The British government indefinitely banned puberty blockers as a treatment for minors with gender dysphoria on Wednesday. After embracing gender transition procedures for minors before the U.S., European countries like the U.K. are now reversing course as evidence of the harm they could cause has mounted. “We need to act with caution and care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people, and follow the expert advice,” declared Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

The U.K. temporarily paused puberty blockers for children in March 2023, following the release of the Cass report, a credible, detailed examination that found insufficient evidence that gender transition procedures were safe for children. The Commission on Human Medicines, an independent organization of the British government, also recently found “an unacceptable safety risk in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to children.”

The government, then controlled by the Conservative Party, further restricted access to puberty blockers with an emergency ban passed in June. The high court upheld that ban as lawful in July. In August, after an electoral victory, the left-leaning Labour Party extended the emergency ban in August. This move invested both of the U.K.’s major political parties in the newly cautious approach toward gender transition procedures for minors.

On Wednesday, the Labour government announced new legislation that would make the ban indefinite, to be reviewed in 2027. The ban would also take effect in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.