LONDON (TND) — The United Kingdom's emergency ban on prescribing puberty
blockers to children is legal, according to a Monday ruling by the
country’s High Court of Justice.

The temporary ban was implemented by the country’s former Conservative
government, which was ousted from power earlier this month. It limits
the use of the drugs, which prevent a child from undergoing puberty, to
clinical trials only.

The country’s National Health Service (NHS) cannot prescribe puberty
blockers to juvenile patients under the ban.

United Kingdom activist group TransActual and an anonymous minor
challenged the ban, arguing it was a misuse of the emergency process.
Justice Beverley Lang’s ruling, however, cited a review of puberty
blockers by NHS which found little evidence to support claims the
medication is beneficial for children.

“The findings of the Cass Review about the very substantial risks and
very narrow benefits associated with the use of puberty blockers, and
its recommendation that in future they should be prescribed in a
clinical trial, and not routinely prescribed, amounted to powerful
scientific evidence in support of restrictions on the supply of puberty
blockers on the grounds that they were potentially harmful,” a press
release on the verdict reads. “The fact that the Cass Review’s findings
and recommendations had been acted upon by NHS England, the Royal
College of GPs and the General Pharmacy Council gave them considerable
further weight.”

TransActual vowed to appeal the decision, citing the government’s lack
of justification for the ban.

“This is a disappointing result,” TransActual Director for Healthcare
Chay Brown said. “Defense evidence makes clear that they decided on an
emergency ban first and sought ways to justify it second.”

“The judgement leans heavily on the widely discredited Cass review,”
Brown continued. “This – never forget! – is the work of someone with no
experience of trans healthcare. It excluded trans researchers from the
review team, on grounds of potential bias, while including several
clearly identified anti-trans academics; and it was led by an individual
appointed from a shortlist of one – and since elevated to the House of
Lords by the outgoing Conservative administration.”

In March, NHS England banned the use of puberty blockers to treat
children diagnosed with gender dysphoria. The agency noted a lack of
evidence to support claims such medications are safe for long-term use.

“We have concluded that there is not enough evidence to support the
safety or clinical effectiveness of PSH to make the treatment routinely
available at this time,” NHS England wrote.

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