JK Rowling expresses joy as High Court judge upholds ban on puberty blockers for trans children

JK Rowling praised yesterday a High Court ruling upholding a ban on puberty blockers for trans children.

The Harry Potter author and women's rights campaigner described the judgment as 'moving back to treatment for vulnerable youth based on evidence-based medicine'.

Her comments came hours after a High Court judge ruled an emergency ban on the prescription of puberty blockers was lawful.

Mrs Justice Lang dismissed a judicial review brought by trans activists who challenged an order banning puberty blockers under rarely-used measures.

The order was imposed in May by then Tory health secretary Victoria Atkins. Campaign group TransActual had claimed Ms Atkins acted unlawfully by failing to properly consult the public.

Mrs Justice Lang ruled the health secretary had 'reasonably considered that it was essential to make the order as soon as possible to protect children and young people from irresponsible prescribing of puberty blockers'.

A consultation would have lasted five to six months and could have seen attempts to frustrate the system by beginning puberty blocker treatment before the ban came into force, the judge said.

Ms Rowling wrote on X: 'High court rules the UK ban on puberty blockers is lawful. We seem, at last, to be moving back to treatment for vulnerable youth based on evidence-based medicine, as opposed to the unevidenced claims of ideological lobby groups.'

Yesterday's ruling was also applauded by current Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who reaffirmed the conclusions set out in the landmark Cass Review.

Mr Streeting said: 'Children's healthcare must be evidence-led. Dr Cass's review found there was insufficient evidence that puberty blockers are safe and effective for children with gender dysphoria and gender incongruence.

'We must therefore act cautiously and with care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people.'

Sir Keir Starmer also said 'evidence-led' care must be the basis for children's medicine. The PM's spokesman said: 'We are obviously pleased that the court has upheld the ban.'

It comes after the Cass Review into gender identity services concluded in April that children had been set on the path to irreversible change on scant medical evidence. Dr Hilary Cass, who led the review, said gender medicine had been 'built on shaky foundations'.

NHS clinics were banned from prescribing puberty blockers to children a month before the review's publication. But the ban did not extend to private clinics, with Dr Cass's review emphasising the loophole in the law.

The emergency ban then sought to close the loophole that could be exploited by private clinics and European prescribers.

Women's rights groups hailed yesterday's decision. Maya Forstater of Sex Matters, said: 'By keeping his predecessor's ban, Wes Streeting showed that the new government is determined to take an evidence-based approach to protecting the wellbeing of gender-distressed children.'

Chay Brown of TransActual said the group was disappointed, adding: 'The judgment leans heavily on the discredited Cass review.'