The United Kingdom indefinitely banned puberty blockers for children after warnings about an “unacceptable safety risk” on Wednesday.
Wes Streeting, the U.K.’s secretary of state for Health and Social Care, announced the ban would affect everyone younger than 18.
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“We need to act with caution and care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people, and follow the expert advice,” Streeting said.
The declaration from the British government comes after the Commission on Human Medicines found there is “an unacceptable safety risk in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to children.”
With the commission’s report revealing that puberty blockers were prescribed to minors who filled out only one online questionnaire and completed a single Zoom call, Streeting said Wednesday that there was “particular concern” about whether the “children and their families were provided with enough time and information to give their full and informed consent.”
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Puberty blockers halt sex hormones, including testosterone and estrogen, preventing adolescent changes in the body such as periods, breast development, voice-deepening, and facial hair growth.
The British National Health Service announced in March it would ban the use of puberty blockers for children diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
“Puberty blockers (gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues) are not available to children and young people for gender incongruence or gender dysphoria because there is not enough evidence of safety and clinical effectiveness,” the NHS said.
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The news followed an analysis of a 2021 NHS Gender Identity Development Service at Tavistock and University College London Hospitals that analyzed 44 children who took puberty blockers.
The children were classified as having gender dysphoria, although researchers said they were “psychologically stable.” An analysis revealed that 34% of the children experienced a decline in mental health while taking puberty blockers.
The British government’s indefinite ban on puberty blockers on Wednesday comes after the conservative government issued an emergency order on May 29 temporarily outlawing the hormone blockers. The government’s move came in the wake of the review by pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass into gender medicine that proved to be harshly critical of puberty blockers.
A U.K. court upheld the ban from a challenge in July.
Although the Labour government, the country’s more liberal party, is now in power in the U.K., British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has signaled that his approach to puberty blockers aligns with his conservative predecessors.
The prime minister’s spokesman said following the court’s decision in July that he “welcome[d]” the ruling upholding the ban on sex hormone blockers.
“Children’s healthcare must be evidence-led. The Cass Review [into gender identity services, published in April] was clear that there was insufficient evidence that puberty blockers are safe and effective for children with gender dysphoria and gender incongruence. Therefore, we must act cautiously,” Starmer’s official spokesman said.
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Puberty blockers for children are tightly regulated in Europe, where most countries have adopted a cautious approach to the controversial measure, placing stringent restrictions on how and when they can be used.
Regulations in Norway, U.K., Sweden, Denmark, France, and Finland stipulate minors may only access puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones if they meet certain eligibility requirements, according to a Forbes analysis.