The new restrictions will be introduced when the Alberta legislature is back in session later this month
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said on Tuesday that a new ban on puberty blockers won’t apply to children and teens who are currently using them.
The premier said that the new restrictions will be introduced when the Alberta legislature is back in session later this month, alongside new policies relating to student name and pronoun changes and female sports.
Puberty blockers were a major focus of a recent review led by retired British pediatrician Hilary Cass, a former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Dr. Roy Eappen, an endocrinologist based in Montreal, said on Wednesday that stopping the use of puberty blockers carries little risk for pre-teens and younger teenagers.
“If you stop the pulse (emitted by puberty blockers) the normal rhythms of puberty will gradually start back up on their own,” Eappen said in an interview.
Eappen says he suspects that Smith’s decisions to grandfather in the puberty blocker ban is an attempt at compromise over the divisive issue.
Federal Minister for Gender Equality Marci Ien said on Tuesday that it was impossible to “depoliticize” the issue.
A request to Alberta’s Ministry of Health for the number of Albertans aged 15 and under who are currently being prescribed puberty blockers was not answered by deadline.
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