今日吃瓜

New Zealand has banned new prescriptions of puberty blockers for young transgender people.

Health minister, Simeon Brown, said doctors would no longer be able to prescribe gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues- also known as puberty blockers- to new patients for the treatment of gender dysphoria.

The drugs will still be available for those already prescribed puberty blockers for gender dysphoria, and will continue to be prescribed for patients requiring them for other medical conditions, such as early onset puberty.

Brown said the new rules would help families feel confident that any treatment was “clinically sound and in the best interests of the young person”.

“These changes are about ensuring treatments are safe and carefully managed, while maintaining access to care for those who need it.”

According to the health ministry, there were 113 people using puberty blockers in 2023.

The ban has been welcomed by New Zealand First leader, Winston Peters, who said in a post on X that his party was the only one to campaign against puberty blockers and “never stopped fighting to make this happen.”

“It is commonsense to put a pause on these unproven and potentially damaging drugs for children until we assess the results of the clinical trials in the UK once it’s completed.”

Last year, the United Kingdom issued an indefinite ban on puberty blockers in the treatment of transgender youth, with Queensland following suite in January.

Grave concerns held for trans youth

The new guidelines come in the wake of the UK’s Cass Review, which urged medics to use 鈥渆xtreme caution鈥� when prescribing puberty blockers.

At the time of its release, the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa said the review ignored global medical consensus, and was irrelevant to New Zealand.

“The final Cass Review did not include trans or non-binary experts or clinicians experienced in providing gender affirming care in its decision-making, conclusions, or findings,” PATHA president Jennifer Shields said.

“Instead, a number of people involved in the review and the advisory group previously advocated for bans on gender affirming care in the United States, and have promoted non-affirming ‘gender exploratory therapy’, which is considered a conversion practice.”

The review was recently criticised by a major peer-reviewed report that warned the review’s recommendations were plagued by methodological, conceptual and ethical flaws, and reccomended against adopting it in a benchmark in Australia.

Elizabeth McElrea, vice-president of PATHA, said the ban would have a detrimental effect on the lives of trans and gender diverse young people in New Zealand.

鈥淭he ban will lead to worsening mental health, increased suicidality and dysphoria for gender-diverse children and young people, and will put them at a higher risk of experiencing marginalisation and discrimination,鈥� she said.

鈥淭he prescribing of puberty blockers is always undertaken with the utmost care and consideration. They have been prescribed safely for decades for transgender children and banning their use will lead to profound distress in this already vulnerable group.鈥�

The ban will come into effect on December 19.