Trans rights organisation TransActual has welcomed a High Court decision rejecting an attempt to halt a clinical trial investigating the use of puberty blockers for young people experiencing gender dysphoria.
In a statement issued following the ruling, the campaign group said it supported the court's decision to allow the PATHWAYS puberty blocker trial to move forward, describing the study as the only legal route currently available for young people in the UK to access transition-related care involving puberty blockers.
The challenge had sought to prevent the trial from proceeding, but the High Court ruled against the bid, clearing the way for the research programme to continue.
Responding to the judgment, TransActual said further delays would have been unacceptable while trans young people remain unable to access care.
A spokesperson for the organisation said: "This trial remains the only legal route for young people to access transition-related care in the UK, and it would have been unacceptable to further delay the trial while trans youth are left without access to the transition-related care that they deserve."
The group also argued that, despite the ruling, wider restrictions on access to gender-affirming healthcare remain in place.
TransActual said the ongoing limitations continue to affect trans young people despite concerns about the impact on mental health and wellbeing. The organisation accused politicians and campaigners opposed to gender-affirming care of politicising healthcare and creating barriers to treatment.
In its statement, the group said: "The politicisation of trans people's healthcare in the NHS has created barriers to fairly and equally accessing care – barriers which must be torn down."
The PATHWAYS study has become a focal point in the wider debate over transgender healthcare in the UK following restrictions on the prescription of puberty blockers outside approved research settings.
Campaigners supporting access to gender-affirming care have argued that trans young people should be able to access evidence-based treatment without unnecessary delays, while opponents have raised concerns about the use of medical interventions for children and adolescents.
Following the High Court decision, TransActual said it would continue campaigning for reforms to the healthcare system and for improved access to treatment for trans people.
The organisation added: "While gender critical activists play politics with people's health, organisations like TransActual will continue to campaign for a healthcare system that truly recognises and respects the individual needs of everyone."
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