The Court Of Appeal Has Reversed A Ruling On Transgender Children's Healthcare
In a huge victory for transgender people's rights, the Court of Appeal has ruled that doctors can decide whether or not to prescribe puberty-blockers to under-16s.
Earlier today (17 September 2021), the Court of Appeal reversed the judgement handed down in the Bell v Tavistock case in October 2020. This judgement ruled that anyone under 16 would need express permission from the court (on a case-by-case basis) to be prescribed puberty blockers.
The claimants sought a judicial review of the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust, which runs the Gender Identity Development Service, on the basis that those under 16-years-old didn't have the capacity to consent to puberty blockers. Following the 2020 judgement, NHS England suspended referrals for puberty blockers for all under-16s.
In their judgement today, the Court of Appeal said they recognised "the difficulties and complexities" of the issue, before asserting that “it is for the clinicians to exercise their judgement knowing how important it is that consent is properly obtained according to the particular individual circumstances.”
Puberty blockers work by blocking the hormones testosterone and oestrogen, which cause the onset of puberty in teenagers, such as deepening of voice, growth of facial and pubic hair, growth of breasts, and menstruation. This gives children time to process their gender identity before their bodies change, often irreversibly. At any point, the teenager can choose to come off the puberty blockers, allowing puberty to begin. Alternatively, they may start taking hormones which encourage the onset of a puberty, which aligns with their gender identity.
They are a vital component of healthcare for transgender children, who may suffer enormous distress and heightened gender dysphoria following the onset of puberty. We recommend reading Shon Faye's brilliant book The Transgender Issue to learn more about this area.
The news has been welcomed by Mermaids, a charity which advocates for transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse children and their family's rights, who said in a statement: "Trans young people deserve the right to make decisions about their own bodies in exactly the same way as all other young people. But while we celebrate today’s decision, it’s also important that we reflect on what has been a traumatising period for many young people and their families."
A GIDS clinician told Mermaids: “As a Gender Clinician, I am pleased that the court has overturned the initial ruling.
“The past 10 months have been extremely difficult for young people accessing gender services. In many cases we have identified a clinical need for young people to access Blocker Treatment or Gender Affirming Hormones but young people have been denied the opportunity to begin these treatments as NHS England amended the GIDS specification based upon the initial Bell judgment.
“Now that this judgment has been overturned, I hope that the NHS will immediately remove the strict conditions that have limited access to treatments for young people. Families and young people need our support and they need it now.”
For more from Glamour UK's Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.
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