Draft article: Lucy Jackson 2026-07-31 14:58

A CLINICAL trial into the benefits and risks of puberty blockers in teenagers is set to proceed after a legal challenge over the trial was thrown out by a High Court judge. The trial, known as Pathways, is set to see around 220 children with persistent gender incongruence receive puberty suppressing hormones, half of whom would begin the treatment straight away while half would start it a year later. It follows a review published in April 2024 by Dr Hilary Cass, who found that there was not enough evidence on the use of puberty blockers for clinicians and families to make informed decisions. Dr Hilary Cass (Image: PA) A campaign group and two individuals sought to bring legal action against the Health Research Authority (HRA) and the Department of Health and Social Care over the proposed t