In a significant policy shift, New Zealand’s government has announced a pause on new prescriptions of puberty blockers for young people with gender dysphoria, effective December 19, 2024, pending the results of a major UK clinical trial expected in 2031. Health Minister Simeon Brown stated that Cabinet adopted this precautionary approach due to “uncertain evidence” on the drugs’ safety and effectiveness for gender dysphoria.
The decision centralizes youth gender services into a national online hub, emphasizing treatments that are “clinically sound and in the best interests of the young person,” without disrupting ongoing care.The move aligns with the UK’s Cass Review, a four-year NHS investigation led by paediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass, which found the evidence base for gender-affirming medicine to be “remarkably weak” and criticized the misrepresentation of study results. In response, the UK’s National Health Service halted routine access to puberty blockers for new patients and launched a formal trial on their safety and efficacy, set to conclude in 2031.
New Zealand’s Health Ministry echoed these concerns in a 2023 report, citing a “lack of high-quality evidence” on the benefits or risks of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues for gender dysphoria. Similar restrictions have been implemented in Sweden, Finland, and Norway amid growing international scrutiny. Coalition partners New Zealand First and ACT celebrated the pause as fulfilling campaign pledges. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters called it “commonsense to put a pause on these unproven and potentially damaging drugs for children until we assess the results of the clinical trials in the UK.” ACT’s Karen Chhour hailed it as a win for “science, evidence, and the safety of children,” adding that young people should be supported “to love themselves, not change themselves with experimental medication.” The policy reflects a broader push for evidence-based care in transgender youth healthcare.
The Cass Review has polarized global discourse on transgender youth care, with supporters advocating for rigorous evidence standards and detractors arguing it underplays the harms of denying treatment. New Zealand’s pause, which suppresses estrogen and testosterone to delay puberty, underscores tensions between child protection and access to affirming care. As the UK trial progresses, the decision could influence international policies, potentially reshaping how governments balance emerging evidence with the needs of gender-diverse youth.