Simeon Brown: Health Minister on the Government pausing prescription of puberty blockers

No child will be able to start taking puberty blockers from December 19.

The Government says the Ministry of Health has found a lack of evidence for the benefits or risks of gender dysphoria or incongruence treatment - gonadotropin - releasing hormone analogues.

Health Minister Simeon Brown says they're putting up safeguards until more evidence is available. 

"Effectively, what we're doing is putting in place a restriction on the prescribing of these drugs for this purpose to make sure that those who are prescribing look at the wider range of treatments or things that can be done."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's a big move from the government today on the
use of puberty blockers. From the nineteenth of December, transgender
children will no longer have access to puberty blockers unless
they're already using them. Puberty blockers, by the way, if
you don't know other hormones that delay puberty and young
people can stop it all together. Simeon Brown is the
Health Minister and with us high.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Simeon Hi, here the hell you'm well?

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Thank you? Why have you moved to effectively ban them
all together?

Speaker 2 (00:23):
We are following the evidence from both the CAST report
and also the Ministry of Health evidence brief from last year,
which showed there's a lack of high quality evidence that
demonstrates the benefits or risks of the use of these
treatments on children with gender dysphoria or incongruence. And while
this uncertainty persists, we're taking a precautionary approach for our

(00:46):
children to make sure that there are strongest safeguards in place,
and effectively, what we're doing is putting in place a
restriction on the prescribing of these drugs for this purpose,
to make sure that those that those who are prescribing
look at what are the wider range of treatments or
things that can be done to support those children.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
Okay, what is the uncertainty is it whether this is reversible?

Speaker 2 (01:10):
Well, there's a range of things which has been considered
as part of the CASTS Report, its impacts in terms
of a child's development, impacts on in terms of the
organs and other things which have been considered. Effectively, the
evidence through the CAST Report and also the Ministry of
Health's Evidence Brief basically found there's not it. There's been

(01:33):
no high quality evidence to prove the benefits or risks
of these treatments, all these drugs for this purpose, and therefore,
in terms with the absence of that, we need to
take a precautionary approach in these instances, and that's why
we're following what the UK has done in which we're
putting a band in place for the prescribing of these drugs.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
Yeah, all right. Did you not think about an intermediate
step perhaps where you let it a clinical psychologist or
somebody who's very well trained make the decision for transgender
children who are genuinely trans.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
Well, there's a range of other things and services which
are provided for children who do present two clinicians with
gender incongruence or gender dysphoria, and we expect those clinicians
to continue to work with them and their families. We've
also made the decision, and are.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
They able to prescribe puberty blockers.

Speaker 2 (02:25):
No, they won't be able to, but they'll be able
to consider other interventions, and there's a range of interventions
that are well, there's a range of psychosocial interventions that
are provided to support children and their families as they
go that process.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Just to be clear, there is nothing that can stop
them from actually developing into a man or a woman right.

Speaker 2 (02:44):
Well, effectively, the evidence, as I said, the evidence from
both the Cash Report and also the Ministry of Health's
Evidence Brief shows a lack of evidence around the safeguards
in terms of the safety of these particular drugs.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah, no, I mean that's cool. I understand what I'm
trying to Just as attainers, any kind of interventions will
help that are able to be provided. If you don't
have the puberty blockers, These kids will have to go
through puberty, will have to become the gender they don't
think they.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Are, right, and there's a range of other interventions that
can be provided for those children through that process as
they grow older, to be able to ensure that they
can go through the process and receive that and that's
what we expect those clinicians to provide those services for them.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
Okay, now this is basically essentially an effective pause until
this clinical trial is completed in the UK. How long
is that going to take?

Speaker 2 (03:35):
Well, it will take some time. Clinical trials are not
done overnight, so I imagine that will take probably some years.
But ultimately the decision has been made in the same
way that the UK government has in what some of
the Scandinavian countries have done, which is effectively put a
pause on the prescribing of these drugs whilst there is

(03:56):
further evidence collected. Government is ahead of where we are.
They've already started work and putting together a clinical trial
and once that clinical trial has reported its evidence, that
will allow the Ministry of Health to provide us with
further evidence as to what the decision should be going forward.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
Sam and thanks very much for talking us through. To
appreciate it, So me and Brown Health Minister.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
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