The United Kingdom will “indefinitely” ban the sale and supply of puberty blockers for those under the age of 18, the Department of Health and Social Care announced on Wednesday. 

The decision follows the guidance of an independent review conducted by the Commission on Human Medicines which concluded that there is “currently an unacceptable safety risk in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to children.” 

Puberty blockers are prescribed to children who are diagnosed with “gender dysphoria” as a means to delay the physical changes of puberty, such as the development of facial hair or breasts. The medication, however, has been criticized for having potentially irreversible and negative long-term health consequences. There has also been little evidence pointing to the medication’s long term benefits for treating gender-related distress. 

“Children’s healthcare must always be evidence-led,” the UK secretary of state for health and social care, Wes Streeting, stated on Wednesday. “The independent expert Commission on Human Medicines found that the current prescribing and care pathway for gender dysphoria and incongruence presents an unacceptable safety risk for children and young people.” 

Mr. Streeting noted that the government will be working with the National Health Service to “open new gender identity services” to ensure that UK citizens have access to the “holistic health and wellbeing support they need.” The government will also be setting up a clinical trial for puberty blockers in the next year “to establish a clear evidence base for the use of this medicine.” 

In March, the National Health Service announced that children would no longer be able to receive prescriptions for such medication from gender identity clinics, citing the lack of evidence about the medication’s harmful or beneficial effects. Two months later, the government issued emergency legislation which prevented the prescribing of the medication by European or private prescribers. 

The ban, however, will not affect those who are already receiving puberty blockers. The legislation, which will be updated on Wednesday, will be up for review in 2027. 

The decision comes as the Supreme Court is in the midst of hearing oral arguments in U.S v. Jonathan Skrmetti, a case which will determine the constitutionality of state bans on hormone treatments for minors, or what pro-transgender activists describe as “gender-affirming care.” 

The lawsuit centers around a Tennessee state ban on puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and surgery as prescribed remedies for minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Given that Tennessee is just one of nearly two dozen states with such a law in place, the Supreme Court decision could have a sweeping impact on the accessibility of such treatments.