Conservative puberty blockers ban is lawful, high court rules

A ban on prescribing puberty blockers in England, Wales and Scotland has been considered lawful by a high court judge.

An emergency order implemented by former health secretary Victoria Atkins, under the Tory government, banned private prescriptions for puberty blockers, which are already inaccessible through the NHS.

The medication, primarily used by teenagers under the age of 18, halts unwanted elements of physical puberty. The NHS has described it as physically reversible.

Following the emergency order, the not-for-profit group TransActual, alongside the Good Law Project and an unnamed claimant, challenged the decision, arguing that it was implemented outside of the health secretary’s powers.

However, the court has now decided that she acted in accordance with the law.

Throwing out the case, justice Beverley Lang said: “In my view, it was rational for [Victoria Atkins] to decide that it was essential to adopt the emergency procedure to avoid serious danger to the health of children and young people who would otherwise be prescribed puberty blockers during that five-to-sixth month period.”

Atkins’ emergency order was implemented following the publication of the Cass Report, a review into the way healthcare is administered to transgender young people in England.

The controversial review made upwards of 32 recommendations, intended to build upon a “holistic approach” to treatment, but was criticised for potentially making it harder to access puberty blockers.

Justice Lang said the review’s findings supporting an emergency halt to the prescription of puberty blockers, with claims of the “very substantial risks and very narrow benefits associated with the use of puberty blockers” were made clear.

While the report did not definitively say that puberty blockers are harmful, the judge said this was not the question that it was asked to address.

However, the Cass Report was criticised by many for disregarding reports that found puberty blockers to be beneficial for young people, including from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), a globally recognised think tank that has contributed to the health care systems of countries across the world.

TransActual’s director of healthcare Chay Brown claimed government evidence made it clear that “they decided on an emergency ban first and sought ways to justify it second”, and called the result disappointing.

“The judgement leans heavily on the widely discredited Cass review. This, never forget, is the work of someone with no experience of trans healthcare,” Brown continued.

“It excluded trans researchers from the review team, on grounds of potential bias, while including several clearly identified anti-trans academics, and it was led by an individual appointed from a shortlist of one – and since elevated to the House of Lords by the outgoing Conservative administration.

“We are seriously concerned about the safety and welfare of young trans people in the UK. Over the [past] few years, they have come to view the medical establishment as paying lip service to their needs, and all too happy to weaponise their very existence in pursuit of a now-discredited culture war.”

Good Law Project’s

Atkins’ emergency order was implemented following the publication of the Cass Report, a review into the way healthcare is administered to transgender young people in England.

The controversial review made upwards of 32 recommendations, intended to build upon a “holistic approach” to treatment, but was criticised for potentially making it harder to access puberty blockers.

Justice Lang said she believed the review’s findings to support an emergency halt to the prescription of puberty blockers, saying that its claims on the “very substantial risks and very narrow benefits associated with the use of puberty blockers” were made clear.

While the report did not definitively say that puberty blockers are harmful, the judge this was not the question that it was asked to address.

However, the Cass Report was criticised by many for disregarding reports that found puberty blockers to be beneficial for young people, including from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), a globally recognised think tank that has contributed to the health care systems of countries across the world.

TransActual’s director of healthcare Chay Brown arguing that the defence’s evidence made it clear that “they decided on an emergency ban first and sought ways to justify it second” and called the result disappointing.

“The judgement leans heavily on the widely discredited Cass review. This, never forget, is the work of someone with no experience of trans healthcare,” Brown continued. “It excluded trans researchers from the review team, on grounds of potential bias, while including several clearly identified anti-trans academics, and it was led by an individual appointed from a shortlist of one – and since elevated to the House of Lords by the outgoing Conservative administration.

“We are seriously concerned about the safety and welfare of young trans people in the UK. Over the [past] few years, they have come to view the UK medical establishment as paying lip service to their needs, and all too happy to weaponise their very existence in pursuit of a now-discredited culture war.”

According to the BBC, Bekah Sparrow, a legal adviser at Good Law Project, said young people’s healthcare “must be taken seriously and include input from real experts and those most directly affected by the changes”, adding: “Young people, whether they are trans or not, should be able to access the medication they need to live full, happy and healthy lives.”

New health secretary Wes Streeting is said to have welcomed the ruling.