New Zealand has announced that it will be banning puberty blockers for young people pending the results of a major clinical trial in the United Kingdom, which is expected in 2031.
The ban will take effect on December 19, though youth suffering from gender dysphoria who are already taking the drugs will be permitted to continue.
The puberty-blocking drugs – technically known as gonadotropin-release hormone analogues – will remain available for medical conditions such as prostate cancer and endometriosis.
“We are putting in place stronger safeguards so families can have confidence that any treatment is clinically sound and in the best interests of the young person or child,” Health Minister Simeon Brown stated in a press release.
“The Ministry of Health’s evidence brief found that there is a lack of high-quality evidence that demonstrates the benefits or risks of the use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues for the treatment of gender dysphoria or incongruence. While this uncertainty persists, the Government is taking a precautionary approach,” he continued.
“These changes will ensure a more consistent and carefully monitored approach,” Brown concluded. “This mirrors steps taken in other countries, such as the United Kingdom, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, where additional safeguards have recently been implemented to ensure decisions are made in line with the best available evidence.”
The UK banned puberty blockers for minors after the results of a comprehensive study of the available evidence commissioned by the National Health Service and conducted by Dr. Hilary Cass. The Cass Report found that there is “weak evidence regarding impact on gender dysphoria, mental, or psychosocial health” and added that the “effect on cognitive and psychosexual development remains unknown.”
Puberty blockers have been proven to impact brain development, reduce the density of bones, and stunt growth. They risk barring the user from reaching peak IQ, inhibit sexual function, thicken the blood, raise risk of heart attack by up to five times, create a higher risk of diabetes, blood clots, and cancer, and can result in genital atrophy.
Transgender activists responded by claiming that the move would endanger gender dysphoric children, with the so-called Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa claiming, unironically, that the decision was “ideologically driven.” In fact, the decision was based on best evidence; the position of transgender activists is “ideologically driven” by the assumption that children are regularly born in the wrong bodies and that “gender-affirming care” can correct that.
Green Party MP Ricardo Menéndez March told RNZ that the government was “buying into imported culture wars” and stated that the “government should focus on addressing the core issues that our health system faces … rather than waging culture wars on [so-called] trans people.” The health ministry confirmed that 113 people were using puberty blockers in 2023.
Charlotte Paul, a public health expert and Otago University Emeritus professor, supports the new restrictions, stating that when it comes to the potential harms of puberty blockers, there are “substantial uncertainties,” even about “who should be treated, and why.” She stated: “It’s not just the uncertainty about the balance of benefits and risks. It’s that we don’t know enough about the population that we’re treating and that we could be harming a lot of kids.”
“New Zealand First was the only party that campaigned around the country about stopping the use of puberty blockers in children and we never stopped fighting to make this happen,” stated NZ First leader and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters on X.
The news comes on the same day the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published a 400-page, peer-reviewed report on “gender transitions” for children, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries. The study highlighted the risks of bone density loss, infertility, and surgical complications, and emphasized that evidence of beneficial outcomes was of “very low quality.”
