summer upheld an emergency ban in a ruling that said the treatment was potentially harmful. The emergency ban was put in place by the center-right Conservative government and has now been extended by the center-left Labour government.

The ban does not apply to those already receiving puberty blockers for gender dysphoria, to their use in clinical studies or in treatment of children with precocious puberty, an uncommon medical condition that causes puberty to begin abnormally early.