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THREAD ON LANDMARK #TRANSGENDER COURT RULING: NHS England has said children under the age of 16 who want to change gender will no longer be referred for treatment using puberty-blocking drugs -- unless a court has ruled it’s in the child's best interests.
he UK's only clinic offering such treatment has suspended new referrals for children in this age group following a High Court ruling. Three judges decided that it was unlikely that under 16s would be able to give informed consent.
The ruling is complex and nuanced. The case centred on whether young people under the age of 18 with gender-dysphoria – a feeling of unease with their biological gender - have the capacity to give informed consent to taking puberty blockers.
The drugs are the first medical step to changing sex. The judges split teenagers into 3 age groups. They ruled that it was "highly unlikely that a 13 year old would be competent" to give consent;
that it was "doubtful" 14 & 15 year olds could make that decision; and that while in English law there was a presumption that 16 year olds did HAVE the ability to consent - clinicians "may well regard these cases as ones in which the authorisation of the court should be sought"
The judges highlighted what they called the "innovative and experimental nature of puberty blockers" - saying the long term effect of these drugs on children's mental and physical health was still unknown.
Today, one of the women who brought the case called the judgement a victory for child protection. Kiera Bell, was a patient at the only NHS gender clinic in England, Tavistock Centre. At 16 she was given puberty blockers and then transitioned to become a man.
She says that was a mistake - and is now living as a woman. The Tavistock has said it will seek permission to appeal against the High Court's decision. In the meantime, it has suspended new referrals for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for those under sixteen.
In future, they will only be administered with the permission of a court. The charity, Mermaids, which supports transgender children, said the ruling was “an unforgivable and shameful betrayal of young people's rights to autonomy over their own bodies”. #Transgender
