UK High Court Rules UK Ban on Puberty Blockers Lawful
U.K. High Court Judge Justice Lang ruled the May 29 ban on puberty blockers lawful this Monday.
“(Atkins) reasonably considered that it was essential to make the Order as soon as possible to protect children and young people from irresponsible prescribing of puberty blockers,” Lang writes in her ruling.
The emergency ban was announced on May 29 following publishing of The NHS commissioned Cass review. It is a continuation of NHS rollback of trans youth healthcare beginning in March. Advocacy group TransActual UK and an anonymous claimant challenged the legality of the ban on the grounds the former Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Victoria Atkins, was not justified in using emergency procedure to bypass the longer consultation period recommended by the Commission on Human Medicines.
Lang conclude that “it was essential to adopt the emergency procedure to avoid serious danger to the health of children and young people” who would’ve been prescribed puberty blockers in the “five to six months” required by the standard procedure.
The defendants claimed that “Vulnerable children were being placed on medical pathways which had substantial, albeit unquantified, risks and no or very limited clear benefits.” Findings of the Cass Review in April recommended that “puberty blockers should only be prescribed under a research protocol.” However, without a way to enforce this protocol on “overseas prescribers,” Atkins sought an emergency ban with a view to converting it to a permanent ban following its expiration on September 2nd.
The most common puberty blockers, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa), have been approved by the FDA since 1985 to treat cisgender children entering “precocious puberty” and certain conditions in adults. Published use for transgender children began in the 1990s with the “Dutch Protocol” and is endorsed by the Endocrine Society, the European Society for Sexual Medicine, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Nonetheless, the Cass review found “there is not a reliable evidence base upon which to make clinical decisions, or for children and their families to make informed choices (about puberty blockers).”
The consultation for a permanent ban will take place beginning September 3 under the newly elected Labor Party. New Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting originally endorsed the ban on the grounds of the Cass Review, however, others in the Labor party oppose a permanent ban.
“Cass review recommended caution, not exclusion,” wrote fellow Labor MP Stella Creasy on X.
The Cass review has been criticized by many, including the Yale School of Medicine and WPATH. Following the ruling, TransActual announced plans to appeal the decision. TransActual Director for Healthcare Chay Brown says:
“To trans young people: You are loved ,and you are special. What is happening to your healthcare in this country is appalling, and we will keep working until all trans people can access the healthcare they need when they need it.”
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