PATHA Condemns Government's Unsafe Puberty Blocker Ban

The Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) condemns today’s decision from Minister for Health Simeon Brown introducing a ban on new prescriptions of GnRH analogues (puberty blockers) for transgender children and young people who are not currently on them. This ideologically driven ban will have a devastating impact on the lives and wellbeing of our transgender and gender diverse young people. 

We know that children, young people and their whānau will be highly distressed by this decision. We also acknowledge health professionals’ frustration at the way their expertise has been ignored and disregarded.

“The ban will lead to a deterioration in mental health, increased risk of suicidality and increased dysphoria in gender diverse children and young people, and will put them at a higher risk of experiencing marginalisation and discrimination,” says Dr Elizabeth McElrea, GP specialist in gender affirming care and PATHA Vice-President. “The prescribing of puberty blockers is always undertaken with the utmost care and consideration. They have been prescribed safely for decades for transgender children and banning their use will lead to profound distress in this already vulnerable group.”

This decision is not supported by the Ministry of Health’s November 2024 evidence brief on this care. While the evidence brief identified some limitations in the academic quality of evidence regarding the risks and benefits of GnRH analogues, limitations in evidence quality are common across a number of areas of medicine, especially within paediatric medicine, and do not justify a ban on access.

“PATHA supports evidence-based medicine, which consists of three key components: academic evidence, clinical experience, and patient preferences and values,” says Dr McElrea. “When the quality of available academic evidence is of lower quality, it’s incredibly common for clinicians to lean on guidelines drawn from clinical experience.”

“Practising medicine, and paediatric medicine (not just within gender affirming healthcare), often necessitates providing care without a high-quality evidence base. The absence of high-quality clinical evidence does not mean providing this care is wrong.”

“Children benefit from innovative medical treatments that improve their survival and quality of life. Pediatric care would all but cease if physicians denied treatments for which the evidence base is imperfect.” (McNamara et al., 2024, p. 15) ‘An Evidence-Based Critique of “The Cass Review” on Gender-affirming Care for Adolescent Gender Dysphoria.’

The new restrictions will be in place until the conclusion of clinical trials in the United Kingdom, which are not due until at least 2031.

“In no other area of care would life-saving medication be withheld from a vulnerable population for six years. This will have a traumatic impact on a generation of transgender children,” says Avery Zavoda, PATHA Executive Committee member.

PATHA is strongly against the decision. It is a shocking act of discrimination against transgender children and young people.

“That New Zealand First announced this news three hours before the Minister of Health shows the way this care has been politicised, and how politics have been prioritised over the wellbeing of New Zealand children,” said Zavoda.

“Banning puberty blockers will not prevent children from being transgender, despite the disinformation New Zealand First are promoting,” says Jennifer Shields, PATHA President. “It’s obvious that this has been a political decision made to appease a coalition partner based on an imported culture war, rather than a medical recommendation reflecting the expertise of NZ clinicians and researchers who have been working in this field for over 25 years.”

Identify, a 2022 New Zealand research survey on the experiences of rainbow young people showed “the proportion of young people who wanted puberty blockers and were able to use them was nearly half the number of young people who wanted these medications but could not access them.” These findings made it clear that the prescription context and existing regulations “did not result in the easy access to young people who wanted puberty blockers that some people have claimed existed. In fact, the results demonstrate a seriously constrained prescription context that urgently needs further attention to be more equitable.”

“We call on the Ministry of Health to publish their consultation report immediately, so that health professionals, trans people, and the wider public can see that this decision has been made by politicians rather than based on clinical experience,” says Shields. “We also look forward to the Minister now immediately allowing the updated guidelines for gender affirming healthcare to be published.”

“We also call on Labour, the Green Party, and Te Paati Māori to commit to reversing this harmful decision if they are elected into government next year. Our communities need the reassurance that this ban will not last,” says Shields.

PATHA is committed to ensuring all trans children and children experiencing gender dysphoria have access to the best quality care. Tonight we’re thinking of the trans children, young people and their whānau who will be feeling shocked and scared by this announcement. Tomorrow, we’ll be seeking legal advice about the options available to us and to families affected by this decision. Your children have a right to healthcare. For the government to announce this on the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance is an act of cruelty.

ENDS

Contact: info@patha.nz

Additional information

In April this year a number of health professional bodies signed an open statement supporting the use of puberty blockers for gender affirming care. Signatories include the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers, Ara Taiohi, Auckland Sexual Health Service, AusPATH, the College of Child and Youth Nurses, the New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists, the New Zealand Medical Students' Association, the New Zealand Paediatrics Society, the New Zealand Psychological Society, the New Zealand Sexual Health Society, the New Zealand Society of Endocrinology and the Society of Youth Health Professionals Aotearoa, who all called on the government to uphold equitable and evidence-based access to this care. The letter states that decisions about prescribing puberty blockers should continue to be made collaboratively between young people, their families or support people, and the health professionals involved in their care and that medical decisions should remain free from political interference.

In May, over 500 medical bodies, professionals, and individuals signed an open letter calling for the publication of updated guidelines for gender affirming care, which were finalised in March 2025 but were blocked from publication by the Minister of Health.

In October, leading Australian clinicians working in the field of transgender health released a joint statement outlining methodological and ethical issues with the Cass Review, and its limited applicability to care in Australia.

Earlier this year, new German, Swiss, and Austrian consensus-based guidelines were published recommending continued access to gender affirming care, including puberty blockers. Last year, new endocrine guidelines published in France also recommended continued access to care.