95bFM Government to ‘pause’ new prescriptions for puberty blockers
28 November 2025
Interview by Joel Armstrong, adapted by Sara Mckoy
The Professional Association of Transgender Health Aotearoa’s Dr Elizabeth McElrea says clinical professionals have been “blindsided” by the government’s temporary ban on future puberty blocker prescriptions for trans young people.
Last week, Health Minister Simeon Brown published a statement affirming a Cabinet decision to halt new prescriptions of puberty blockers for young people with gender dysphoria.
He says this is in response to “a lack of high-quality evidence” on the benefits and risks of the treatment.
The ban is set to take effect from December 19th until the government assesses the results of a clinical trial in the UK, which is due to run until 2031, based on the recommendations of an Independent Review, also known as the Cass Review, commissioned by the NHS.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, who campaigned on the ban, says it is to disallow “unproven and potentially harmful drugs for children,” with ACT Minister for Children Karen Chhour, saying she puts “science, education and the safety of children first”.
The Professional Association of Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) previously criticised the Cass Review as inconsistent with global medical consensus on the issue and had excluded transgender and non-binary expert perspectives from its findings, extending further concerns regarding the ban.
PATHA Vice President Dr Elizabeth McElrea, who is also a GP specialising in gender-affirming care, told 95bFM’s The Wire that puberty blockers are a “life-saving” treatment option for young people, which has been safely used in New Zealand for decades.
“Puberty blockers have been used for over 20 years for gender-affirming care…
“They're very safe, they're reversible… they're only prescribed in New Zealand by expert clinicians who use the utmost care and consideration.”
McElrea says the government has “weaponised” the Cass Review to make a political decision rather than one grounded in clinical expertise.
“They're basing [this decision] on the fact that we don't have high-quality studies, but not all medicines, especially in paediatrics, are subjected to high-quality studies because it's just not ethical to do that for children and for young people.
“To know something is safe and to be widely used in practice is another form of evidence, along with patient preference for medication.
“There are other ways of knowing something is safe without doing what they class as high-quality trials.”
She adds to her argument that the move is politically motivated, adding that puberty blockers will be banned for young people with gender dysphoria, but not young people with precocious puberty or endometriosis who use the same medication.
While a public consultation period took place in 2024 and a position statement was released recommending clinicians “exercise caution when prescribing”, McElrea says clinical experts were “blindsided” by the decision to ban new prescriptions.
She expresses concerns about the consequences this move will have on young transgender people, especially with “no increase in support”’ from the government.
“We are going to see a dramatic rise in the experience of distress, of depression, anxiety, of social isolation, of discrimination, and we're going to see an increase in self-harm and suicide.”
Numerous organisations, including the Human Rights Commission, Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, and the Rainbow Support Collective, have also spoken out against the ban.
The banning of puberty blockers for young people with gender dysphoria has also resulted in the scheduling of protest action at Myers Park on the 7th of December by the group ‘Block the Ban’.
