Family First has written to Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey, urging the government to restrict the use of puberty blockers in under-18s, citing the Ministry of Health’s own Evidence Brief.
It found “significant limitations in the quality of evidence” for their safety, efficacy, or reversibility.
In the letter, CEO Bob McCoskrie and strategic director Simon O’Connor said: “We strongly believe … that the government must regulate under section 105 of the Medicines Act to restrict the off-label prescribing of puberty blockers for those under 18 years of age.”
They argued the Ministry was contradicting its own findings by still referring to PATHA guidelines that claim puberty blockers “have a positive impact” and are “fully reversible.” “The review and position statement are therefore at odds,” the letter said.
Family First’s legal advice also suggested the government is breaching the Bill of Rights Act by failing to protect young people. “It is impossible for anyone – let alone an under-16 – to consent to a treatment that itself is not understood nor has sufficient evidence to support it,” the letter stated.
The group called for an immediate halt to new prescriptions and for the Ministry’s position statement to be updated to remove what it described as “factually incorrect statements regarding efficacy, safety and future risks.”
Centrist Ltd