UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting has defended his decision to make the ban on puberty blockers for trans youth indefinite, saying it was “uncomfortable” but “ultimately right.” Speaking at an NHS LGBT conference, he said meeting young people impacted by the policy “has not sat easily with me at all,” but argued he was “constrained by the clinical advice and the evidence.” The indefinite ban followed the Cass Review, which concluded the use of puberty blockers in children was based on “weak evidence.” Streeting acknowledged frustration over delays to the NHS clinical trial that could eventually assess puberty blockers, but said stricter ethical governance was necessary given the small number of young people involved. He added, “I have to make sure that I defend the clinical evidence base and that I do the thing that I think is ultimately right, even if it’s truly uncomfortable for me in the meantime.” #WesStreeting #trans #pubertyblockers #healthcare #LGBTQIA #UKPolitics