Government won’t say if it will follow Britain’s move to ban routine use of puberty blockers [Video]

By Ruth Hill of RNZ

The Ministry of Health is refusing to say if it is considering following Britain’s move to ban the routine use of puberty blockers for transgender children and teenagers.

The drugs – which delay the physical changes that come with puberty – are now limited to clinical trials in the United Kingdom. Similar restrictions are already in place in Sweden, Finland and France.

In a move heralded by the British government as “a landmark decision” and “in the best interests of children”, the National Health Service or NHS has concluded there is not enough evidence that puberty blockers are safe to take or clinically effective for transgender children and young people.

The decision foreshadowed the release on Wednesday of the final Cass Report, an independent four-year review of specialist services for gender dysphoric youth in the UK, which found young people had been given life-changing treatment despite “remarkably weak” evidence.

Public health expert and Otago University emeritus …