Source: Family First
MEDIA RELEASE – 19 November 2025
Family First NZ is applauding the government’s decision to end the use of GnRHa hormones (usually referred to as ‘puberty blockers’) for vulnerable young people who are confused about their biological sex.
“The use of puberty blockers has never been appropriate – it has effectively been the trialling of experimental drugs on children, and this decision is long overdue” said Bob McCoskrie, CEO of Family First.
This decision by the government is in line with many other countries who have either restricted or banned the experimental use of puberty blockers on children suffering gender dysphoria. This includes the United Kingdom, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and many states within the USA.
“With this decision, New Zealand is no longer an outlier when it comes to accepting scientific evidence and ensuring the protection of vulnerable children.”
New Zealand’s own Ministry of Health in its Evidence Brief clearly indicated that the use of puberty blockers must be restricted for those under 18 years of age. This Brief sits alongside a growing literature of concern around puberty blockers, including the United Kingdom’s CASS Review.
Family First has previously written to the Associate Minister of Health Matt Doocey requiring action following the findings of the Ministry of Health’s Evidence Brief. This call and previous calls sadly went unheeded. Family First welcomes therefore the Cabinet having stepped in and aligning policy with the medical literature.
“This excellent decision today means that the Government is protecting vulnerable gender dysmorphic children and teenagers against the prescribing of puberty blockers that have no quality evidence of safety, efficacy or reversibility. How can a child and their parents consent to a treatment that itself is not understood nor has sufficient evidence to support its safety and effectiveness,” says Mr McCoskrie.
“We should heal the mind – not chemicalise and cut the body. The actions of the Government today will start that process. It is now vital that appropriate mental health services are engaged who are not seduced by the lies of WPATH, PATHA, InsideOut and other activist groups.”
Notes for Editors:
Family First acknowledges that the government decision to end the use of GnRHa hormones is only for new patients presenting with gender dysphoria. Family First agrees that existing users need to be transitioned from Puberty Blockers in a medically appropriate way or at the very least, have the lack of quality evidence on safety, efficacy and reversibility explained to them by the medical professional overseeing their care – and their parents / caregivers – with a view to confirming they and their parents or guardians do provide informed consent.
Family First rejects activists’ use of the suicide trope to argue children must be given experimental hormones (puberty blockers). There is absolutely no evidence that using puberty blockers reduces suicide in vulnerable young people. The CASS Review clearly stated: “Young people facing gender-related distress had no significantly different levels of suicide risk to other young people with similar levels of complex presentations” and “No evidence that gender-affirming treatment reduces suicide risk.”
A recent Finnish study found that the suicide risk in a large group of adolescents was predicted by the psychiatric problems that often accompany gender distress, not by the gender distress itself. The Finnish study said: “Although the rate of suicide [in the Finnish study] is just over four times higher among trans young people than their peers, this is explained by their more serious psychiatric problems. When these psychiatric problems are taken into account, there is no evidence that transgender people have a higher rate of suicide.”
We encourage editors to listen to the testimony of two New Zealand ‘detransistioners’ – Issy and Zara. These are two young woman whose experiences speak directly to why GnHRa hormones (puberty blockers) and other cross-sex hormones are harmful, as too the current approach to gender dysphoria via WPATH, PATHA, and other activist groups. Their testimonies can be found on our website – www.FamilyFirst.nz
