Transgender hormones under 18 may be restricted or prohibited
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is “actively reviewing” private prescriptions that prohibit or restrict transgender hormones, according to evidence given to the High Court.
Government lawyers say the panel will report below drugs under 18 in July, hoping to change their gender.
On Wednesday afternoon, campaigners’ application for a comprehensive judicial review of the Secretary of State’s handling of the issue was denied.
The application was rejected, Mrs. HP said that “the case has been substantial” as the government reviewed it in April.
The NHS announced in December that cases under the age of 18 will no longer be filed for a comprehensive judicial review after prescribing pubertal blockers in gender identity clinics.
The campaigners argued that the prescription of trans hormones should also be addressed and criticized the government for not intervening.
But, Mrs. HP said it is not “unreasonable or unreasonable” to address the issue of adolescence blockers first, and then to involve transgender hormones.
The court in London was also told health officials were working on “alternative legal mechanisms” to address issues targeting private and overseas providers of the drug.
Trans-sex hormones are conferred on people with different genders than biology. The drug can help people who are transitioning to develop characteristics related to their preferred gender.
For example, this will help a trans man, a biological woman who recognizes men, develop deeper voices and facial hair. Existing NHS guidance allows prescriptions for people aged 16 and older.
They are different from puberty blockers, which prevent puberty from onset by inhibiting hormone release.
Existing NHS guidelines allow prescriptions to people aged 16 and older.
Keira Bell and two other anonymous persons filed cases that demanded a comprehensive judicial review.
They want to ban non-NHS organizations, such as private clinics and overseas providers, from prescribing transgender hormones.
As a teenager, Ms. Bell received trans hormones after attending the now-closed NHS Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), run by the Tavistock Clinic.
She was called a male at the time, but she said she deeply regretfully decided to take medications that permanently change her body.
In response to this afternoon's verdict, she said: “I am relieved that the Secretary of State is now actively considering banning transgender hormones outside the NHS.
“These powerful drugs should not be given to children and young people.”
Her attorney Zoe Gannon argued that although the health minister banned private prescriptions to inhibit puberty in gender cases involving under 18, he “failed or refused” to take the same action as transgender hormones, which was “unreasonable”.
Iain Steele, a lawyer at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), told Court Street Mr. “is currently seeking clinical and expert advice from NHS England”.
He also said hormones such as testosterone and estrogen have a wide range of medical uses, which determine whether to limit or prohibit its use in different situations.
The judgment rejected the judicial review application, and Mrs. HP, who sat with Justice Johnson, said the Secretary of State had taken reasonable action.
“It’s a very difficult and sensitive area of policy formation, with strong and real views on each side of the debate, no consensus,” she said.
She added that Mr Streeting was taking practical steps and therefore has the right to have more time to consider these issues.
She continued that it would be appropriate to have positive comments and that would be welcome.