Court rules against puberty blockers for trans youth in “catastrophic” decision

A TransGender Symbol
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Three judges on the U.K.’s High Court just ruled that transgender young people cannot get puberty blockers – even if their doctor prescribes them – without a court order, effectively blocking the life-saving medication from many people who will need it.

“It is highly unlikely that a child aged 13 or under would be competent to give consent to the administration of puberty blockers,” wrote Dame Victoria Sharp in the ruling. “It is doubtful that a child aged 14 or 15 could understand and weigh the long-term risks and consequences of the administration of puberty blockers.”

Related: Puberty blockers reduce suicidal thoughts in trans people. Republicans want to ban them.

Puberty blockers are a hormonal treatment that delays the onset of puberty – and therefore secondary sex characteristics – so that transgender youth and their parents and doctors can have more time to decide on an appropriate medical treatment.

The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement in 2018 that affirmed the use of puberty blockers as part of a care model for young people with gender dysphoria. A study published earlier this year found that transgender people who wanted puberty blockers and got them were far less likely to…

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