UK extends puberty blocker drugs ban to private healthcare providers

Private doctors will be barred from offering puberty-blocker drugs to under-18-year-olds struggling with gender identity, widening an existing ban in the state health system, the UK government said on Wednesday.

The move comes after emergency measures on private clinics were put in place for three months in May by the former Conservative government when the state-funded National Health Service decided to ban prescriptions of such drugs to minors in March.

A landmark review in April urged "extreme caution" on prescribing hormone treatments for young people grappling with gender identity issues.

The move followed a spike in referrals to more than 5,000 in 2021-2022 from just under 250 a decade earlier.

The new Labour government, which took power in July, said the temporary ban imposed on the private sector would now be made "indefinite ... following official advice from medical experts".

The current situation "presents an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people", Health Secretary Wes Streeting said.

The ban of such medications, which pause physical changes brought by puberty such as breast development and facial hair, will be reviewed in 2027.

But, it will not apply to those minors who have already been given doctors' prescriptions.

Streeting said the government would work with the NHS to open new gender identity services, and a clinical trial into puberty blockers would be set up next year.

Concerns have grown around the introduction of such medical interventions for those with gender issues, amid a lack of evidence on their use and long-term impacts.

The issue has become as contentious in the UK as in other countries.