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Jump to Key Points WELLINGTON, Oct 22 (Reuters) - New Zealand's High Court has struck down regulations banning new prescriptions of puberty blockers for adolescents with gender dysphoria, ruling that the measures were made unlawfully and amounted to unjustified discrimination.
• Justice Dale La Hood set aside the regulations, introduced in late 2025, which barred new patients under 18 from receiving gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues for gender dysphoria or gender incongruence
• La Hood, in a summary released on Wednesday, found the government had failed to meet consultation obligations under the Medicines Act because groups approached by the Ministry of Health had not been clearly told that an outright prohibition on new prescriptions was under consideration
• The judge also said there was insufficient urgency to justify not consulting directly with gender-diverse young people
- High Court voided ban on new GnRH analogue Rx for <18 with gender dysphoria.
- Ruling: regulations unlawful; unjustified discrimination against gender-diverse adolescents.
- Court found Medicines Act consultation obligations unmet before outright prohibition.
- No direct consultation with gender-diverse youth; urgency insufficient to bypass it.
- Government seeking new prescribing safeguards; existing patient access to care to continue.
• The decision followed a judicial review brought by the Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa, or PATHA, against Health Minister Simeon Brown
• The government had argued the restrictions were a precautionary response to uncertainty over the long-term benefits and risks of puberty blockers, and reflected bans on the drugs overseas, including in Britain following the landmark Cass Review into gender care for adolescents
• An earlier interim court order had prevented the measures' enforcement while the challenge was heard
• A spokesperson for the Health Minister said the Government was committed to introducing new safeguards on the prescribing of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues, while ensuring patients with medical needs could continue to access appropriate care and was seeking advice on next steps
(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
