Northern Ireland Executive unanimously extends ban on puberty blockers

The Northern Ireland Executive has extended a ban on the prescription of puberty blockers for under-18s, a move which received unanimous cross-party support.

It ensures Northern Ireland is kept in line with the rest of the UK, with the extension backed by Sinn Fein, DUP and Alliance ministers.

The development brings the North into alignment with England, which tightened rules on the drugs, introducing and renewing an emergency ban on them being prescribed by private clinicians in the wake of the Cass Review. The review, published by pediatrician consultant Dr Hilary Cass in April found that the evidence backing treatments including puberty blockers was “remarkably weak.” 

It said that children who think they are transgender should not be rushed into treatment they may regret, with the landmark report making 32 recommendations. These included calling for the end to prescribing powerful hormone drugs to under-18s, and giving young children therapy before they are allowed to socially transition.

The emergency ban introduced in Britain in May came into effect in Northern Ireland on August 27 based on a paper presented by Stormont Health Minister, Mike Nesbitt.

In November, the British government extended the temporary ban on the sale and supply of the puberty-suppressing hormones. The continuation of the ban applies to the sale or supply of these drugs, prescribed by private UK-registered prescribers for gender incongruence or dysphoria to under 18s not already taking them.

It also prevents the sale and supply of the medicines from prescribers registered in the European Economic Area or Switzerland for any purposes to those under 18.  

Northern Ireland’s ban on the drugs was also influenced by concerns that the province would become a pathway for obtaining these medications privately.

On Tuesday, the Executive has decided to back an indefinite extension to a ban on the prescription of puberty blockers in Northern Ireland – gaining unanimous cross-party support. The move, tabled by Ulster Unionist Health Minister Mike Nesbitt, was backed by  Sinn Fein, DUP and Alliance ministers.

While Alliance previously expressed concerns about the ban, its ministers did not request a vote. The party, headed by Naomi Long, is seeking a guarantee that children in the North will, however, be allowed to take part in clinical trials for the controversial drugs.

There had been growing unease among some in Alliance about its stance on this issue, the Belfast Newsletter reports, and the damage it may be doing to the party at the polls given backlash against some trans activism.

The ban, which was backed by Sinn Fein Deputy Leader Michelle O’Neill, prompted protests from trans activists outside the party’s headquarters in Dublin, amid claims that the party had a “dual policy” on the drugs.

Activists cited a statement from Sinn Féin, issued last summer, saying that the party supported an “update to gender recognition laws in the North to be harmonised with the south.” In September, Mary Lou McDonald defended her party’s support of the urgent ban on puberty blockers in Northern Ireland, with the party accused of holding “dual policies” on the issue.

McDonald said in September: “The suspension on puberty blockers is temporary. It’s on the back of concerns that are safety related in terms of bone density, cognitive function, brain development, potentially fertility issues down the line. 

“I take the view that any treatment, any therapy, that is given to anyone, but particularly children and young people, has to be scrutinised rigorously, and the safety of people is paramount. The concerns that are held in the north are equally held by clinicians here in the south — we want and we have to get this right.” 

The party’s leader was responding to criticism from Charlie Flanagan, the former Fine Gael justice minister, and other politicians who said Sinn Fein was operating dual policies on this issue north and south of the border.

“Healthcare for trans people is an important stream of the healthcare service and we are lagging far behind,” McDonald said.

People Before Profit’s Gerry Carroll hit out at the ban, saying that “puberty blockers are safe and in use around the world” while Alliance Lord Mayor of Belfast Micky Murray claimed his party “continue to support those in need of access to puberty blockers.”

DUP MLA Diane Dodds previously said her party had long advocated “the most cautious approach”.

“The move here in Northern Ireland and across the United Kingdom is part of a much wider international trend where many countries have been reviewing such provision in light of more detailed scrutiny of their {puberty blockers} safety and usage,” the party’s health spokesperson said.

The SDLP has not officially commented on the issue, however SDLP LGBT+, a group associated with the party, previously hit out at the UK’s plans to maintain the ban on puberty blockers, saying it was “extremely concerned.”

The UUP previously backed the ban.