Study: Puberty Blockers Ban is Harming Trans Youth

A new study has found that the UK’s ban on providing puberty blockers to transgender children is having “very serious adverse effects”.

In December 2024, the UK government announced an indefinite ban on the prescription of puberty blockers for minors.

These medications are used to temporarily pause puberty in young trans people as part of treatment for gender dysphoria. Their effects are widely accepted as being reversible and allow young people time to decide how to address their gender identity.

The ban followed a controversial consultation process and recommendations from the disputed Cass Review and the Commission on Human Medicines, despite ongoing debates about the quality and interpretation of the evidence supporting those recommendations.

New Research From a Trans Academic

The new study, conducted by trans academic Natacha Kennedy at the University of London, was recently published in the Journal of Gender Studies.

Based on interviews with trans and non-binary youth aged 13 to 27, as well as their parents, the research sought to understand the real-world impact of the ban on those most directly affected.

“The effects of the ban on young trans people appear not to have been considered, and no efforts have been made by any governmental agency to find this out, which, in and of itself, is very revealing,” says Kennedy.

Sharp Decline in Mental Health

The study found “overwhelming levels of distress” among young people who were denied access to puberty blockers, compared to those who were able to access the treatment.

“While the latter group were reported to be happy, well-adjusted and little different from most cis children, those affected by the ban—previously happy, well-adjusted children—are now described as having become depressed, distressed, fearful, suicidal, despairing, traumatised, anxious and stressed, and suffering from a very sharp decline in mental health, including becoming introverted, withdrawn and school-refusing,” states Kennedy.

Many parents interviewed described their children as suicidal or self-harming due to being denied puberty blockers. They also reported constant and overwhelming anxiety in their children’s lives.

“My child was suicidal and has self-harmed many times as a way to express her emotional distress at the change in her access to gender-affirming care,” said one parent.

“She felt life wasn’t worth living because she couldn’t begin her medical transition as planned. She had looked forward to this for months, and then with no warning, it was taken away. The shock was awful for her, and she could not cope.”

Respondents also noted an increase in societal transphobia since the ban was implemented.

“By presenting mainstream media and transphobic politicians with the opportunity to undermine trans children’s identities, the publication of the Cass Report and the imposition of the ban seems to have resulted in trans and non-binary children reporting increased levels of transphobia,” the report states.

Minimal Risks, Massive Harm

According to Kennedy, the risks associated with puberty blockers have not been shown to be significant, and do not justify the major and well-documented harm the ban is now causing.

“Given that puberty blockers have been in widespread use for decades, the evidence of any significant risk is so minimal that other gender identity services and professionals around the world have already discounted it.”

She stresses that all medical decisions involve balancing risks, and that the slogan “first, do no harm”, often used by anti-trans campaigners, is being misused.

“The puberty-blocker ban has ignored one side of this balance of risk, which is the absolute certainty of severe psychological, physical and social harm scarring the lives of trans children and young people well into the future,” she adds.

Kennedy concludes with a clear indictment of the rationale behind the ban:

“Those advocating banning puberty blockers have justified it on the grounds that it is to ‘protect children’. The evidence here shows that it is quite clearly not doing that. On the contrary, the ban is causing very significant harm to trans children and young people, and consequently, there can be no justification for it to continue.”