The Northern Ireland Executive has declined to release the evidence it considered when extending the ban on puberty blockers for those experiencing gender dysphoria, citing concerns about public interest and collective responsibility. The decision follows a Freedom of Information request from Belfast Live, which sought the information after the Executive Office initially refused a similar request.
The Northern Ireland Executive has said that releasing the evidence that they considered when extending the ban on puberty blockers for those experiencing gender dysphoria would not be in the public interest.
Following the initial temporary ban, the Executive Office refused a request from Belfast Live for a copy of the evidence considered by the First and deputy First Minister in making their decision stating that releasing the information would "inhibit Ministers' ability to consider difficult policy issues with candour" and "has the potential to damage the concept of collective responsibility".
"It is essential that the Department protects the concept of collective responsibility under which the Executive Committee operates and that it protects the safe space within the Executive Committee to facilitate frank and honest consideration of options, for Ministers to express themselves openly, honestly and completely, and to have the freedom to explore options as part of the process of deliberation, before arriving at an agreed position.
"While the medicine may be the same, they have not been licensed for gender incongruence and/or gender dysphoria, which means the safety and risk implications in that context have not been assessed formally by MHRA," they said. "In this situation, where the evidence relied upon by the Executive has overruled the consultation on the ban, responses to which mostly opposed this course of action, it is vital that the sector is given the opportunity to assess and feed back on the Executive's decision-making process.
Politics LGBTQ+ PUBERTY BLOCKERS GENDER DYSFORIA NORTHERN IRELAND TRANSPHOBIA TRANSPARENCY
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