NORTHERN IRELAND FIRST Minister Michelle O’Neill has said a temporary ban on puberty blockers for transgender youth is “based on clear and unequivocal advice from the Chief Medical Officer”.

Stormont first and deputy ministers Michelle O’Neill and the DUP’s Emma Little-Pengelly gave approval to Northern Ireland Health Minister Mike Nesbitt’s decision to extend the UK government’s ban on puberty blockers last week.

Sinn Féin has been criticised in some quarters for the move.

The three-month suspension came into place today and O’Neill said the decision is based on “clear and unequivocal advice” from Northern Ireland’s CMO Michael McBride.

In a statement today, O’Neill added that the advice is “pending review”.

O’Neill added that she wanted the “best possible medical support for children and young people who need trans healthcare”.

“Children, parents and clinicians need to have full confidence in the effectiveness and safety of medical treatments,” said O’Neill.

“Health care and clinical decisions need to be based on the scientific and medical evidence.” 

Earlier this year, the former Conservative government in the UK used emergency legislation to introduce the ban curbing the use of the puberty blockers for young people with gender dysphoria or gender incongruence.

Puberty blockers are now only available to under-18s with gender dysphoria who are already taking the medication. They can also be used in NHS clinical trials.

This ban was extended by Keir Starmer’s Labour government when it took office in recent weeks.

The decision taken by the Stormont executive last week brings the North into line with Britain.

However, trans advocacy groups in the UK have been critical of the move to ban puberty blockers, saying they are an important part of some people’s treatment.

The socialist feminist movement ROSA today held a protest outside Sinn Féin’s office in Parnell Square over the move to ban puberty blockers in the North.

It called the decision “devastating” and added that it “must be reversed”.

Solidarity with the trans and intersex community at this time. Protest at Sinn Fein HQ over ban on #transhealthcare pic.twitter.com/UJpqyGxSJ3

— Ruth Coppinger (@RuthCoppingerSP) August 27, 2024

ROSA said puberty blockers are a “vital part of gender-affirming healthcare for trans, non-binary, and cisgender people alike”.

It also noted that the British Medical Association (BMA) criticised the move to ban puberty blockers.

The BMA represents UK doctors and medical students and in a statement earlier this month, said that the Cass review “did not call for an outright ban”.

The BMA said it will now undertake a “transparent, evidence-led evaluation of the issues raised with the Cass Review, the subsequent decisions taken by NHS England and the UK Government”.

The Cass Review

Moves to restrict treatment for transgender youth in Britain came following the publication of the Cass Review in April.

Commissioned by the UK government, it reported that the pillars of gender medicine are “built on shaky foundations”, citing a lack of evidence on the impacts of puberty blockers and hormone treatments.

The review was led by Dr Hilary Cass, former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

It also found that healthcare for people questioning their gender “needs to be improved across the board”.

-With additional reporting from Eoghan Dalton