England's health service says it won't give puberty blockers to children at gender clinics

England's publicly funded health service says will not routinely offer puberty-blocking drugs to children at gender identity clinics. It says more evidence is needed about their potential benefits and harms. The National Health Service said Friday that “outside of a research setting, puberty suppressing hormones should not be routinely commissioned for children and adolescents.” Hormone blockers are drugs that pause puberty. They are sometimes prescribed to help children with gender dysphoria by giving them more time to consider their options. The new clinics are due to open later this year. The issue of gender-affirming care for children isn't as heated in Britain as in the U.S., but it has ended up in the courts.