UK Government Bans Puberty Blockers 'Indefinitely'

Story at CatholicVote:

The UK Department of Health and Social Care announced Wednesday that the sale of puberty blockers for the treatment of gender confusion in minors is “banned indefinitely.”

The government’s announcement comes months after the release of a final report on a systematic review of studies and guidelines regarding the so-called “gender-affirming care” model of treating gender dysphoria in children and teens. The review, led by British pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass, found medical intervention for children’s supposed gender identity issues to be based on “remarkably weak evidence.”

“The reality is that we have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress,” Cass summed up in the report, adding, “[N]o changes in gender dysphoria or body satisfaction were demonstrated” following treatment with puberty blockers.

Cass and her team similarly found no evidence to support the “transition or die” claim that suicide risk can be avoided with hormone treatment in minors with gender dysphoria.

Labour Party Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting reportedly told the House of Commons that an additional review by the Commission on Human Medicines found some children were being prescribed puberty blockers after only completing a questionnaire and one online interview with a healthcare provider.

The Telegraph reported Tuesday that puberty blockers are also to be permanently banned in Northern Ireland “to block attempts by trans activists to ‘exploit a loophole.’”

Concerns that Northern Ireland would become a “back door” for the hormone drugs to travel across the rest of the UK are believed to have led to the ban.

Read more about the UK ban on puberty blockers at CatholicVote.