Children will no longer be prescribed ‘puberty blockers’ at gender identity clinics, NHS bosses have announced.
Known medically as gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues, puberty blockers stop the physical changes of puberty in teens questioning their gender.
For example, they halt the development of breasts in girls and facial hair in boys.
Testosterone helps those born female put on muscle and gives them body hair, while oestrogen promotes the growth of breast tissue in those born male.
Groups such as Mermaids and Gires, which support transgender people and their families, have claimed that delaying a young transgender person’s access to hormone blockers may increase their risk of suicide.
Puberty blockers will still be available, prescribed privately ‘off-label’ by some medics at non-NHS-based gender clinics.
Liz Truss, prime minister for just 50 days, welcomed the move and urged the Government to back her own amendment to widen the ban to private clinics.
