Puberty blocker ban in Wales ‘unlawful’, says former Plaid Cymru leader
A Welsh politician has called Wales’ puberty blockers ban “unlawful” (Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
A puberty blocker ban for trans youth in Wales is “unlawful”, a Plaid Cymru politician has claimed.
In 2024, NHS Wales put a pause on providing puberty blockers to trans youngsters. The health service commissions gender identity services for under-18s from NHS England, so when it announced it would no longer be prescribed puberty blockers, the devolved nation followed suit.
Puberty blockers are a type of medicine that prevent puberty from starting by blocking the hormones – like testosterone and oestrogen – that lead to puberty-related changes in the body. In the case of trans youth, this can delay unwanted physical changes like menstruation, breast growth, voice changes or facial hair growth.
The decision in Wales came after the of the publication of the Cass Review in April last year. The report was commissioned by NHS England in 2020, and headed by paediatric expert Dr Hilary Cass, in response to the sharp rise in referrals to what was then England’s only youth gender clinic at North London’s Tavistock Centre.
The review looked into the model of care for trans young people in England and made upwards of 32 recommendations, including urging “extreme caution” when it comes to prescribing hormones.
It has subsequently been criticised by a number of organisations, including the British Medical Association (BMA), who have voiced opposition to the methodologies used in the report, and accused Cass of ignoring evidence particularly in regarding puberty blockers.
Adam Price, who was leader of Plaid Cymru between 2018 and 2023, has claimed the Welsh government broke its own laws in how it banned gender affirming care for trans youth.
Price, alongside the devolved nation’s children’s commissioner, Rocio Cifuentes, said the Welsh government should have carried out an assessment on the impact a ban would have had on children affected before making a decision.
Speaking to BBC Wales, Price said: “I think it is clear that the government have acted unlawfully.
“They need to set out with some urgency how they intend to rectify this mistake, and most importantly, engage meaningfully with this group of children and young people whose rights deserve to be respected and whose voices should be heard.”
He was asked by the Beep if he is opposed to the ban and he responded it was not for him “to give a view on a clinical question”.
“The question here is whether the proper legal process was followed, and whether the rights of those children and young people were fully respected, and whether their voices were heard,” Price added.
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