Medical professionals in the United Kingdom will no longer be allowed to prescribe body-altering puberty blockers to children at gender clinics, NHS (National Health Service) confirmed Tuesday. The drugs are still allowed to be used on children in clinical trials. After reviewing the damaging effects of the hormones on children, NHS said banning puberty blockers is “in the best interests of kids.”Puberty blockers cause physical changes in the body, especially for prepubescent children. The drugs inhibit the normal development of puberty, such as facial hair and breast development, as well as cause other health issues such as weakened bones. The UK government praised the “landmark decision,” according to the Daily Mail. Officials said healthcare should be evidence-based in order to protect the “best interests of the child.”Health Minister Maria Caulfield said the government “welcomes this landmark decision by the NHS.”“We have always been clear that children's safety and wellbeing is paramount,” said Caulfield. “Ending the routine prescription of puberty blockers will help ensure that care is based on evidence, expert clinical opinion and is in the best interests of the child."Former prime minister Liz Truss has put forward the Health and Equality Acts (Amendment) Bill, which includes a ban on the prescription of puberty blockers to children questioning their sex and is scheduled for its second reading on Friday. NHS in 2020 commissioned an independent review, led by Dr. Hilary Cass, of gender identity services for minors and has since conducted public consultation and implemented an interim policy while reviewing the issue. The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), which is run by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and is closing down at the end of March, received a sharp rise in referrals, prompting the review, Sky News reported. GIDS, a “service” for children to go for support if they are confused about their gender, had a staggering 5,000 referrals for kids potentially suffering from gender dysphoria. A decade before, the centre only received 250 referrals. In February 2022, Cass published an interim report stating the lack of evidence on the long-term effects on children prescribed puberty blockers. GIDS had not collected consistent-enough data, the report states, and therefore it is “not possible to accurately track the outcomes and pathways that children and young people take through the service.”Despite closing down GIDS this March, two more NHS centres will open in its place in April. Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool will be offering children support for neurological disorders, pediatrics, and mental health, "resulting in a holistic approach to care."There are currently fewer than 100 children in the UK on puberty blockers. They will continue their treatment at Leeds and University College London Hospital.
